How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Quiz

Answer: In a cave north of Who-ville

Although most colour versions of the Grinch show him as being green, the original drawings are in black and white (with some red), and no colour is mentioned in describing him. However, the fact that he is a grouch is clearly indicated in the first drawings of him, in which he has angry red eyes as he contemplates the upcoming celebration of Christmas by the Whos. We see him sulking near the opening of his cave on the second page.

Answer: He was allergic to mistletoe.

The narrator suggests that the most likely reason the Grinch hated the whole Christmas season was that his heart was two sizes too small, although some believed the other reasons were also possible. Whatever the reason, he was putting a lot of energy into hating the Whos because they were enjoying their Christmas preparations, and looking forward to the next day's festivities.

Answer: The whole town standing hand-in-hand and singing

Possibly the Grinch suffered from phonophobia, which is an abnormal fear of noise, as the story really emphasizes how much he hates the noises he associates with Christmas. Then again, maybe the singing bothers him so much because it increases his sense of being different from the Whos, and isolated from sharing the fun. One can only wonder what kind of traumatic Christmas events in his childhood left him so deeply scarred!

Answer: 53

The book was written when Theodore Geisel was 53, and it has been said (by those who knew him) that the Grinch was a reflection of himself on a bad day. At any rate, the Grinch decided that he had had enough, and it was time to keep Christmas from coming yet another year.

Answer: He would steal all the presents, decorations and food.

Even the Grinch wasn't mean enough to actually destroy the place - he just wanted them to stop having fun! His plan was to disguise himself as Santa, then go to town with a lot of empty bags on his sleigh. After filling up the bags and carrying them off in his sleigh, he would leave the town with no resources for Christmas celebrations.

Answer: Disguised him as a reindeer

The Grinch made himself a red hat and coat, both trimmed with white fur, so that anyone seeing him would think it was Santa making deliveries, not the Grinch making removals. To pull the sleigh, he needed a reindeer; since there were none in the vicinity, he made one for himself by tying a large horn to Max's head. Poor Max did not look impressed, but cooperated.

Answer: Cindy-Lou

The Grinch had started by removing the stockings from the mantelpiece, then collected the rest of the presents and all the food in the house, and was just starting to stuff the Christmas tree up the chimney when he was interrupted by "Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two", and who was in search of a drink.

When she asked him why he was taking the tree, he came up with a bald-faced lie - that he was taking it off to repair one of the lights, and would then return it. After she was safely back in bed, he proceeded to remove the tree, then, as a finishing touch, the log from the fire.

Answer: The sound of Who singing

As he was poised to topple the laden sleigh from the peak of Mt Crumpit, he paused to listen for the moans and groans he expected to hear when the citizens discovered their Christmas goodies had gone. It was quite a shock to hear them singing, even though he thought he had stolen Christmas!

Answer: His heart grew three sizes.

"He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!" After three hours of baffled puzzling, the realisation dawned that maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. The residents of Who-ville explain what happened as a result of this insight as an increase in the size of his heart. Since it started two sizes too small, an increase of three sizes would have given him a generous heart, indeed.

Answer: He carved the roast beast.

"He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light. And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he ... HE HIMSELF ...! The Grinch carved the roast beast." Quite a turn-around, but not all the way to participating in the hated singing.

The ending glosses over the difficulty of returning all the stolen items - presumably the townspeople expected some sort of explanation!