He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. He did it all, and infinitely more and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Taken from the following passage in Stave 5 ( The End Of It) of A Christmas Carol: This, and several other visions, lead Scrooge to reform his ways. The Ghost first states that ‘ If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die,’ then – quick to use Scrooge’s past unkind comments toward two charitable solicitors against him – suggests he ‘ had better do it, and decrease the surplus population‘. Scrooge asks if the desperately ill Tim will die. When visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge sees that Tiny Tim has died. The Cratchit family are unable to pay for proper care for him on Bob’s poor salary. Tim is disabled and requires the use of a crutch to walk. Timothy Cratchit, nicknamed Tiny Tim, is the youngest son of Bob Cratchit, the underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Illustration from Stave 5 of the original publication of A Christmas Carol showing Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit.

Merry christmas one and all tiny tim