[MAYOR] (spoken)
Well,
[MAYOR] (singing)
WE'RE WHOS HERE.
WE ARE WHOS HERE.
SMALLER THAN THE EYE CAN SEE.
IT'S TRUE, SIR.
WE'RE WHO'S WHO, SIR.
I'M A WHO
AND SO IS SHE.
[MAYOR, & MRS. MAYOR]
WE'RE TINY LITTLE PEOPLE
BLOWING BY IN THE AIR,
WONDERING HOW AND WHY
WE'RE ON WHO,
THE TI-INIEST PLANET IN THE SKY!
(The entire WHO population is revealed. HORTON listen intently and reacts throughout the entire song as the WHOS tell him their story.)
[WHOVILLE CITIZENS]
A-LADELA-DELADELA WHO WHO
A-LADELA-DELADELA WHO
[TWO WHO SOPRANOS]
WHO!
[WHOS]
A-LADELA-DELADELA WHO WHO
A-LADELA-DELA...
WE'RE WHOS HERE,
WIN OR LOSE HERE,
STRUGGLING TO STAY ALIVE.
EACH GUST PRO-
PELS OUR DUST. OH,
HOW THE HECK
DO WHOS SURVIVE?
AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT
WE COULD CRASH OR BE DROWNED,
HITTING THE GROUND, OH MY!
HERE ON WHO,
THE TI-INIEST PLANET IN THE SKY
(Calliope-like)
[WHO MEN, & (WHO WOMEN)]
WHO (WHO!)! WHO (WHO!)!
[MAYOR] (spoken)
I'm the Mayor.
[WHO MEN, & (WHO WOMEN)] (singing)
WHO (WHO) WHO (WHO...)...
[MRS. MAYOR] (spoken)
I'm his wife.
[WHO MEN, & (WHO WOMEN)] (singing)
WHO (WHO) WHO (WHO...)...
[MAYOR, & MRS. MAYOR] (spoken)
Just imagine the Whos' unusual life!
[WHO FAMILY #1] (singing)
PICTURE THE TINIEST HOUSES
AND GROCERY STORES.
[WHO WOMEN]
WHO...
[WHO FAMILY #2]
TINY UMBRELLAS THAT DRIP
ON THE TINIEST FLOORS.
[WHO MEN]
WHO...
[WHO FAMILY #3]
THE TINIEST TUNNELS AND
TINIEST STREETS.
[WHO FAMILY #4]
MINIATURE BUSES
WITH MINIATURE SEATS.
[WHO FAMILY #5]
MINIATURE BUILDINGS
WITH MINIATURE WINDOWS AND DOORS!
[HORTON]
NO SMALLER TOWN THAN YOURS!
(The WHO MARCHING BAND enters.)
[ALL WHOS]
WE'VE GOT A MARCHING BAND
THAT IS SMALL BUT GRAND.
OH, YOU OUGHT TO HEAR THEM WAIL!
(The BAND plays on strange instruments.)
[WHOS]
WHO! WHO! WHO!
EVERY CHRISTMASTIME,
WITHOUT FAIL,
MR. GRINCH PRESENTS HIS CHRISTMAS TALE!
(The GRINCH appears and the WHOS gather around him.)
[GRINCH]
I RE-ENACT MY CHRISTMAS TALE!
(He begins to declaim.)
[GRINCH] (spoken)
Every Who down in Whoville
Liked Christmas a lot...
But the Grinch,
Who lived just north of Whoville
Did NOT!
(The WHOS applaud with delight.)
[MAYOR] (singing)
IMAGINE A PLACE THAT IS TIDY
AND TOTALLY CLEAN,
[WHOS]
WHO!
[GRINCH]
WHERE EVEN A GRINCH
WOULDN'T DARE TO BE
TOTALLY MEAN!
[WHOS]
WHO!
[MAYOR]
YOU THINK THAT IT'S HEAVEN ON EARTH
[MAYOR] (spoken)
Yes, you do!
[MAYOR, & MRS. MAYOR] (singing)
BUT HEAVEN ON EARTH
ISN'T HEAVEN ON WHO!
[ALL]
TROUBLES ON WHO
ARE THE BIGGEST THAT YOU'VE EVER SEEN.
(The light begins to grow more ominous, and the WHOS huddle together.)
[MAYOR]
WE'RE ON THE BRINK OF WAR! THEY SAY
[ALL WHOS]
WE'RE GOING TO WAR, AND OH MY!
[MAYOR]
'CAUSE IF WE DO, THEN HERE ON WHO
[WHOS]
WELL, YOU CAN KISS WHOVILLE GOODBYE!
[MAYOR]
OUR SKIES ARE UNBEARABLY DARK.
[MRS. MAYOR]
AND WAR IS UNBEARABLY NEAR...
[MAYOR]
AND THAT'S NOT THE END OF OUR TROUBLES
HERE...
[ALL WHOS]
FOR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN
THE TRUFFULA TREES
WERE ALL CUT DOWN.
THEY ONCE STOOD TALL,
IN ALL THEIR GLORY—
BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY...
SO HERE ON WHO
WE LIVE IN FEAR.
WE'RE DRIFTING THROUGH SPACE
AND CANNOT STEER!
A TROUBLED AND A TINY LAND...
OUR FUTURE'S IN YOUR HAND...
(They move closer, appealing to the listening HORTON.)
[ALL WHOS, (MAYOR, & MRS. MAYOR, spoken)]
IT'S UP TO YOU, SIR.
PLEASE HELP WHO, SIR.
YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO HEARS.
YOU MUST, SIR!
SAVE OUR DUST, SIR (Save our dust, sir!)!
NOW THAT WE HAVE REACHED YOUR EARS!
[ALL WHOS]
WE'RE TINY LITTLE PEOPLE
SAYING THANKS IN ADVANCE
HOPING PERCHANCE, YOU'LL TRY!
HERE ON WHO,
THE TI-INIEST
PLANET IN THE SKY...
(HORTON listens to the clover with great seriousness.)
[HORTON] (spoken)
I won't let you down. No, I won't let you fall.
[HORTON] (singing)
A PERSON'S A PERSON
NO MATTER HOW SMALL.
A PERSON'S A PERSON
NO MATTER HOW SMALL.
[WHOS]
WHOOO!
(The WHOS begin to recede.)
[WHOS]
(mysterious)
WHO WHO...
(Light comes up on the CAT.)
[CAT IN THE HAT] (spoken)
An invisible world. Amazing but true.
We'll leave Horton to listen, and we'll zoom in on Who.
But guess who enters the story now?
[BOY]
Who?
[CAT]
You!
[MAYOR]
Meet a tiny Who family on a small rainy day.
[MRS. MAYOR]
Mom and Dad are just home from the Who PTA.
[CAT]
And here's their son JoJo!
(To the BOY's surprise, the CAT pushes him into the scene, and he becomes a character in the story. From now on, we will call him JOJO. He is now with his parents, MAYOR and MRS. MAYOR)
[MRS. MAYOR]
In trouble again!
[MAYOR, MRS. MAYOR, & CAT]
'Cause his Thinks take him places where no one has been.