| Audio | Visual |
|---|---|
| The Gingerbread Boy As told by Brandi Chase. Illustrated by Masako Styles. |
Illustration of a smiling grandmotherly woman standing next to a boy made of gingerbread. |
| An old woman lived in a cottage in the forest.
She liked living by herself, but sometimes she was lonely. "I'll bake a gingerbread boy to keep myself company," she said. She filled the dough with exotic spices from India: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and of course ginger. She shaped the dough into a boy and placed it in the oven. |
The old woman stands in her kitchen mixing dough. She has flour, butter, and several spice bottles nearby. |
| As the gingerbread boy baked, the cottage filled with warm, wonderful, spicy smells. The old woman chuckled to herself, "I hope I haven't made my gingerbread boy too spicy! He might misbehave!" |
The woman sits near the kitchen. She knits while thinking to herself. |
| Once the gingerbread boy had cooled, the old woman decorated him with frosting and other goodies.
She made a red licorice smile, a peppermint nose, and two chocolate chip eyes.
The old woman said, "My, you look good enough to eat!" When the old woman said this, something incredible happened. |
The gingerbread boy lays on the table as she decorates him. |
| The gingerbread boy blinked his chocolate-chip eyes, jumped up from the table, and ran out the door chanting: "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" |
The gingerbread boy grins as he runs! |
| The old woman knew the gingerbread boy was only a boy and not a grown-up man. She worried for his safety and decided to follow him. | The old woman stands at her door, watching the gingerbread boy as he runs into the forest. |
| Along the way, the gingerbread boy met a squirrel. "Stop!" said the squirrel. "You look so tasty, I want to eat you!" |
The old woman hides behind a tree, watching as the squirrel talks to the gingerbread boy. |
| The gingerbread boy chanted: "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" He was right. He quickly ran away from the squirrel. |
The gingerbread boy zooms away! The old woman smiles. |
| The next animal the gingerbread boy met was a fawn. "Stop!" said the fawn. "You look so tasty, I want to eat you." |
The old woman watches from a distance. |
| The gingerbread boy chanted: "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" He was right. He quickly ran away from the fawn. |
The gingerbread boy zooms away once more. |
| The gingerbread boy came to a river.
Beside the river, he saw a hungry-looking fox.
Now, you may already know this, but foxes are very clever.
The old woman knew this too, and that this time, the gingerbread boy was in danger. The gingerbread boy chanted: "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" |
The gingerbread boy begins to run from the fox, but the river is in his way! |
| The fox said, "Run all you want.
You don't look that tasty to me.
I will not chase you.
But how will you get across this river without getting soggy?" The gingerbread boy didn't say anything, because he did not have an answer. The fox said, "If I swim across, you could ride on my tail." |
Now gingerbread boy looks worried. The old woman crosses a bridge in the distance. |
| The gingerbread boy grabbed hold of the fox's tail and followed him into the water. "Oh, the water is deeper than I thought," said the fox. "Climb onto my back. That way, you won't get soggy." The gingerbread boy did not know better and did as the fox said. |
The gingerbread boy rides on the fox. They move into the river. |
| "Oh, the water is even getting deeper!
Climb up onto my neck. That way, you won't get soggy." The gingerbread boy did not know better and did as the fox said. |
The gingerbread boy holds on tight! |
| "Oh, the water is getting even deeper!
Climb up onto my nose. That way, you won't get soggy." The gingerbread boy did not know better and did as the fox said. This was the moment the fox had been waiting for. He opened his mouth wide. |
The gingerbread boy looks down and sees the fox's sharp teeth! |
| But before the gingerbread boy fell into the fox's jaws, something incredible happened. The old woman snatched the gingerbread boy away! | The fox tries to grab the gingerbread boy, but he is too late. |
| Was the gingerbread boy being saved, or would the old woman eat him? | The gingerbread boy looks frightened! |
| The old woman smiled and said, "Please don't be afraid, I will not eat you!" "Thank you!" said the gingerbread boy. "You have to be clever to live in the forest," said the old woman. "Will you come back to the cottage to live with me? I can teach you." |
She kneels next to the gingerbread boy and holds out her hand. |
| The gingerbread boy held the old woman's hand and said, "I'm not really a gingerbread man just yet.
Maybe I am still a gingerbread boy." The old woman winked at him and said, "Now that was a very clever thing to say." The End |
They walk back toward their cottage together. |