Then he got an idea! An awful idea! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
"I know just what to do!" The Grinch laughed
in his throat. And he made a quick Santy
Claus hat and a coat. And he chuckled, and
clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick!" "With
this coat and this hat, I look just like Saint
Nick!"
"All I need is a reindeer..." The Grinch
looked around. But, since reindeer are
scarce, there was none to be found. Did
that stop the old Grinch...? No! The
Grinch simply said,
"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll
make one instead!" So he called
his dog, Max. Then he took
some red thread And he tied a
big horn on the top of his head.
THEN He loaded some bags
And some old empty sacks On a
ramshackle sleigh And he
hitched up old Max.
Then the Grinch said, "Giddap!"
And the sleigh started down
Toward the homes where the Whos
Lay a-snooze in their town.
All their windows were dark. Quiet snow
filled the air. All the Whos were all
dreaming sweet dreams without care
When he came to the first little house on
the square. "This is stop number one,"
the old Grinchy Claus hissed And he
climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.
Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch. But, if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch. He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row. "These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"
Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!
Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast! He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash!
Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. "And NOW!" grinned
the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!" And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who! Little
Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two.
The Grinch had been caught by this tiny Who daughter Who'd got out of
bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy
Claus, why, "Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?"
But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick! "Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied, "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side." "So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear." "I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."
And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed. And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her cup, HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!
Then the last thing he took Was the log for their fire! Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old liar. On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire.
And the one speck of food That he left in the house Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.
Then He did the same thing To the other Whos' houses
Leaving crumbs Much too small For the other Whos' mouses! It was quarter
past dawn... All the Whos, still a-bed, All the Whos, still a-snooze When he
packed up his sled, Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The
wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!
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