Dino Kids
The Gingerbread Man
A cookie man jumps out of the oven and runs away from everyone, even a sly fox.
Once upon a time, a little old woman and a little old man lived in a cottage by a river. One morning, the little old woman decided to bake a gingerbread man. She gave him raisins for eyes, a cherry for a nose, and a row of candies for buttons. She popped him in the oven, and soon the whole kitchen smelled of warm ginger. But when she opened the oven door, the gingerbread man jumped out and ran away! “Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!” he sang.
The little old woman and the little old man ran after him, but they could not catch him. Down the lane he ran, and he passed a cow munching grass. “Stop, stop, I would like a bite of you!” mooed the cow. But the gingerbread man only laughed and ran faster. “I ran away from a little old woman and a little old man, and I can run away from you too, I can!”
Next, he passed a horse in a field. “Stop, stop, you look tasty!” neighed the horse. “Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!” The horse galloped after him, but it could not catch him. Then he ran past a farmer and his dog, and they could not catch him either.
At last, the gingerbread man came to a wide river, and he had to stop. He could not swim, because gingerbread turns soft and soggy in water. Just then, a sly red fox came out from behind a tree. “I can carry you across,” said the fox with a smile, “just jump onto my tail.”
The gingerbread man jumped onto the fox’s tail, and the fox began to swim. “The water is getting deep, so climb onto my back,” said the fox. “The water is getting deeper, so climb onto my nose,” said the fox, as they came near the other side. The gingerbread man climbed onto the fox’s nose, and the fox opened his mouth wide. Snip, snap went the fox’s teeth, but they closed on nothing at all! The clever gingerbread man had jumped onto the riverbank just in time.
“You can’t catch me, Mister Fox!” he laughed, and he ran off into the green hills. And if you ever smell warm ginger on the breeze, perhaps the gingerbread man is running by.
A traditional tale, retold for young children by Dino Kids (CC0).
Hear this story read aloud
In the Dino Kids app, “The Gingerbread Man” is read aloud, the sentence being read lights up, and there are three reading speeds for little ears. Parents can also record it in their own voice. Free, no ads, no in-app purchases.
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