 Every who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not. The Grinch hated Christmas. The whole Christmas season. Now please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be perhaps that his shoes were too tight. It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was too sizes, too small. But whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes, he stood there on Christmas Eve hating the Who's, staring down from his cave with a sour grinchy frown at the warm-lighted windows below in their town. For he knew all the Who's and Who'sville beneath was busy now, hanging their mistletoe wreath. And they're hanging their stockings, he snarled with a sneer. Tomorrow's Christmas is practically here. Then he growled, his Grinch fingers nervously drumming. I must find a way to stop Christmas from coming. For tomorrow he knew. All the Who Girls and Boys would wake bright and early. They'd rush for their toys. And then, oh, the noise, oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise. That's one thing he hated. The noise, noise, noise, noise. Then the Who's young and old would sit down to a feast. And they'd feast, and they'd feast, and they'd feast, feast, feast, feast. They would feast on Who pudding and rare Who roast feast, which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least. And then they'd do something he liked least of all. Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, would stand close together with Christmas bells ringing. They'd stand hand in hand and the Who's would start singing. They'd sing, and they'd sing, and they'd sing, sing, sing, sing. And the more the Grinch thought of this Who Christmas sing, the more the Grinch thought, I must stop this whole thing. Why, for 53 years I put up with it now. I must stop this Christmas from coming. But how? 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 santiclaw's hat and a coat. And he chuckled and clucked. What a great, grinchy trick. With this coat and the hat, I look just like St. 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 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, giddy up. And the sleigh started down towards the homes where the hooves lay a snooze in their town. All their windows were dark, quiet snow filled the air. All the hooves were all dreaming sweet dreams without care. When he came to the first little house on the square, this is the 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, so could the Grinch. He got stuck only once for a moment or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flu, where the little hooves stockings all hung in a row. The stockings he grinned of 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. Then he stuffed them in bags, and then the Grinch very nimbly stuffed all the bags one by one up the chimney. They need slunk to the icebox, he took the hooves feast, he took the hooves pudding, he took the roast feast. He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash, why that Grinch even took their last can of hooves cash. 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 hoove, little Cindy Lou hoove, who was not more than two. The Grinch had been caught by this tiny hoove daughter who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, 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 sandy claws 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 big fooled the child, he patted her head, he got her a drink, and he sent her to bed. And when Cindy Lou hoove went to bed with her cup, he went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up. The last thing he took was the log for their fire. Then he went up the chimney, himself the old liar, on the 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 hooves' houses, leaving crumbs much too small for the other hooves' mouses. It was quarter past dawn, all the hooves still a bed, all the hooves still a snooze when he packed up his sled. Packed it up with their presents, the ribbons, the wrappings, the tags, the tinsel, the trimmings, the trappings. Three thousand feet up, up the side of Mount Crumpet, he rode with his loge to the tip top to dump it. Pooh-pooh to the hooves, he was grinchously 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 the hooves down in Whoville will all cry. That's a noise, grin the grinch, that I simply must hear. So he paused and the grinch put his hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low and then it started to grow. But this sound wasn't sad. Why this sound sounded merry. It couldn't be so, but it was merry. Very. He stared down at Whoville. The grinch popped his eyes and then he shook. What he saw was a shocking surprise. Every hoo down in Whoville that's tall and this 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. And the grinch with his grinch feet ice cold in the snow stood puzzling and puzzling. How could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled three hours till his puzzler was sore. Then the grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas he thought doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. And what happened then? Well in Whoville they say that the grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight he whizzed with his load through the bright morning light. And he brought back the toys and the food for the feast. He, he himself, carved the roast beast. Merry Christmas!