Once upon a time, in a dense and magical forest 🌳, there lived a clever little mouse 🐭 named Max. Max was small, but he was very smart. One sunny day, Max decided to go for a walk in the woods. As he scurried along the forest path, he met a hungry fox 🦊.
“Hello, little mouse,” said the fox with a sly grin. “Where are you going?”
Max could see the fox was planning to eat him. He thought quickly and replied,
“I’m going to have lunch with the Gruffalo.”
The fox looked confused and asked,
“What’s a Gruffalo?”
Max smiled and said,
“A Gruffalo? Why, didn’t you know? He’s a huge creature with terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.”
The fox, now scared, backed away slowly and said,
“Goodbye, little mouse,” and ran away into the woods.
Max continued his walk, feeling proud of his cleverness. Soon, he met an owl 🦉 who was perched on a tree branch.
“Hello, little mouse,” hooted the owl. “Where are you going?”
Max saw the hungry look in the owl’s eyes and replied quickly,
“I’m going to have tea with the Gruffalo.”
The owl looked puzzled and asked,
“What’s a Gruffalo?”
Max grinned and said,
“A Gruffalo? Why, didn’t you know? He has knobbly knees, and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose.”
The owl, now frightened, flew away into the forest.
Feeling even more confident, Max continued on his journey. Soon, he met a snake 🐍 slithering through the grass.
“Hello, little mouse,” hissed the snake. “Where are you going?”
Max knew the snake wanted to eat him, so he replied,
“I’m going to have dinner with the Gruffalo.”
The snake looked curious and asked,
“What’s a Gruffalo?”
Max smiled and said,
“A Gruffalo? Why, didn’t you know? His eyes are orange, his tongue is black, and he has purple prickles all over his back.”
The snake, now scared, slithered away quickly.
Max felt very pleased with himself for outsmarting all the predators. But then, to his surprise, he came face to face with a real Gruffalo 🐲! The Gruffalo looked exactly like Max had described.
“Who are you?” growled the Gruffalo.
Max was scared but kept his wits about him. He replied,
“I’m Max, the cleverest mouse in the forest. And everyone is afraid of me!”
The Gruffalo laughed and said,
“Afraid of you? That’s funny!”
Max had an idea. He said,
“Walk behind me and you’ll see. Everyone is terrified of me.”
The Gruffalo was curious and agreed to follow Max. They walked through the forest together. When the fox saw Max and the Gruffalo, he ran away in fear. The owl saw them and flew off quickly. The snake saw them and slithered away as fast as he could.
The Gruffalo was amazed.
“It’s true! Everyone is afraid of you!” he said.
Max smiled and said,
“Of course they are. Now, it’s time for you to go.”
The Gruffalo, still bewildered, nodded and walked back into the deep, dark woods.
Max, feeling very proud of himself, continued his walk through the forest, knowing he was the cleverest mouse of all.
And so, Max the mouse lived happily ever after, always outsmarting the bigger animals with his cleverness.
Moral Lesson
Being smart and thinking quickly can help you stay safe, no matter how small you are.
Follow Up Questions:
- Why did Max tell the fox, owl, and snake about the Gruffalo?
- How did Max prove to the Gruffalo that everyone was afraid of him?
- What lesson can we learn from Max’s cleverness?
