The Grafflos Child

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«a Dchnlcison \v\ Schtffl

THE
6RU FFALO’S
CHILD
Julia Donaldson
illustrated by Axe 1 Scbeffler
Macmillan Child ren's Boohs

The Gruffalo said that no gruffalo should
Ever set foot in the deep dark wood.

“Why not? Why not?” “Because if you do
The Big Bad Mouse wi llbe after you.
I met him oncer ” said the Gruffalo.

“I met him a long long time ago. ”
“What does he look like? Tell us, Dad.

Is he terribly hig and terribly bad?”
Y can \t quite remember; ""tile Gr uffalo said.
Tken ke tkoudkt for a minute and scratcked kis kead.

“The Big Bad Mouse is terribly strong
And his scaly tail is terribly long.
His eyes are like pools of terrible fire
And his terrible whiskers are tougher than wire. ”

snowy ni the Gruffalo snored
was
WHS
Tke Gruffalos Ckild was feeling krave
So ske tiptoed out of tke gruffal o cave.
Tke snow fell fast an d tke wind klew wild.
Into tke wood went tke Gruffalo’s Ckild.

• ,|§ H i
»
mmmz
'
t
Ak a! ok o ! A trail in the snow!
Whose is this trail and where does it go?
A tail poked out of a logpile house.
Could this he the tail of the Big Bad Mouse?

Out slid the creature. His eyes were small
And he didn't have

ave w hi si
wmsieers — no, none at all.
* You're not the Mouse." “Not I," said the snake

v
“Hes down by the lake - eating gruffalo cake.
Tk e snow fell fast an d the wind hlew wild.
Tm not scared/ said the Gru ffalo's Child

Aka! Ok o! Marks in tke snow!
Wkose are tkese claw marks ? wh ere do tkey go?
Two eyes gleamed out of a treetop kouse.
Could tkese ke tke eyes of tke Big Bad Mouse?

} S: fl| . y~ \S\fs£jj&y |^£'?1
Down flew the creature. His tail was short
And he didn't have whiskers of any sort.
“You're not the Mouse." “Toowh oo, not Ir
But lies somewhere nearby, eating gruffa/o pit

Tk e snow fell fast and the wind hlew wild.
Tm not scared/ said the Gru ffalo’s Child

Aka! Ok o! A track in tke snow!
Wkose is tkis track and wkere does it do?
Ld
Wkiskers at last! And an unaergroun dk ousel
Could tkis ke tke k ome o f tke Bid Bad Mouse?

Out slunk tke creature. His eyes weren't fiery.
His tail wasn't scaly. His wkiskers weren't wiry.
“You're not tke Mouse." “Oh nor not me.

v
He s under a tree — drinking gruffalo tea.
♦
“It's all a trick! ” said tke Gruffalos Ckild
As ske sat on a stump where the snow lay piled.
“I d ont believe in tke Big Bad Mouse . . .

.' 1% a
; 4k
?' ‘ ft*
~ . F r
a J
“But here comes a lit one, out of his h
Not hig, not had, hut nouse at least —
You’ll taste good as a dnight feast.77

“Wait!” said tke mouse. “Before you eat,
There s a friend of mine that you ought to meet.
Ifyou 11 lei me hop onto a hazel twig
ill hechon my friend so had an d hig. ”

The Gr uffalo’s Child unclenched her fist.
"The Big B ad Mouse — so he does exist!”
The mouse hopped into the hazel tree.

v
He beckoned, then said, aJust wait and see.
Out came the moon. It was bright and round.
A terrible shadow fell onto the ground.

Who is this creature so hig, hah and strong?
His tail and his whiskers are terribly long.
His ears are enormous, and over his shoulder
He carries a nut as big as a houlder!

*The Big Bad Mouse!77 yelled the Gruffalos Child.
Th e mouse jumped,
d down from
irom the twid and smiled.
Aka! Ok o! Prints in tke snow.
Wkose are tkese footprints? Wkere do tkey go?

The footprints led to the gruffal o cave
wk ere the G ru ffalo's Child was a hit less hrave
alo snore
For Franzeska — J.D.
For Freya and Cora — A.S.
First published in 2004 by Macmill an Children’s Boohs

A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 1 405 02045 8
Text copyright © Julia Donaldson 2004
Illustrations copyright © Axel Scheffler 2004
The right of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler to be identified as the

Author and Illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All ri ghts reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) wi thout the prior written permission of the publisher.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
135798642
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed in Belgium by Proost.

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rr

«a Dchnlcison \v\ Schtffl

illustrated by Axe 1 Scbeffler

Macmillan Child ren's Boohs

Ever set foot in the deep dark wood.

I met him oncer ” said the Gruffalo.

“What does he look like? Tell us, Dad.

Tken ke tkoudkt for a minute and scratcked kis kead.

And his scaly tail is terribly long.

His eyes are like pools of terrible fire

And his terrible whiskers are tougher than wire. ”

Tke Gruffalos Ckild was feeling krave

So ske tiptoed out of tke gruffal o cave.

Tke snow fell fast an d tke wind klew wild.

Into tke wood went tke Gruffalo’s Ckild.

Ak a! ok o ! A trail in the snow!

Whose is this trail and where does it go?

A tail poked out of a logpile house.

Could this he the tail of the Big Bad Mouse?

And he didn't have

* You're not the Mouse." “Not I," said the snake

Tm not scared/ said the Gru ffalo's Child

Wkose are tkese claw marks ? wh ere do tkey go?

Two eyes gleamed out of a treetop kouse.

Could tkese ke tke eyes of tke Big Bad Mouse?

And he didn't have whiskers of any sort.

“You're not the Mouse." “Toowh oo, not Ir

But lies somewhere nearby, eating gruffa/o pit

Tm not scared/ said the Gru ffalo’s Child

Wkose is tkis track and wkere does it do?

Could tkis ke tke k ome o f tke Bid Bad Mouse?

His tail wasn't scaly. His wkiskers weren't wiry.

“You're not tke Mouse." “Oh nor not me.

“It's all a trick! ” said tke Gruffalos Ckild

As ske sat on a stump where the snow lay piled.

“I d ont believe in tke Big Bad Mouse . . .

“But here comes a lit one, out of his h

Not hig, not had, hut nouse at least —

You’ll taste good as a dnight feast.77

There s a friend of mine that you ought to meet.

Ifyou 11 lei me hop onto a hazel twig

ill hechon my friend so had an d hig. ”

"The Big B ad Mouse — so he does exist!”

The mouse hopped into the hazel tree.

A terrible shadow fell onto the ground.

His tail and his whiskers are terribly long.

His ears are enormous, and over his shoulder

He carries a nut as big as a houlder!

Wkose are tkese footprints? Wkere do tkey go?

For Freya and Cora — A.S.

First published in 2004 by Macmill an Children’s Boohs

ISBN 1 405 02045 8

Text copyright © Julia Donaldson 2004

Illustrations copyright © Axel Scheffler 2004

The right of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler to be identified as the

Printed in Belgium by Proost.

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