“Pooh-pooh to the Whos!” he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
“They’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
“They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!
“Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
“Then all the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO!”
“That’s a noise,” grinned the Grinch,
“That I simply must hear!”
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow…
But the sound wasn’t sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!
…
Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same! *
Then confusion filled the old Grinch’s head
This was something he simply could not comprehend
“No ribbons, no lights, no presents,” he thought.
“No candy, no toys for those little Who tots.”
“So why are they happy? Why do they sing?
What did I miss? I took EVERYTHING!”
Then the Grinch kept on puzzling and puzzling some more
He’d learned that Christmas didn’t come from a store
But he knew there was more, so much more, more, more, MORE!
Then the Grinch jumped up and shouted, “I’VE GOT IT”
“I sat here all morning, but I think that I’ve thought it!
As I sat here it hit me; I know what I’ve missed
The meaning of Christmas—I’ve gotten the gist!”
“Christmas is about family and friends
It’s not about how much money one spends
It’s about singing and dancing and sharing a meal
These are the things that one cannot steal”
“Christmas may not come from the mall
Not the mall, NOT AT ALL!
It’s not about presents or eggnog to drink
But it still feels quite empty…Don’t you think?”
“Christmas may not be shallow
Not totally shallow, you see
But a day to celebrate friendship seems arbitrary,
Arbitrary to me”
With this new revelation he sat down and plotted
“Next year Christmas won’t come! Now I’ll know how to stop it.
If it’s good times they want, then I’ll give them bad!
I’ll make sure there are plenty of fights to be had!”
“If Christmas is not grounded in history or fact
Then I’ll break up the good feelings. It’s as simple as that!
I may have been wrong, but I will not be thwarted!”
Then he looked at poor Max, “Till next year!” he snorted
With that he jumped in his sleigh
The Grinch cracked the whip and Max pulled away
And what happened then?
Well in Who-ville they say
The Grinch learned the true meaning of Christmas that day
And the cynic will of course want to know
If that was truly the case, did his heart start to grow?
For the Grinch’s heart was said to be two sizes too small
Well…nothing happened
Nothing happened at all.
[author] [author_info]*Copyright Dr. Seuss. Used without permission.[/author_info] [/author]
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