Last night, while reading The Annotated Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens (of course) and edited by Michael Patrick Hearn, I learned: “Tiny Tim was originally called ‘Little Fred’ in the manuscript.” Tiny Tim is probably the second-best-known character in the whole Dickens catalog (the best-known being Scrooge). I suspect that he wouldn’t be nearly as well known if he were called Little Fred. Anyway, the fact that Tiny Tim was once Little Fred is something I will try to remember for the rest of my days, and to deploy in casual conversation at least once annually during the season.