美国国家公共电台 NPR How A 5-Year-Old Made Sure The Grinch Didn't Steal Christmas This Year

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LAUREN FRAYER, HOST:

Five-year-old TyLon Pittman of Byram, Miss., had a hot tip on a heist last week, so he called 911.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This is the Byram Police Department. We had a 911 hang up from this number.

TYLON PITTMAN: I'm just trying to tell you something. Watch for the Grinch 'cause the Grinch going to steal Christmas, OK?

FRAYER: That's right. TyLon was trying to turn in the Grinch. He'd been watching doctored YouTube videos of the classic¹ Christmas tale, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," and he was getting pretty worried about it. Officer Lauren Develle of the Byram, Miss., PD got wind of TyLon's call.

LAUREN DEVELLE: He actually really thought that the Grinch was going to come and steal everybody's Christmas.

FRAYER: So Officer Develle paid a visit to TyLon's house to assure² him that the police had the situation well in hand.

DEVELLE: He really kind of just needed that reassurance³ from someone that, you know, Grinch cannot do that this year. He's just not going to get away with it.

FRAYER: She asked TyLon what should happen if the Grinch did show up, and he told her they should pick him up and put him in jail⁴. So the next night, TyLon got to do that himself. With the blessing⁵ of Chief Luke Thompson, Officer Develle set up the arrest with a friend in costume⁶ as the mean monster.

DEVELLE: He got in the back of my car as the Grinch and let me get TyLon and bring him into the station for booking.

FRAYER: TyLon wants to be a police officer himself one day, and that night, he left the station with an armful of gifts from the officers at the Byram Police Department, including a little toy police car. But the most important gift came from Officer Develle - a copy of the book "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr⁷. Seuss to set the record straight about the story.

DEVELLE: It's all about the Christmas joy, bringing the joy of Christmas to a mean Grinch's heart. And I just wanted to make sure that TyLon knew that as well, that the Grinch was really capable⁸ of loving Christmas as well.

FRAYER: Officer Lauren Develle of the Byram, Miss., Police Department.