Ugh! He’s big, fat, green and ugly. He’s got yellow eyes and hairy fingers, but what will creep you out most of all is his sinister scowl. Yes, the Grinch who lived on Mount Crumpit just north of Who-ville was not the pleasant sort. You see, he HATED Christmas. That’s absurd, you might say, nobody can hate Christmas. After all, isn’t it the season of joy and cheer, plum cakes and fir trees, presents and hugs? Well, you can be sure, the Grinch learnt all this and something more!
Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a legend to say the least. You’ve all roared with laughter while watching the movie The Grinch. Of course, Jim Carrey is hilarious and watching him prance around in the hairy green suit on ice-cold Mount Crumpit is a treat. But nothing can beat Dr Seuss, or Theodore Seuss Geisel, and his characteristic rhythmic verse. You can’t call the book a long, long poem, or a poetic novel — that’s what is so wonderful about the book, it stands out from the rest, just like the Grinch does.
The Grinch hated everything about Christmas, the mistletoe, the fir trees, the presents, the stockings, the children shouting happily, the Christmas feast, the roast beast and most of all, the singing! You see, the Whos were a happy lot. Of course, they were miniscule — measuring about 10000 microns — and lived on snowflakes. They loved the holidays and were always kind and polite to each other. But the Grinch was quite the opposite and nobody quite knows why. In Dr Seuss’ own words, perhaps it was because “his heart was two sizes too small”. A big heart is required to see the joy in Christmas.
The Grinch hatches a plan to stop Christmas from coming. He dresses like ‘Santy Claus’ and, along with his faithful pet dog Max dressed as a reindeer, he sneaks down to Who-ville and steals everybody’s presents. Dr Seuss describes the wonderful and comic ways in which he grabs the presents, stuffs them into bags, loads them onto his sled and drives it up all the way to the top of Mount Crumpit.
Now what do you think happens next? What would you do when you find out that the Grinch has stolen all your Christmas presents? Wouldn’t that ruin your Christmas?
But maybe, Christmas isn’t all about presents. So what if you don’t have any gifts, you have the whole day to spend with the ones you love, laughing, eating, singing, having a good time and thanking your God for giving you wonderful things in life. Do you think the Grinch learnt that?
Colouring fun!
This Christmas, why not have a Who-ville fancy dress party. You can go dressed as the Grinch, a good one nonetheless!! Here’s how to do it:
Colour in this picture of the Grinch. Cut it out. Remember to cut out the eyes too. Cut a large rubberband at one end to make it into a long elasticky string. Now tie each end of your rubberband string to the holes on either side of the Grinch’s face. Put it on, and remember to wear green clothes and stuff your shirt with a pillow for the Grinch’s huge tummy!
You can also decorate you Christmas tree with the Whos Who of Who-ville. You can follow the same instructions as given for the Grinch mask, but instead of tying both ends of the rubberband string to the mask, tie one end to the hole on top and the other to a branch of your tree! Now your Who will even bob along when the wind comes by!
Merry Christmas!
