Chapter 14:
"Only four hours till Christmas!" an announcer calls out when the large time countdown machine strikes four hours.
"Yes, the Grinch knew tomorrow all the Who girls and boys would wake bright and early and rush for their toys."
"And then, oh the noise!" the Grinch stomps around before echoing the "oh the noise, noise, noise!"
"They'll bang on tong-tinglers," the Lady in Black glares down to the town. "They'll blow their floo-flounders. They'll crash on jang-jinglers and bounce on boeing-bounders."
"Then Whos young and old would sit down to a feast, and they'll feast, and they'll feast."
"And they'll feast feast feast feast!" The Grinch jumps up and down angrily. "They'll eat their Who-pudding." He kicks the snow, "rare Who roast beast! And that's something I just cannot stand in the least." Then the Grinch realizes it. "Oh, no. I'm speaking in rhyme!" he's disgusted.
Mercy Grace watches her father, concerned as he falls on a small ledge on his knees. "Blast you Whos!" he screamed with arms out before miserably falling frontal.
"And the more the Grinch thought of what Christmas would bring, the more the Grinch thought."
"I must stop this whole thing," her father raises his upper body.
"What?" asked his daughter, a bit confused.
"Why for year after year," he stands back on his feet, "I've put up with it now. I must stop this Christmas from coming."
"But how?" Mercy Grace asked, following him to the entrance of the cave. He glares at her for rhyming. "I mean in what way?" she corrects herself.
He smiles at her in approval.
Music of Max's favorite Christmas carol plays, greeting them as they enter. Already frustrated at the music, the Grinch mocks as if he's a dog towards Max. "Are you having a holly, jolly Christmas? Wrong-o!" the Grinch throws Max's decorated doghouse out the door along with Max!
"Father!" Mercy Grace screams at her father angrily, running out for the family dog.
The Grinch rolls his eyes, annoyed, before following his daughter.
They see their beloved dog is in the outline of Max next to the doghouse.
"Max!" she calls out worriedly.
He uses a tree to land on the snow so he can pick up Max. "If you're not going to help me, then you might as well...." he looks at his snow-covered face.
"Then he got an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea."
A huge grin curls up on the Grinch's face. "I know just what to do. Daughter!"
The next thing she knew, Mercy Grace cuts red fabric for her Daddy's latest mischief.
"The Grinch laughed in his throat, and Mercy Grace made a quick Santy Claus hat and coat."
She sews a costume together before getting some green fabric for hers. The green outfit is an elf costume in a dress. It's made of green velvet fabric that goes down to her knees and strapless into a sweetheart neckline. A matching hat sits on her head while some black material is along the neckline and around her waist. Lastly, her legs have black tights and her everyday shoes.
"And he chuckled and clucked at this great Grinchy trick."
The Grinch loves the finishing results of the costumes. "With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like St. Nick," he grins, really enjoying his costume.
"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch," Mercy Grace sings with a smirk. "You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus." The Grinch enters the dump for some supplies. "And as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch." He found an old banana peel and ate it. "With a greasy black peel. Just face the music, you're a monster, Mr. Grinch," she smirks, helping him with making a Santa Claus sled. "Yes, you are."
"Your heart's an empty hole!" The Grinch joins in singing with a blowtorch on.
"Your brain is full of spiders. You got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch," she sings, grabbing a screw from the fire by the pilers and placing it in his open mouth. He has it in for a few moments before smiling, cooling it down with steam coming out of his ears and nose. "I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole."
Max brings over to the Grinch a wrench. He takes it and looks at Max with a glare through his goggles. "I asked for three quarters, not five-eighths. Stay focused!" he takes it back and looks for the right one.
"You know, if you asked the whos of Whoville," The Lady in Black sings as he tests the engine. The Grinch gives his daughter a thumbs up to press the button. She processed concern for his safety. "No one would deny it," she trails out the last word into a scream when he goes towards the wall at a rapid speed.
He somehow manages to get out of the impact. "Airbag is a little slow," he says through the pain. They opened at the moment. "But that's what these tests are for!" he explains, without sounding like he's in pain.
"You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch," she sings more while holding her beating heart. "You have termites in your smile." He looks at himself in the side mirror to show his teeth filled with termites. "You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Grinch," Mercy Grace makes a license plate with the "MEAN 1" on it where she places it on the sley.
"Given the choice between you," The Grinch sings on the swing from above the sled. "I'd take the seasick crocodile!" he trails the last word as he spins around, but he starts to get sick when it's going faster and faster.
YOU ARE READING
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
FantasyDid you know that the Grinch has a daughter? And she's in love with someone she shouldn't be with? Follow Mercy Grace in her side of the journey of helping her father steal the only holiday he really hates the most.
