Name _______________________________________

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

At the far end of town

And sometimes he speaks

Where the Grickle-grass grows

lifted away.

And tells how the Lorax was

And the wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows

Hell tell you perhaps

And no birds ever sing excepting old crows

If you are willing to pay.

Is the Street of the Lifted Lorax

And deep in the Grickle-grass, some people say,

On the end of a rope

If you look deep enough you can still see, today,

He lets down a tine pail

Where the Lorax once stood

cents

And you have to toss in fifteen

Just as long as it could

and a nail

Before somebody lifted the Lorax away.

great-great-

And the shell of a greatGrandfather snail.

What was the Lorax?

And why was it there?

Then he pulls up the pail,

And why was it lifted and taken somewhere

Makes a most careful count

From the far end of town where the Grickle-grass grows?

To see if youve paid him

The old Once-ler still lives here.

The proper amount.

Ask him. He knows.

Then he hides what youve paid him
You wont see the Once-ler.

Away in his Snuvv,

Dont knock at his door.

His secret strange hole

He stays in his Lerkim on top of the store.

In his gruvvulous glove.

He lurks in his Lerkims, cold under the roof,

Where he makes his own clothes
by the Whisper-

Then he grunts, I will call you

Made of miff-muffered moff.

Ma-phone,

And on special dark midnights in August,

your ears

for the secrets I tell you are for

He peaks

alone.

Out of the shutters

SLUPP!

But those trees! Those trees!

Down slupps the Whisper-ma-phone to your ear

Those Truffula Trees!

And the old Once-lers whispers are not very clear,

All my life Id been searching

Since they have to come down

For tress such as these.

Through the snergelly hose,

The touch of their tufts

And he sounds

Was much softer than silk.

As if he had

and they had the sweet smell

Smallish bees up his nose

of fresh butterfly milk.

Now Ill tell you, he said with his teeth sounding gray,
How the Lorax got lifted and taken away

I felt a great leaping

Of joy in my heart.

It all started way back

I knew just what Id do!

Such a long, long time back

I unloaded my cart.

Way back in the days when the grass was still green
built a small shop.

In no time at all, I had

And the pond was still wet

Tree with one

Then I chopped down a Truffula

And the clouds were still clean,

chop.

And the song of the Swomee-Swans rang out in space

skill and with great
One morning, I came to this glorious place.
And I first saw the trees!
Thneed!

And with great skillful

speedy speed,
I took the soft tuft. And I knitted a

The bright-colored tufts of the Truffula Trees!

Mile after mile in the fresh morning breeze.
a go-Zump!

The instant Id finished, I heard

I looked.

And under the trees, I saw Brown Bar-ba-loots

of the stump

I saw something pop out

Frisking about in their Bar-ba-loot suits

down. It was sort of

Of the tree Id chopped

As they played in the shade and ate Truffula Fruits.

a man.

Describe him?...Thats hard. I dont

know if
From the rippulous pond

I can.

Came the comforting sound

Of the Humming-Fish humming

He was shortish. And oldish.

While splashing around

And brownish. And mossy.

And he spoke with a voice

I repeat, cried the Lorax,

That was sharpish and bossy.

I speak for the trees!

Mister! he said with a sawdusty sneeze,

Im busy, I told him.

I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.

Shut up, if you please.

I speak for the trees, for the tress have no tongues.

And Im asking you, sir, at the top of my lungsand in no time at all,

I rushed cross the room,

He was very upset as he shouted and puffed

in a quick call.

Built a radio-phone. I put

Whats that THING youve made out of my Tuffula tuft?

uncles and aunts

I called all my brothers and

And said, Listen here! Heres a

wonderful
Look, Lorax, I said. Theres no cause for alarm.

chance

I chopped just one tree. I am doing no harm.

get mighty

For the whole Once-ler Family to

Im being quite useful. This thing is a Thneed.

rich!

A Thneeds a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need~
the road to North Nitch

Get over here fast! Take

Its a shirt. Its a sock. Its a glove. Its a hat.

right at South

Turn left at Weehawden. Sharp

But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that.

stitch!

You can use it for carpets. For pillows! For sheets!

Or curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!

And, in no time at all,

In the factory I built,

The Lorax said,

The whole Once-ler Family

Sir! You are crazy with greed.

Was working full tilt.

There is no one on earth

We were all knitting Thneeds

Who would buy that fool Thneed!

Just busy as bees,

To the sound of the chopping

But the very next minute I proved he was wrong,

of Truffula Trees

For, just at that minute, a chap came along,

And he thought that the Thneed I had knitted was great.

Then

He happily bought it for three ninety-eight.

Oh! Baby! Oh!

I laughed at the Lorax, You poor, stupid guy!

grow!

How my business did

You never can tell what some people will buy.

Now chopping one tree

At a time
Was too slow.

BUT
Business is business!
And business must grow

So I quickly invented my Super-Axe-Hacker

tummies, you know.

Regardless of crummies in

Which whacked off four Truffula Trees at one smacker.

We were making Thneeds
Four times as fast as before!
bigger I got.
And that Lorax?...
roads.
He didnt show up any more.
biggered my loads

I meant no harm. I most truly did not.

But I had to grow bigger. So
I biggered my factory. I biggered my
I biggered my wagons. I
Of the Thneeds I shipped out. I was

shipping
But the next week

them forth

He knocked

To the South! To the East! To the West!

On my new office door.

To the North!
I went right on biggeringselling more

Thneeds.
He snapped, Im the Lorax who speaks for the trees
money, which everyone

And I biggered my

Which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please.

needs.

But Im also in charge of the Brown Bar-ba-loots

Who played in the shade in their Bar-ba-loot suits

fixing

Then again he came back! I was

And happily lived, eating Truffula Fruits.

some pipes
When that old-nuisance Lorax came

back
NOWthanks to your hacking my trees to the ground,

with more gripes.

Theres not enough Truffula Fruit to go round.

coughed and he whiffed.

I am the Lorax, he

And my poor Bar-ba-loots are getting the crummies

snarggled.

He sneezed and he snuffled. He

Because they have gas, and no food in their tummies!

He sniffed.
Once-ler! he cried with a cruffulous

croak.
They loved living here. But I cant let them stay.
smogulous

Once-ler! Youre making such

Theyll have to find food. And I hope that they may.

smoke!

Good luck, boys, he cried. And he sent them away.

they cant sing

My poor Swomee-Swanswhy
a note!

I, the Once-ler, felt sad

in his throat.

No one can sing who has smog

As I watched them all go.

And so, said the Lorax,

And Biggering

And Biggering

-Please pardon my cough-

And

They cannot live here.

Biggering.
So I am sending them off.
Thneeds

Turing MORE Truffula Trees into

Which everyone, EVERYONE,

EVERYONE
Where will they go?...

needs!

I dont hopefully know

They may have to fly for a monthor a year
we heard a loud

And at that very moment,

To escape from the smog youve smogged-up around here.

Whack!

From outside in the fields came a

sickening

Whats more, snapped the Lorax. (His dander was up.)

smack

Let me say a few words about Gluppity-Glupp.

we heard the tree fall

Of an axe on a tree. Then

Your machinery chuggs on, day and night without stop

Tree of them all!

The very last Truffula

Making Gluppity-Glupp. Also Schloppity-Schopp.

And what do you do with this leftover goo?...
Thneeds. No more

No more trees. No more

Ill show you. You dirty old Once-ler man, you!

work to be done.
So, in no time, my uncles and aunts,

every one,
Youre glumping the pond where the Humming-Fish hummed!
jumped into my cars

All waved good-bye. They

No more can they hum, for their gills are all gummed.
the smoke-smuggered

And drove away under

So Im sending them off. Oh, their future is dreary.

stars.

Theyll walk on their fins and get woefully weary

In search of some water that isnt so smeary.
neath the bad smelling

Now all that was left

sky

And then I got mad.

I got terribly mad.
I yelled at the Lorax, Now listen here, Dad!

Was my big empty factory

The Lorax
And I.

All you do is yap-yap and say, Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!

Well, I have my rights, sir, and Im telling you
gave me a glance

The Lorax said nothing. Just

I intend to go on doing just what I do!

backward glance

Just gave me a very sad, sad

And, for your information, you Lorax, I figgering

the seat of his pants.

AS he lifted himself by

And Ill never forget the look on his face

what everyone needs.

And Truffula Trees are

When he heisted himself and took leave of this place,

it with care.

Plant a new Truffula. Treat

Through a hole in the smog, without leaving a trace.

fresh air.

Give it water. And feed it

Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that

hack.

And all that the Lorax left here in this mess

Then the Lorax

Was a small pile of rocks, with one word

And all of his friends

UNLESS.
Whatever that meant, well, I just couldnt guess.

That was long, long ago.

But each day since that day
Ive sat here and worried
And worried away.
Through the years, while my buildings
Have fallen apart,
Ive worried about it
With all my heart.
But now, says the Once-ler,
Now that youre here,
The word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear.
Unless someone like you
Cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better.
Its not.

SO
Catch! calls the Once-ler.
He lets something fall.
Its a Truffula Seed.
Its the last one of all!
Youre in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.

May come back.