Hear a Who - Lessons from Horton the Elephant

Last week I read my three year old daughter, Emily, the Dr. Seuss book Horton Hears a Who. Suddenly she started to giggle and said “Mommy, who is a who?” I pointed to one of Seuss’s fanciful illustrations. But Emily wasn’t satisfied. “Mommy….” She laughed “Who is a who.” Wondering if I had a philosopher for a daughter I responded “I guess we are all Who’s.” Emily burst into her biggest laugh ever, picked up her toy bear and said “Bubby Bear, you are a Who!”

Later that night, I thought more about my conversation with Emily. Who is a who? I wondered. And from this small question, I began to think about what life lessons can be learned from Dr. Seuss’s book. I came up with three that I think are important and that I’d like to share today. They are:

Lesson 1: Hear a Who: There are Who’s all around us and we need to learn to see and hear them.
Lesson 2: Big People Help Little People: As Horton says “A person
is a person no matter how small.”
Lesson 3: Help Someone Yelp: You can do a lot of good in the world if you can help another person find their voice.

Before I talk more about these three life lessons, here’s the cliff notes version of Horton and the Who’s.

On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing…enjoying the jungle’s great joys…
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

Horton for those who don’t know, is an elephant. He has great big ears and a long nose. And he lives in the jungle with the monkeys and birds and other animals. One day Horton’s great ears allow him to hear a tiny cry for help that seems to be coming from a speck of dust. Horton talks to the dust speck and learns that it’s the home of a miniature race called the Who’s. And the Who’s need Horton’s help and protection. When the other jungle animals think Horton is crazy and conspire against him and the dust speck, Horton holds fast to his promise to protect his tiny friends. In the end, Horton encourages the Who’s to yelp for HELP loud enough for the other jungle animals to hear.

Now that we know the story, let’s look at the lessons.

Lesson one: Hear a Who.

So Horton Stopped Splashing . He looked toward the sound.
That’s funny thought Horton. There’s no one around.
Then he heard it again. Just a very faint Yelp.
As if a tiny person were calling for help.

What Horton discovered is that there are Who’s all around us. Like Horton, before he heard the speck yelp, many of us walk through our days not noticing the Who’s. We don’t notice the person at the desk next to us, our neighbor across the street, a person who lives on the other side of town, or one who lives on the other side of the world. Maybe we don’t notice that we too are Who’s. The point is, there are people all around us who are yelping for help. And, if we stop and listen to their cries, we might be able to make a difference. Just like Horton did when he rescued the Who’s. That’s why our first lesson is to Hear a Who.

Lesson 2: Big people help little people

“Should I put this speck down?…” Horton though with alarm.
“If I do, these small persons may come to great harm.
I can’t put it down. And I won’t!
After all A person’s a person. No matter how small.”

Time after time, Horton is pressed to give up his silly mission and walk away from the Who’s. They are seen by his friends as insignificant …. Even nonexistent. But time after time, Horton sticks to his mission He says, “I’ve got to protect them, I’m bigger than they.” The lesson here is simple. Those of us who have more – more skill, more wealth, more influence – have a duty to look after those who have less. Horton knew this and we should too. That’s why lesson two is Big People Help Little People.

Lesson 3: Help Someone Yelp

And Their voices were heard! They rang out clear and clean.
And the elephant smiled. “Do you see what I mean?…

Horton found out that the best way he could help the Who’s was to help them to Yelp loud enough to be heard in the jungle. He learned this the hard way. Because when he tried to speak for the Who’s the other animals ignored them, and him. But when he empowered the Who’s to Yelp for help themselves, the other jungle animals listened. Empowering others to find their voice is a powerful tool. It puts them in charge of their own destiny and prepares them to deal with tomorrow’s problems. That’s why one of the greatest gifts we can give to another person is to Help them Yelp. And that’s why Lesson three is Help them Yelp.

Having learned all three of theses lessons the jungle animals gathered together and said:

“From the sun in the summer. From rain when it’s fall-ish,
I’m going to protect them. No matter how small-ish!”

And so ends the tail of Horton and the Who’s and our three lessons.

Lesson 1: Hear a Who. As you go about your day today, Stop, Look And listen. Open your eyes and ears and become aware of the Who’s around You.
Lesson 2: Big people help small people. Remember that you are responsible to help those who are smaller than you. Be there to help them.
Lesson Three: Help them Yelp. Its not enough just to give a hand out. Its better to give others the power to do for themselves.

And maybe, by doing these three small things, we can all live happily, happily, happily ever after.