A mouse, which is the main character of the story, is about to be eaten in four times: by a fox, an owl, a snake and, finally, a gruffalo. The first three of them invite the little mouse to the places where they live but the mouse denies their invitations because it have met with a gruffalo, an own invented animal. The mouse’s surprise was that this creature exists so it tells the gruffalo it is the scariest animal in the wood and both of them go for a walk to prove it. When the gruffalo realize that it is all true it runs away. To conclude, the mouse remains alive deceiving feared predators with a cunning attitude.
If we take into account the summary of the story, we could consider as the moral how a little mouse makes other creatures feel inferior or be scared just by using its intelligence instead of the strength that dominates its predators. As we have seen, the mouse avoids the death making up a terrified creature that it has to face at the end. Once more, its ingenuity saves its life and it solves the situation with an even bigger lie.
Moreover, we can see a role change. Mice in real life are supposed to be the ones frightened by other animals and even by people. In this case, the fox, the owl and the snake when they listen to the description of the gruffalo they run away in case it appears because what dominates the way they act is their survival instinct. This is a reaction more common in mice in consequence of being in some situations the base of a food chain. Therefore, in real life, when they feel risk they hide anywhere.
Up to the moment we have only remarked the ingenuity of the little animal but in the first part of the history we notice it is not as intelligent as it is presented. Why a mouse “took a stroll through the deep dark wood”? That is why it doesn’t seem to be aware of nocturnal predators or has something in mind to get away of them.
The next step is to consider the four world dimensions. We can see the nature outside in