The Gingerbread Man

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St. Nicholas E-Cards

An old folktale about a favorite cookie coming to life.

Once upon a time a little old woman and a little old man lived in a cottage. One day the little old woman made a gingerbread man. She gave him raisins for eyes and bright red candy buttons. She then put him in the oven to bake.

The sweet aroma flowing from the oven made the little old woman and little old man very hungry and they were eager to eat him. Soon the baking was complete and the little old woman opened the oven door. But, she removed the pan from the oven the gingerbread man jumped out and ran out the open door shouting, "Don't eat me!"

The little old woman and little old man ran after the gingerbread man.
"Stop! Stop!" they shouted. Without looking back, the gingerbread man ran on saying,
"Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

Down the path he sped when he came to a pig. "Stop! Stop! I would like to eat you," shouted the pig. But the gingerbread man was too fast and he ran on saying
"Run, run as fast as you can. You can"t catch me,
I'm the gingerbread man."

A little further on he met a cow. "Stop! Stop! little man," called the hungry cow, "I want to eat you." Again the gingerbread man was too fast. He sped on down the road saying, "Run, run as fast as you can. You can"t catch me, I'm the gingerbread man."

The cow began to chase the gingerbread man along with the pig, the little old man and the little old woman. But the gingerbread man was too fast for them.

Soon the gingerbread man came to a horse. "Stop! Stop!" shouted the horse. "I want to eat you, little man." But the gingerbread man did not stop. He said,"Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man."

The horse joined in the chase. The gingerbread man laughed and laughed, until he came to a river. "Oh no!" he cried, "They will catch me. How can I cross the river?"

Just then a sly fox, who had been watching the chase, emerged from behind a tree. "I can help you cross the river," said the fox. "Jump on to my tail and I will swim across."
"You won't eat me, will you?" asked the gingerbread man.
"Of course not!" said the fox. "I just want to help."

The gingerbread man climbed on the fox"s tail. Soon the gingerbread man began to get wet. "Climb onto my back," said the fox. So the gingerbread man did. As he swam the fox said, "You are too heavy. I am tired. Jump onto my nose." So the gingerbread man did as he was told.

As soon as they reached the bank, the fox tossed the gingerbread man up in the air and opened his mouth. "Snap!" went his jaws, and that was the end of the gingerbread man.

From the other side of the river the horse, the cow, the pig, the little old man and the little old woman watched hungrily as the sly old fox devoured his delicious treat.

The little old woman then took the little old man's hand and said "let us go back home and I will bake a new gingerbread man. Only this time we will lock the door and close the windows before we take him out of the oven."