The Gingerbread Man
Once upon a time a granny, a grandpa and a little boy lived in a house in the woods. One day, the granny baked some bread.
With the leftover dough she made a Gingerbread Man and the little boy helped.
The granny popped the Gingerbread Man into the oven and went out to the garden with the grandpa. The little boy waited in the kitchen. He was very hungry.
Suddenly the oven door opened and the Gingerbread Man jumped out, ran off and raced down the garden!
The boy was amazed and yelled out, “Help, the Gingerbread Man is getting away!”
“I put in too much sugar, that’s why he has so much energy,” said the granny.
“You put in too much spice and that’s why he’s so cheeky”, said the grandpa.
The little boy just pulled a silly face and ran after the Gingerbread Man.
The grandpa and the granny shouted and yelled and now all three were chasing the Gingerbread Man as fast as they could.
The Gingerbread Man yelled out, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
A little mouse was looking around in the woods. He wanted some new leaves for his nest. Suddenly, he saw the Gingerbread Man. He licked his little mousy lips. Then he squeaked, “Gingerbread is my very favourite, yum, yum!”
The little mouse joined the little boy, the grandpa and granny to chase the Gingerbread Man.
But the Gingerbread Man yelled out, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
Soon the Gingerbread Man got to a forest and on the edge of the forest was a tortoise. She was really hungry. When she saw the Gingerbread Man, she licked her tortoisey lips. Then she started running faster than any tortoise has ever run before!
So now the little boy, the grandpa, the granny, the mouse and the tortoise were chasing the Gingerbread Man.
But the cheeky Gingerbread Man just laughed and yelled back, “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!
The Gingerbread Man raced as fast as he could and soon, he reached a riverbank. The river looked very deep. He looked down at the water and thought, “Oh dear, what shall I do? I don’t know how to swim. They’ll catch me and eat me all up!”
Now, there was a crafty fox hiding behind the grass on the riverbank. The crafty fox saw the Gingerbread Man, licked his lips and said, “Gingerbread Man, are you in trouble?”
The Gingerbread Man answered, “Yes, I need to cross the river really quickly but I can’t swim!”
The crafty fox said in a nice voice, “Don’t worry; I’m a very strong swimmer. Just jump on my back and I will carry you across.”
So, the Gingerbread Man climbed onto the crafty fox’s back and the fox began to cross the river.
When they reached the middle of the river, the crafty fox said, “Gingerbread Man, I think you should climb onto my nose, because the water is deep here and you might drown.”
The Gingerbread Man moved right up close to the crafty fox’s nostrils. The delicious gingery smell was too much. The crafty fox turned his head and snapped his great big teeth. But the Gingerbread Man jumped right up in the air and tumbled onto the riverbank.
Then he ran as fast and as far away as he could.
He was almost out of breath and lay down by a hollow tree. As he opened his eyes, he thought he must have been eaten. But he hadn’t.
Then he thought he must still be dreaming because the most beautiful Gingerbread Girl stood there and looked down at him. She had run away from a hot oven, too!
He jumped up to his feet and took hold of her hand. They danced and they danced all day long. They promised to look after each other forever. They wouldn’t be a tasty snack for anyone!
The End
