THE GRINCH – HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS - #BLOGCHATTERA2ZCHALLENGE2022

                                                                  Amazon.in

‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ is a book by ‘Dr. Seuss’ – Theodor Geisel and dearly loved by children of all age groups. It is a Christmas story written in rhymed verse. The illustrations within are a delight, as is the case with all the works of Dr Seuss. It was published by Random House in 1957, soon after the author had finished writing ‘The Cat in the Hat’. By the year 2005, the book had been translated into nine languages, proving its popularity.

The Grinch was a strange grumpy creature who lived in Whoville. His dwelling was a cave on Mount Crumpit and he hated the laughter and the happiness that surround Christmas, probably because his heart was “two sizes too small”. In a nutshell, the Grinch hated Christmas because:

“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 two sizes too small.”

As he watched the folks in Who town decorating their houses for the festive season, he wondered how he could stop Christmas from coming, a celebration that he had been enduring over the past fifty-three years.

Suddenly, he had a brainwave. He would dress up like Santa Claus with a red coat and a hat. What about finding a reindeer?

“Did that stop the Grinch? Hah! The Grinch simply said,

If I can’t find a reindeer, I’ll make one, instead!

So, he took his dog Max, and he took some black thread.

And he tied a big horn on top of his head.”

Next, he made his way and slid down the chimneys of all the houses in the village Who, where the little children were asleep, dreaming of their Christmas gifts. He removed all the little stockings hanging in rows, and stole every gift that he could find, stuffing them in a large bag.

“Pop guns, pampoogas, pantookas, and drums!

Checkerboards, bizilbigs, popcorn, and plums!”

He left nothing – not the puddings and roasts. He even took the Christmas tree, as a little voice stopped him, a little two-year-old named Cindy-Lou Who. He lied, saying that he was taking the tree for some repair.

He did the same in every house, leaving behind only crumbs, the mean old Grinch!

The next morning, he waited for the furore when people discovered the theft of their gifts. However, it was a very different sound that he heard; the sound of singing even without any gifts. He puzzled over the singing and then it struck him like a flash.

“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”

                                                             QuotesGram

A miracle took place, and in a trice, the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes as he understood the true meaning of Christmas. He gave back all the gifts, wished everyone and even carved the roast.

Dr Seuss was also 53 when he wrote the book, just the same age as the Grinch. His wife’s ill health made him grumpy, and the commercialisation of Christmas made him even more so. Maybe that was the inspiration behind the story. Many readers also remarked on the similarity between the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge from ‘A Christmas Carol’.

The book has been adapted myriad times over the decades. In 1966, it was brought out as an animated television series with Boris Karloff doing the voice over for the Grinch.  In 2000, the inimitable Jim Carey brought the Grinch alive in the film directed by Ron Howard.

The word ‘grinch’ has entered the English lexicon and is a synonym for a ‘spoilsport’ or a ‘killjoy’.

 

                                                     Jim Carey as the Grinch 

Daily Express

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