“Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose” was first published in 1948, and may I say, I think these moose are some of the cutest of all Dr. Seuss’s illustrations.
There’s a herd of about sixty of them that live up at Lake Winna-Bango, and they wander around looking for moose-moss to munch. One day Thidwick was hailed by a Bingle Bug, who asked if Thidwick would mind letting him ride atop his antlers. Thidwick was more than happy to oblige, and the bug climbed up.
A little while later, a Tree-Spider noticed what a nice and cozy perch the Bingle Bug enjoyed, and asked if he could come along too. The bug was sure Thidwick wouldn’t mind, and so the spider made himself to home.
It wasn’t long before a Zinn-a-zu Bird flew overhead and was quite taken with the novelty of it all, asking if he could join them. The bug said yes.
The Zinn-a-zu Bird got right to work building a nest on top of Thidwick’s head, and he pulled out over two hundred of his hairs to cushion it up. Poor Thidwick – he really didn’t like having his hair yanked out, but he wanted to be polite.
But the next thing you know, the bird brought home a bride, and she brought her uncle (a woodpecker) to live with them. He made holes in Thidwick’s antlers, just right for squirrels (or so thought the squirrels). The other moose told Thidwick to get rid of all the extraneous animals, but he didn’t want to offend his guests. Consequently, he was asked to stay away from the herd.
More and more animals moved in to the apartment complex on top of his head, interfering with his natural migration and feeding patterns, and generally making nuisances of themselves any way they could. And when hunting season began, they slowed down his flight.
But Thidwick knew something his guests didn’t know – every year, a moose will lose his horns and grow new. He left all the animals behind, along with the antlers, and he lived happily ever after. His guests didn’t, but you’ll just have to read the book for yourself to find out why.
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