DLTK's Fairy Tales Stories
The Gingerbread Man

Once upon a time, a little old woman lived in a cozy cottage by the edge of the forest. One day, she decided to bake a gingerbread man to brighten up her day. She carefully mixed the dough, rolled it out, and cut it into the shape of a little man. She added raisins for his eyes, a little icing for his mouth, and buttons made of candy.

"Into the oven you go," she said as she placed the gingerbread man on a baking tray and slid it into the oven. The kitchen filled with a delightful aroma as the gingerbread man baked to a golden brown. When he was done, the little old woman opened the oven door, and to her amazement, the gingerbread man jumped up and ran out of the oven!

"Stop! Stop!" cried the little old woman, but the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

He ran out of the cottage and down the path. Just then, the little old man was entering the house, sniffing the air filled with the smell of his wife's tasty baking. Seeing the gingerbread man run past him, he shouted, "Stop! Stop!"

But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've run away from a little old woman, and I can run away from you, I can!" And off he ran, with the little old man chasing behind.

As he ran, he met a cow.

"Stop! Stop! I want to eat you!" mooed the cow.

But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've run away from a little old woman and a little old man, and I can run away from you, I can!" And off he ran, with the cow and the little old man chasing behind.

The gingerbread man ran faster and soon met a horse.

"Stop! Stop! I want to eat you!" neighed the horse.

But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've run away from a little old woman, a little old man, and a cow, and I can run away from you, I can!" And off he ran, with the horse, the cow, and the little old man chasing behind.

The gingerbread man ran on and met a dog.

"Stop! Stop! I want to eat you!" barked the dog.

But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've run away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, and a horse, and I can run away from you, I can!" And off he ran, with the dog, the horse, the cow, and the little old man chasing behind.

The gingerbread man kept running until he met a hog.

"Stop! Stop! I want to eat you!" grunted the hog.

But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've run away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, a horse, and a dog, and I can run away from you, I can!" And off he ran, with the hog, the dog, the horse, the cow, and the little old man chasing behind.

The gingerbread man kept running until he met a fox by the riverbank.

"Stop! Stop!" said the fox. "Why are you running so fast?"

"I'm running away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, a horse, a dog, and a hog! And I can run away from you, I can!" said the gingerbread man.

"But I don't want to eat you," said the sly fox. "I want to help you. You need to cross the river, and I can carry you."

The gingerbread man thought for a moment and then agreed. He hopped onto the fox's tail, and the fox began to swim across the river. As the water got deeper, the fox said, "Climb onto my back so you don't get wet."

The gingerbread man did as he was told. As the water got even deeper, the fox said, "Climb onto my head so you don't get wet."

The gingerbread man did as he was told. When they reached the deepest part of the river, the fox said, "Climb onto my nose so you don't get wet."

The gingerbread man did as he was told. But as soon as they reached the middle of the river, the sly fox tossed the gingerbread man into the air and snapped him up in one quick bite.

And that was the end of the gingerbread man.

But don't worry! The little old woman and the little old man baked another gingerbread man the very next day, and they all lived happily ever after.

The end.

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