“Uh, you’re green,” said the child.

“So?”

“What are you?”

“I’m a grinch, what are you?”

“I’m a girl, so is she,” she said, pointing to her friend.

“You’re pink.”

“So?”

“Your friend is brown.”

“So?” said her friend.

“I guess everyone has a color,” said the grinch, frowning.

“Seems like it,” said the girls. “What would we all look like without any color? Would you be able to see through us?”

“I doubt it,” said the girnch. “I mean, I can’t be certain, but I don’t think so.”

“Are you here to steal Christmas?”

“Why would I do that?”

The girls shrugged.

“Do you think because I’m green, I’m a bad person? Kermit’s green too, you know.”

“We love Kermie.”

“What about me?”

“You have a bad rep,” said the girls.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Everyone thinks you’re mean, there’s even a song about it.”

“But, those are just labels put onto me by others.”

“Are you saying that you’re not mean?”

“Not all the time.”

“I guess that makes sense,” said one of the girls. “No one is anything all of the time.”

“So, you’re not going to steal Christmas?”

“How would I steal Christmas? What does it look like and where would I put it?”

“He has a point,” said the girl. “We really don’t know what it looks like.”

“Are you getting any presents, Mr. Grinch?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, sadly. “I never get any presents.”

“Well, if you’re not busy, you can come to our house on Christmas day and I bet there will be a present waiting for you.”

The grinch swallowed hard and looked away. “Why would you do that for me?”

“What?” asked the girl.

“Why would you be kind to me?”

“Why wouldn’t we be? I don’t understand what you mean?”

“Thank you,” said the grinch.

“For what?” asked the girls.

“Because of you, I now know what Christmas looks like.”

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I’m an artist, a writer, a vegetarian, an animal rights activist, and quite a few other things as well. I love books, cats, philosophy, good conversation, Chicago and the arts. So my blog is full of bits and pieces but it’s the bits and pieces that make life interesting to me. You can read more of my writing at Rethinking Life