Spike was pushing a cart filled with various books related to Hearth's Warming. They ranged from chapter books, like A Hearth's Warming Tail, to shorter picture books. One of those picture books happened to fall off the cart, unknown to Spike, who continued on his merry way.

Some time later, Gallus was walking down the hall when he spotted the book. What caught his attention was the image on the cover. It was a griffon. A bright green griffon to be exact, and he was wearing a nefarious smile.

"Hm," Gallus said as he took a closer look at the book. "How The Griff Stole Hearth's Warming. . ." he read aloud. Immediately, he felt a pang of guilt inside. This book was reminding him of that prank he had pulled in his attempt to keep his friends from leaving for the holidays. It had all turned out okay, but he still felt ashamed of it. However, this also caused him to become highly curious of the contents of this children's book. How did this griffon steal Hearth's Warming? Why did he do it? Why was he green?

And so, after checking to see that no one was around, Gallus grabbed the book and stepping into a nerby room. Closing the door behind him, he made himself comfortable on some cushions and began to read. However, as he read this book, the rhyming nature of the text, combined with the warm room and comfy cushions, caused Gallus to slowly fall into a deep slumber. . .

The house was completely quiet, its inhabittants all fast asleep. The house was filled with decorations, and presents were pilled beaneath the tree.

The silence was broken when something suddenly came down the chimney with bound, and it wasn't Santa Hooves. Rather, it was none other than Gallus. However, he looked very different. For one thing, he was wearing a red Santa Hooves hat and coat. For another, his fur and feathers weren't his usualy blue. Instead, Gallus was colored green, with a light green underbelly. Although the feathers on his head still had their yellow tips.

Gallus looked around at the room, and a devious smile spread across his face as he began singing to himself.

You're a mean one, Mr. Griff
You really are a heel
You're as friendly and inviting as an angry quarray eel, Mr. Griff-on!
You're a bad banana with a. . . greasy black peel!

Gallus held open a sack and tossed in all of the Hearth's Warming dolls that sat on the mantle of the fireplace. Then he turned and set his eyes on the tree and presents.

You're a monster, Mr. Griff
Your heart's an empty hole
Your brain is full of fly-ders, you have flash bees in your soul, Mr. Griff-on!
I wouldn't touch you with a. . . thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

Gallus whipped out a bolas, twirled it as fast as he could, and then hurled it straight at the tree. The tree was quickly tied up tightly, decorations and all, and fell to the floor. Gallus was delighted by this, and he rubbed his talons together as he focused on the presents.

You're a vile one, Mr. Griff
You have twittermites in your smile
You have all the tender sweetness of an irate cragadile, Mr. Griff-on!
Given a choice between the two of you I'd take the. . . . irate cragadile!

Gallus then fell down to the floor and crawled serpent-like over to the presents. Laughing softly, Gallus swept all of the gifts into his sack. When he was finished, he tied it up, tossed it behind him, and kicked it over to the fireplace.

You're a foul one, Mr. Griff
You're such a piece of work
Your body is filled with malice, from your tail up to your smirk, Mr. Griff-on!
The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote. . ."Jerkish! Jerky! Jerk!"

Gallus took out another empty sack and comically tiptoed into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, and his eyes shined as he saw the large pudding inside. Smiling gleefully, Gallus tossed it into his sack, along with all the vegetables that sat waiting to be prepared the next day.

You're a rotter, Mr. Griff
You're as pleasant as the trots
Your heart's a dead Zap Apple splotched with moldy purple spots, Mr. Griff-on!
Your soul is a rotten apple core, wrapped in moldy hay, and dipped in dragon perspiration, mashed together with various baked bads, mangled up. . . in tangled up knots!

Gallus passed by the kitchen table, which had a bowl full of candy canes on it. He used his tail to sweep it into the sack as he passed. Then, as he moved through the house, his tail continued to grab wreaths and other decorations off of the wall and toss them into the sack.

You nauseate me, Mr. Griff
With a nauseous super "naus"!
You never had a happy holiday, now you're coping with your loss, Mr. Griff-on!
You're a three decker poison joke and tatzlwurm mucus sandwich. . . with arsenic sauce!

Gallus pushed his two sacks of loot up into the chimney, and then he grabbed the trunk of the tied up tree with his tail. Then, with a flap of his wings, Gallus shot up into the chimney, coming back for only a second to grab the log in the fireplace. There was nothing left behind but some hooks and wire on the walls, and a single crumb that was even too small for a Breezie.

Gallus was jolted awake by the sound of a door opening. He looked over to see Sandbar standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Gallus. What are you doing here, sitting all by yourself?" Sandbar asked.

"Uhh. . ." Gallus said nervously, not sure if he should even bother trying to hide the book on his lap.

Sandbar spotted the book, and he smiled and said, "Oh, How the Griff Stole Hearth's Warming! My baby sister loves it when I read it to her!"

Gallus huffed in embarrassment and said, "You don't have to rub it in."

Sandbar immediately understood what Gallus meant by the remark, and he quickly backpedaled and said, "Oh, no, no, no. I didn't mean. . .well. . . look, I love that story too!"

Gallus looked away in shame and said, "Huh. Well, I bet it was surprising to meet the real live Griff, wasn't it?"

Sandbar stared thoughtfully at Gallus for a moment. Then he finally said, "Gallus, did you get to the ending yet?"

Gallus shrugged and said, "No, but so what? Santa Hooves probably catches him and throws him in Tartarus, right?"

Sandbar just smiled and shook his head, "Not even close. I think you should read it yourself." Sandbar then took a few steps back and said with a grin, "And you're not leaving this room until you do."

Gallus stared at the door after Sandbar slammed it shut. Then he looked down at the book, turned the page, and continued to read.

A few minutes went by, and Gallus stepped out of them, book in talon, and a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well?" Sandbar asked expectantly.

Gallus stood in silence at first. Then he said slowly, "Well, it's like I said. . ." Gallus then held the book over his heart and said with a smile, "I bet it was surprising to meet the real live Griff, wasn't it?"

Author's Note

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and Albert Hague