UK 003  The Gingerbread Man


     Once upon a time, there was a little old man and a little old woman. They lived in a cottage all alone. However, one day they got very lonely so the little woman decided to bake a Ginger Bread Man. She gave him raisin eyes, a little mouth, and three gum drop buttons. But, what she didn�ft realize was the gum drop buttons were magic. And soon, the Ginger Bread Man came to life. He jumped up and down and screamed, �gI�fm the Ginger Bread Boy!�h The little old woman smiled in delight. However, she then said, �gLittle Ginger Bread Boy, we�fve got to eat you. We�fre very hungry.�h And the Little Ginger Bread Boy said, �gNo! No! You can�ft eat me! I�fm a Ginger Bread Boy! I�fm alive,�h and then he ran away. 
     The little old woman and the little old man ran fast to catch up with him, but they couldn�ft keep up. The Little Ginger Boy screamed, �gRun! Run! As fast as you can. You can�ft catch me, I�fm the Ginger Bread Man!�h Pretty soon, after running down a little cottage lane, he came to a field. In the fields, there was a cow. The cow looked very hungry, and when he saw the Little Ginger Bread Boy, he said, �gMmm, Little Ginger Bread Boy, you look very yummy.�h But the the Little Ginger Bread Boy said, �gNo! No! You can�ft eat me! I�fm alive! I�fm a real Ginger Bread Boy.�h �gRun! Run! As fast as you can. You can�ft catch me. I�fm the Ginger Bread Man.�h So he ran faster and faster down the lane. The little old woman, the little old man, and now the hungry cow were all chasing him. 
     Pretty soon, he came to another field. In this field, there was a horse. The horse was also very hungry. He saw the Ginger Bread Boy and said, �gMy-my, Ginger Bread Boy, you look very scrumptious. May I have a taste of you?�h And the Little Ginger Bread Boy said, �gNo! No! You can�ft eat me! I�fm alive! I�fm a real Ginger Bread Boy.�h �gRun! Run! As fast as you can. You can�ft catch me. I�fm the Ginger Bread Man.�h And he kept running and running away from the little old woman, the little old man, the hungry cow, and the hungry horse. 
     Pretty soon, he came to a river. �gOh no,�h said the Ginger Bread Boy. �gI can�ft cross this river, I�fll get wet.�h So, out of the bushes came sly fox. The fox said �gAh, Ginger Bread Boy, you seem to be needing to cross this river. Why don�ft you hop on my tail and I�fll take you across.�h So Little Ginger Bread Boy, not wanting to be caught by the little old woman, the little old man, the hungry cow, and the hungry horse climbed aboard the fox�fs tail and quickly they went into the river. However, the river got deeper and deeper. And pretty soon, the Little Ginger Bread Boy almost touched the water. So the fox said, �gMy, Little Ginger Bread Boy. Why don�ft you climb on my back? You�fll be higher, and farther away from the water, so you won�ft get wet.�h So the Little Ginger Bread Boy climbed on to the fox�fs back. But pretty soon, the water got higher. So the fox said, �gMy-my, Ginger Bread Boy, Why don�ft you sit on my head? On my head, you won�ft get wet.�h So the Little Ginger Bread Boy sat on the fox�fs head. But even then, the water got higher and higher. So the Little Ginger Bread Boy said, �gWhy can�ft I just sit on your nose and then you could hold me up high in the air?�h So the fox agreed and said, �gWell, if you want to sit on my nose you�fll definitely be not in the water. And you won�ft get wet.�h So the Ginger Bread Boy climbed on the fox�fs nose and they got to the other side of the river. 
     But then, SNAP! The fox caught the Little Ginger Bread Boy in his mouth. The Little Ginger Bread Boy screamed, �gOh! No! No! You can�ft eat me! I�fm alive! I�fm a real Ginger Bread Boy!�h But the fox said, �gYes, but I am a very hungry fox, and you have practically climbed into my mouth. Now I�fm going to eat you.�h And that was the end of the Little Ginger Bread Boy.