Horton

Yesterday, Cathy bought me a gift at Kohl's. No, not a shirt, not a pair of pants. No, not a watch, not a pair of shoes.

No, Cathy bought me a light blue stuffed elephant.

Scarier still, I loved it.

You see, the light blue stuffed elephant is a plush version of Horton the elephant, from the Dr. Seuss book "Horton Hears a Who". And I, I am a Dr. Seuss fan, and not ashamed to admit it.

Who wouldn't like Dr. Seuss' books? You remember them, with their quirky illustrations, bizarre characters, and sing-songy rhymes. You can probably recite some classic Seuss lines, like "I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, ____ ___ ____. That's right, "Sam I am." You're a Dr. Seuss fan too, whether or not you want to admit it!

As a kid, I loved listening to Seuss' fanciful stories, whether they were in book form or as animated series made for television. Here are some of his stories I remember:

• The Lorax
• Horton Hears a Who
• How the Grinch Saved Christmas
• The Sneetches
• Green Eggs and Ham
• The Cat in the Hat
• One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
• Hop On Pop
• The Zax
  

As I got older, I realized that many of Dr. Seuss's stories were deeper than just cute children's stories. They were commentaries which spoke to some of the shortcomings of our society, or of our human nature.

Remember the Sneetches? Some had stars on their bellies, some did not. A man comes to town with a machine that can apply stars to non-star Sneetches, or remove stars from starry Sneetches. Jealousy leads to chaos, and we are left with an effective lesson on discrimination.

How about the Zax? In this story, a South-going Zax meets head-on with a North-going Zax, and neither is willing to budge. They remain unmoved for so long that a highway overpass is built over them. The lesson? Stubbornness, perhaps.

Another of my favorites was The Lorax. In this story, a creature called the Once-ler comes upon a beautiful forest of Truffala trees, and realizes he can use the trees to make "Thneeds", a garment he says "everyone needs." After cutting down the first tree to make a Thneed, out pops the Lorax, a creature who pleads with the Once-ler to stop before the forest is ruined, and all its creatures have nowhere to live. Of course, the Once-ler ignores his pleading, destroys the forest, and pollutes the region with his many factories. Written in 1971, it is an early commentary on saving the environment.

My favorite of all Dr. Seuss' stories, though, is Horton Hears a Who. More so than the story, I remember the animated TV version, which came out when I was 3 years old. Here's the Wikipedia description of the plot:

The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant who, on the fifteenth of May in the Jungle of Nool, hears a small speck of dust talking to him. It turns out the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called "Who-ville", inhabited by microscopic-sized inhabitants known as Whos.

The Whos ask Horton (who, though he cannot see them, is able to hear them quite well) to protect them from harm, to which Horton happily obliges, proclaiming throughout the book that "a person's a person, no matter how small". In doing so he is ridiculed and forced into a cage by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear. His chief tormentors are Vlad Vladikoff, the Wickersham Brothers and the Sour Kangaroo, and the small kangaroo in her pouch. Horton tells the Whos that they needed to make themselves heard to the other animals, lest they end up as part of "beezlenut stew", which they finally accomplish. The Whos finally make themselves heard by ensuring that all members of their society play their part. In the end it is the smallest Who of all, Jo-Jo, who provides the last volume lift to be heard, thus reinforcing the moral of "a person's a person no matter how small".

"A person's a person no matter how small."

What a great line! The moral of this Seuss story, the fundamental value of life, is the same message we find in Psalm 139:13-15: "You did form my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb...you knew me right well; my frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret..." God creates life, and no matter how small it may be, whether it is in the womb or out, it is still a person created in the image of God.

Did Dr. Seuss realize he had created a wonderful pro-life message when he wrote this story? Probably not. And in fact, Dr. Seuss later attempted to sue some pro-life organizations who used this story's moral as their motto (sad...). Nevertheless, it is a wonderful story, with a wonderful tag line and a wonderful message.

On March 14th 2008, a full-length computer-animated movie version of "Horton Hears a Who" is set to hit the big screens. I'm going to see it for sure, and I hope it will win the hearts of its viewers with its simple, pro-life message.

I'll think of it every time I look at my light blue stuffed elephant.