The protagonist of The Gruffalo is a mouse. The story of the mouse’s walk through the woods unfolds in two phases; in both, the mouse uses cunning to evade danger.
The mouse goes for a walk in the forest and on his way encounters several dangerous animals (a fox, an owl, and a snake). Each of these animals, clearly intent on eating the mouse, invites him back to their home for a meal. The cunning mouse declines each offer. To dissuade further advances, he tells each animal that he is going to dine with his friend, a gruffalo, whose favourite food happens to be the relevant animal. The mouse describes the outlandish features of the gruffalo’s monstrous anatomy. Frightened that the gruffalo might eat them, each animal flees. The mouse gloats to himself; he knows the gruffalo is a fictional monster:
