No. 4...

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss

Two things that stick out to me from this classic:
1. It was written by a fraternity brother of mine, Theodore Geisel AKA Dr Seuss.
2. You can't go wrong having Tony the Tiger singing the main theme. Yes, the voice you are hearing is the same voice that does Tony the Tiger. (Boris Karloff as the narrator is a big bonus too)

The Grinch was a mean cuss who had a cool dog. He doesn't like the Who's in Whoville having a jolly old time on Christmas so he decides to do something about it. Dressed in his Santa suit he rides down Mount Crumpit to steal the Who's things including the roast beast. He is almost thwarted by little Cindy Lou Who who asks him why he is taking their tree. He says, "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side. So I'm taking it home to my work shop, my dear. I'll fix it up there, then I'll bring it back here."

He proceeded to steal the rest of the Who's stuff and bring it all back up to his cave.

As dawn approached, he put a hand to his ear to listen to the Who's cry "Boo Hoo!!" But he heard singing instead. It started in low. Then it started to grow.

He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came. Somehow or other, it came just the same.

In the time it took for his eyes to turn blue, he realized Christmas meant more than presents and toys. Christmas, perhaps, meant a little bit more.

Meanwhile, the sleigh filled with all of the Who's belongings began to fall off the cliff. He raced with Max his dog to catch it. As he was sliding down the hill, with a great piece of animation, the snowballs rolling along side him start out small then, as they roll, collect snow and grow bigger and bigger. When I was younger I thought that was the Coolest. Thing. Ever. Also, his heart grew 3 sizes that day. If you don't get choked up when his heart grows and he breaks that measuring device, you ain't living.

The greatest rhyme in poetry history occurs in this tale...

And what happened then?
Well, in Whoville they say
that the Grinch's small heart
grew three sizes that day.
And then the true meaning of Christmas came through,
and the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches plus two.

"Ten Grinches plus two" Not just 12 but 10 plus two. Maya Angelou wishes she could be so eloquent.

He returned all of their belongings and The Grinch himself carved the roast beast.

The song rocks as well:

"I wouldn't touch you with a 39 1/2 foot pole."
"The 3 words that best describe you are as follows and I quote..." I'll let you fill in the blanks. (the answer is in the comments if you must look)

Pure genius.

I think the messages here are paramount. Christmas is about love. Forgive and forget. Make sure your shoes aren't too tight.

All universal themes. All universally accepted.