Four cousins took a stroll through the deep, dark wood
The girls saw a fox; by a tree the fox stood
“Where are you going to, cousins so smiley?
Are you here to see Fox, so crafty and wily?”
“It’s lovely to see you here, Fox, but no
We’re off on a hunt for a Gruffalo.”
“A Gruffalo? What’s a Gruffalo?”
“A Gruffalo? Why didn’t you know?
A big scary creature from our favourite tale
Is here in this forest at the end of the trail”
“Where is he hiding?” “We really can’t say
But look, here’s an arrow to show us the way”
“Lovely to chat to you Fox, cheerio!
Now on with our trail we really must go.”
The cousins continued their walk through the wood
When they spotted a snake, coiled as tight as it could
“Where are you going to, cousins together?
Are you off for a picnic in the warm sunny weather?”
“A picnic sounds wonderful, Snake, but no
We’re following the trail of the Gruffalo.”
“A Gruffalo? What’s a Gruffalo?”
“A Gruffalo? Why didn’t you know?
A storybook creature with a prickly behind
Is here in the forest for us girls to find.”
“Where is he hiding?” “We really don’t know
But the arrows will show us the way we should go.”
“Goodbye to you Snake, now off on our way
To hunt out the Gruffalo before the end of the day.”
On past the Mouse, through the deep, dark wood
In the trees an owl hooted (as all good owls should)
“Where are you going to, cousins so jolly?
Are you looking for insects in the brambles and holly?”
“We’ve seen several insects there, Owl, but no
We’re looking instead for a Gruffalo.”
“A Gruffalo? What’s a Gruffalo?”
“A Gruffalo? Why didn’t you know?
A fantastical creature from our favourite book
He’s hiding here somewhere, we just have to look.”
“Where is he hiding?” “He can’t be far now
We’ll just follow this little path here and… OH WOW!”
For in the clearing before them, enormous in size
A big hairy Gruffalo with bright orange eyes
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose
Standing there to be cuddled and for photos to pose
With his prickly back and his knobbly knees
And a miniature Gruffalo hiding there in the trees
“Look it’s the Gruffalo! Our search here is done
Wasn’t the trail through the woods so much fun?
How lovely to meet you, Gruffalo, and au revoir!
For we must say goodbye and get back to the car”
Back through the path in the deep, dark wood
The four cousins agreed that the trail was good.
© Louise George – 15th August 2014
Inspired by ‘The Gruffalo’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler with photos from the Gruffalo trail at Alice Holt forest.
Wonderful! Love the way you’ve written this, and the photos of your hunt for the Gruffalo are fab. Looks like you all had a lot of fun!
Thank you -enjoyed both the trail and writing it up in the style of the Gruffalo too 🙂
You clever lady, great story and the kids look like they are enjoying themselves 🙂 love the sound of The Gruffalo hunt! #CountryKids
Thank you – it’s a great way to go and explore the woods – would definitely recommend, there’s a few of them around the country 🙂
I love how you have written this!
We did the same one at Westonbirt about a month ago – a really nice spin on a family walk in the woods. Love the photo with The Gruffalo.
Thank you – promised my nieces I would write it in the style of the Gruffalo for them. We all had a fab day out – it’s great that there are so many of these around the country, a great way to get kids out for a walk in the woods 🙂
I love how you’ve written this – brilliant! Looks like they all had a fabulous time. We did this and my two really enjoyed it, too x
Thank you – promised my nieces I would write it in the style of the Gruffalo for them. We all enjoyed it very much, glad you enjoyed doing it too 🙂
The kids look like they’re having a great time hunting for Gruffalos. I love how you’ve written this, very clever. Thanks for linking up with Country Kids
Thank you – we all had a great time. Lovely to link up again with #CountryKids
this looks fab, and I wish I had one closer to visit as I have a soft spot for the gruffalo
Thank you – love the Gruffalo too, was a nice way to explore the woods 🙂
This is lovely, you’ve written this so perfectly. I’m loving this Gruffalo Trail. Our local one is rather poor in comparison, no characters to find and certainly no Gruffalo at the end. Such a shame as my two love The Gruffalo. x #CountryKids
Thank you – what a shame your trail hasn’t got the characters to find or the Gruffalo though. I didn’t realise they were all different x
What a great write up 🙂 #CountryKids
Thank you 🙂
Love your poem. Looks like a fun day was had. We are planning to go to the same trail soon. Can’t wait now! #countrykids
Thank you – it was a fun day, can definitely recommend it 🙂
Great pictures. We have been on our local gruffalo trail. It’s lovely to see the kids get involved with their surroundings. #countrykids
Thank you – it’s a great way of getting kids to explore local woods 🙂
Looks like a lot of fun! We love the Gruffalo here. Great poem too.
Thank you – love the Gruffalo and the trail was good fun 🙂
Awww what a lovely take on it. We loved doing the Gruffalo trail too.
Thank you. Such a great idea to get kids out and exploring the woods 🙂
HAHA Brilliant! I love your twist on the Gruffalo story! Genius 🙂 x
Thank you – I promised my nieces I would write it up just like the Gruffalo story for them 🙂
Fab poem and the trail looks great fun.
#GoldenOldies
Thank you – we had a lot of fun 🙂
What a fab post – love the photos and you’re rhyming story! Looks like you had great fun! x
Thank you – yes, we had a great time and enjoyed our Gruffalo hunt 🙂