Bob Cratchit

Bob Cratchit is a former employee of Burnseneezer Scrooge.

History
One Christmas Eve, Cratchit gave Scrooge a Christmas card that Cratchit's son Gimpy Tom had made for him. Cratchit told Scrooge that he couldn't afford to get him a gift, so he gave him the card "to sum up our appreciation for your generosity". Although the card was crudely drawn and written, Scrooge was touched by the gesture and decided on the spot to go into the greeting card business.

Cratchit continued to work for Scrooge, writing the greetings for the cards. However, within a year, Scrooge fired Cratchit (ironically, via a greeting card that read "So sorry for your loss of gainful employment") when he failed to finish a batch of cards on time. Scrooge then replaced Cratchit in the card-writing job with several street urchins as he could pay them much less, thus making his card business more profitable.

Behind the Laughter

 * Bob Cratchit appears in the "origin" portion of the comic story Grampa's Christmas Origins: Christmas Cards. It has the same setting (19-century London) as  and has Sideshow Bob cast as Bob Cratchit.
 * Cratchit's son Gimpy Tom is a reference to Tiny Tim.