The Grinch may have had devious plans for the denizens of Whoville during the winter, but he wound up stealing our hearts when he saved Christmas.
Though he has remained a classically beloved Dr. Seuss character, he can still appear intimidating to a child. Especially when he appears in the flesh and sneaks up on them.
In what appeared to be a rather cruel prank, a young girl got to meet the green cave-dweller for an outdoor photo op for Christmas.
And spoiler alert: she was not happy about it.
A series of photos showing the progression of the Grinch sneaking up on the subject was shared on Twitter.
@luvthispayne/Twitter
The first photo in the upper-left quadrant showed the toddler looking adorable as heck in her overalls.
But off in the distance, the formidable creature was spotted looming in the distance.
The Grinch—clad in a Santa suit and playfully putting his furry green hands on his hips—was in full view behind the unsuspecting girl in the second shot. But her smile was not as evident this time. Did she feel a malevolent presence nearby?
Her innocent smile gave way to a look of sheer terror when the Grinch finally revealed himself to her in the third shot and sat next to her.
The poor girl went in for her closeup in the final shot, dashing away from the mutant Santa.
Social media users felt guilty for laughing at her moment.
I shouldn't have laughed at this as hard as I did. Poor baby. She was sitting cute then the Grinch had to come up and spoil it lol.
— gwen 🧺🍂🔭 (@guineverebrooks) November 17, 2020
Thank you. Thank you for putting this in my life. I love it so much more than I should.
— Todd Breasseale (@TBreassealeDHS) November 18, 2020
I'm sorry but this trend is hilarious😭😭 pic.twitter.com/BQW1NL3yDn
— Saleemah🧜🏾♀️ (@Saleemah26) November 18, 2020
That baby is saying “how could you!? You're suppose to protect me" 🥴🤣 pic.twitter.com/XCf9EBYexP
— Jonathan Burwell (@jonathanburwell) November 17, 2020
My funeral is next week. 💀 pic.twitter.com/aHfuw3np6i
— Shea Depmore (@SheaDepmore) November 17, 2020
It's this one for me 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/aLo0XgbtLR
— Gabrielle📸 (@schare_is) November 18, 2020
Same energy pic.twitter.com/WT37KVsKSI
— 𝙅𝙤𝙅𝙤🚦 (@will_lie05) November 18, 2020
The Devil when he sees that I am Happy and relaxed. pic.twitter.com/dkwPItszaO
— CHEF Pete. (@peterdgenius1) November 18, 2020
I'm glad I dont have kids. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😭. This is something I would do pic.twitter.com/C8Iq4RDIo5
— Your Favorite Flower 🌻 (@EssenceOfTiare) November 18, 2020
That equals like a year of therapy when she's an adult.
— Jon Wilson - Author (@JonWilsonAuthor) November 17, 2020
Lol parents... your kids are not toys.🙃 pic.twitter.com/Yi0MR1BmXD
— Alan C. Beard (@ALANCBEARD) November 17, 2020
This Twitter user thought it was the perfect metaphor for the year that was and hopefully never will be.
This is how unaware we all were that our lives were about to change forever in the beginning of 2020 😩 just thinking everything was perfect 😭 pic.twitter.com/lsNBg8v9IL
— tanaja lavae (@tanajatheillest) November 18, 2020
Others pointed out she was headed in the right direction based on her evident athleticism.
This girl will make a fantastic sprinter. I mean, look at her stride and form. Usain who? 😂🤣
— I S H M A E L (@Ish_maell) November 18, 2020
kid be real quick from dem starting blocks...she gon get some medals at the olympics pic.twitter.com/HpN0DEJQzG
— Frederic Ghana (@frederic101) November 18, 2020
The little girl was undeniably going places—straight into our hearts.
Listen here, Grinch. We still love you, but you're still a mean one.