What was the Lorax? And why was it there? And why was it lifted and taken somewhere from...

Narrator: What was the Lorax? And why was it there? And why was it lifted and taken somewhere from the far end of town where the Grickle-grass grows? The old Once-ler still lives here. Ask him. He knows. You won't see the Once-ler. Don't knock at his door. He lurks in his Lerkim on top of his store. And on grickly midnights in August he peeks out of the shutters and sometimes he speaks, and tells how the Lorax was lifted away.
The Once-ler: [to the boy] It all started back. Such a long, long time back. Way back in the days when the grass was still green, and the pond was still wet, and the clouds were still clean, and the song of the Swomee swans rang out in space. One morning I came to this glorious place