In a cozy, quiet village, there once lived an old woman who, feeling lonely, decided to bake a gingerbread man to keep her company. Little did she know, her creation would come to life and dash out the door, leading her—and a whole cast of characters—on a whimsical chase across fields, down lanes, and even across a river. Join us on this playful and exciting journey as we discover the adventure of the gingerbread man who thought he could outrun everyone!
The Gingerbread Man
Once upon a time, there was an old, old woman. Her husband was gone, and her children were all grown up with families of their own, and so the old woman lived alone—apart from her chickens, of course—and she was desperately lonely.
One day, to cheer herself up, she decided to make some gingerbread. She carefully measured the ingredients and molded the dough lovingly into the shape of a little man. Once he was baked, she decorated him with icing and sweets so that he had a smiling mouth and smart buttons down his front. He looked very nice.
The old woman looked at him and thought, “He looks almost too good to eat!” Nonetheless, she picked him up and raised him to her lips to take a bite, when suddenly he yelled, “Old woman, what ARE you doing?”
She dropped the gingerbread man in surprise, and he scurried out of the door, laughing and shouting, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
The gingerbread man ran down the garden path on his little gingerbread legs, faster than you would think a small biscuit could run. Suddenly, the old woman’s chickens were hot on his heels, squawking and pecking at him. He yelped in surprise and ran even faster, jumping over the garden gate in one giant leap, leaving the chickens behind, clucking indignantly. He cackled to himself and called, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
He ran down the lane and turned the corner, and there in front of him was a cat, fluffy and white, with a blue collar around its neck and a little silver bell tinkling softly against its chest. The cat’s face was scrunched up into a permanent scowl, and she hissed at the gingerbread man before giving chase.
The gingerbread man yelped and quickened his pace. Usually, cats are quite fast. By rights, the gingerbread man shouldn’t have stood a chance, but this particular cat could usually be found curled up on a warm lap or eating smoked salmon pâté and cream, so she was actually quite slow, and she ran out of puff rather quickly.
The gingerbread man outpaced her and left her panting on the side of the road. He laughed a mocking laugh and called out, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
Soon, he came to a field that ran alongside a riverbank where all was quiet, and he decided to rest a while. The river was wide and slow, flowing lazily past, with dragonflies and water boatmen making little ripples on the surface. But no matter how gentle the current was, the gingerbread man could not swim, and he knew that if he got wet, he would dissolve away into the river and be gone forever.
Just as he was pondering what he should do, a shadow fell over him. The gingerbread man looked up, and there was a huge brown cow standing over him, licking her lips. The gingerbread man froze, his mouth gaping open in fear, and the cow leaned down toward him, her big pink tongue curling out of her mouth, ready to snap him up.
The gingerbread man finally found his feet, and he ran off down the riverbank. The cow gave chase, and the gingerbread man was horrified to find that she was actually quite fast. He looked this way and that for an escape, but it was the field or the river, and either way he was doomed.
Up ahead, he saw a fox taking a drink from the river.
“Fox!” the gingerbread man called out. The fox looked up from the river and cocked his head. This was something new… he’d been around a while, this fox, and he thought he’d seen everything, but a biscuit come to life being chased by a farm animal? He’d never seen anything like this before.
“Fox! Help me across the river!” the gingerbread man demanded as he came hurtling toward the fox, the cow in close pursuit.
“What’s in it for me?” the sly old fox called back.
“Just help me!” the gingerbread man pleaded.
The fox took pity on the poor gingerbread man. No one wants to be eaten by a cow. “Hop on,” he said, and the gingerbread man took a leap of faith onto the fox’s back, and the fox slid right into the river, leaving the cow skidding to a halt on the bank.
“Hahaa!” the gingerbread man shouted at the cow, jumping up and down on the fox’s back. “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
The fox suddenly didn’t feel so sorry for the gingerbread man, and the sweet smell of ginger, sugar, and icing tickled his nose. As he swam across the river, he let his back sink a little lower into the water.
“Fox!” the gingerbread man warned, “my toes are getting wet!”
“Oh dear,” the fox said. “Perhaps you should seek higher ground. Try my neck.”
The gingerbread man climbed up onto the fox’s neck, but soon this seemed to be sinking lower into the water.
“Fox!” the gingerbread man panicked, “it’s happening again! I’m going to be soaked soon!”
“Oh dear,” the fox said again. “Why don’t you try my head?”
They were so very nearly at the other side of the river, but the gingerbread man did as the fox suggested. Without warning, the fox flicked up his head, sending the gingerbread man flying through the air, soaring higher and higher into the sky, and then tumbling, tumbling, tumbling back down towards the fox’s open jaws.
“Fox!” the gingerbread man shouted. “You betrayed me!” But there was nothing he could do to slow his descent. He shouted, “I should never have been so cocky and rude! This is what I get!”
Suddenly, a wrinkled old hand reached out and snatched him from the air. It was the old woman. She had been worried about him and had followed him all this way.
“You’ve been very naughty,” she scolded him, holding him up to her face.
“I know,” he said, hanging his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Mm,” she said, looking him up and down. “Well. Shall we go home? If you promise to be good, I promise not to eat you.”
“Yes, please,” he said.
And so the old woman and the gingerbread man went back to the cottage together. The gingerbread man was mostly very good, and the old woman was no longer lonely, and they lived happily ever after.
Also read: Little Red Riding Hood
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