`` Hide , Martha , hide ! '' So Martha hid herself , and in came little Bob , the father , with at least three feet of comforter , exclusive of the fringe , hanging down before him ; and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed to look seasonable ; and Tiny Tim upon his shoulder . Alas for Tiny Tim , he bore a little crutch , and had his limbs supported by an iron frame ! `` Why , where 's our Martha ? '' cried Bob Cratchit , looking round . `` Not coming , '' said Mrs. Cratchit . `` Not coming ! '' said Bob with a sudden declension in his high spirits ; for he had been Tim 's blood horse all the way from church , and had come home rampant . `` Not coming upon Christmas-day ! '' Martha did n't like to see him disappointed , if it were only in joke ; so she came out prematurely from behind the closet door , and ran into his arms , while the two young Cratchits hustled Tiny Tim , and bore him off into the wash-house , that he might hear the pudding singing in the copper . `` And how did little Tim behave ? '' asked Mrs. Cratchit when she had rallied Bob on his credulity , and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart 's content . `` As good as gold , '' said Bob , `` and better . Somehow , he gets thoughtful , sitting by himself so much , and thinks the strangest things you ever heard . He told me , coming home , that he hoped the people saw him in the church , because he was a cripple , and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas-day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see . '' Bob 's voice was tremulous when he told them this , and trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing strong and hearty . His active little crutch was heard upon the floor , and back came Tiny Tim before another word was spoken , escorted by his brother and sister to his stool beside the fire ; and while Bob , turning up his cuffs -- as if , poor fellow , they were capable of being made more shabby -- compounded some hot mixture in a jug with gin and lemons , and stirred it round and round , and put it on the hob to simmer , Master Peter and the two ubiquitous young Cratchits went to fetch the goose , with which they soon returned in high procession . Such a bustle ensued that you might have thought a goose the rarest of all birds ; a feathered phenomenon , to which a black swan was a matter of course -- and , in truth , it was something very like it in that house . Mrs. Cratchit made the gravy -LRB- ready beforehand in a little saucepan -RRB- hissing hot ; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour ; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple sauce ; Martha dusted the hot plates ; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table ; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody , not forgetting themselves , and , mounting guard upon their posts , crammed spoons into their mouths , lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped . At last the dishes were set on , and grace was said .
It was succeeded XXXXX a breathless pause , as Mrs. Cratchit , looking slowly all along the carving-knife , prepared to plunge it in the breast ; but when she did , and when the long-expected gush of stuffing issued forth , one murmur of delight arose all round the board , and even Tiny Tim , excited by the two young Cratchits , beat on the table with the handle of his knife , and feebly cried Hurrah !
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