The Secret of Gingerbread Man

Once upon a time a little old man and a little old woman lived together in a little old house in a country.

Their children were all grown up and the little old man and the little old woman were very lonely. So one day while she was baking, the old woman decided to make a little gingerbread man.

She rolled out the dough and cut it in the shape a little gingerbread man.

She gives him currants for eye, raisins for buttons, and some red sugar for a mouth.

Then she called the little old man to see what a sweet little fellow the gingerbread man would be, and she put the pan into the oven to bake.

Some time later when she thought the gingerbread man was done, she opened the oven and took out the gingerbread man.

With a bump and a jump, the gingerbread man leaped to the floor. Out of the house he ran, calling back over his shoulder, “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m a gingerbread man.”

The little old woman and the little old man ran out of the house and down the road after him, but they couldn’t catch him.

Soon he met a cat said, “Not so fast, little gingerbread man. I want to eat you.”

The little gingerbread man ran on, and as he ran, he called back over his shoulder: “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m a gingerbread man.” And the cat could not catch him!

So, the little gingerbread man ran on until he met a dog and the dog said: “Not so fast little little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!”

But the little gingerbread man only ran the faster, and as he ran he called out: “I’ve run away from you to, that I can!”

He skipped merrily along singing. “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m a gingerbread man!”

So he ran on and they all ran after him down the road, but they could not catch him.

By and by the gingerbread man met a cow in a field, and the cow said, Not so fast gingerbread man! I want to eat you.”

But the little gingerbread man only ran the faster, and as he ran he called out: “I’ve run away from a little old woman and a little old man, a cat, a dog and I can run away from you too, I can!”

And he skipped merrily down the road singing, “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m a gingerbread man!”

So he ran on and they all ran after him, but they could not catch him. By the by he met a pig said, “Stop, gingerbread man. I want to eat you!”

The gingerbread man ran on, and as he ran he called back over his shoulder, “I’ve run away from a little old man, a cat, a dog, a cow, and I can run away from you too, that I can!”

And he skipped merrily down the road singing, “Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m a gingerbread man!”

So he ran and they all ran after him, but they could not catch him.

Presently, however, the little old man and the little old woman stopped, for they were completely out of breath and could not go a single step farther.