He ran through the countryside and passed by several mills and farms. The farm animals smelled him coming a mile away and stared at the cookie with hungry eyes.

“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” he sang to tease the animals.

The farm animals jumped over their fences and climbed out of their pens and ran after the Gingerbread Man too. They joined the villagers and the baker and created a massive stampede. The cookie still ran much faster than them, and he giggled with joy.

The Gingerbread Man ran by a castle and caught the attention of the king and all the king’s men.

“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” he sang to torment the king.

The king was insulted by the Gingerbread Man’s taunting song and ordered his soldiers to capture the defiant cookie. The soldiers climbed aboard their horses and joined the stampede of animals and villagers. But alas, the Gingerbread Man was still much faster, and it didn’t seem likely he would ever be caught.

Soon, the Gingerbread Man’s journey came to a pause at the edge of a river flowing through the kingdom. Being made of flour, he knew he would disintegrate if he swam across.

“Oh no! What shall I do now?” he said.

“Don’t worry, little cookie,” said a fox who appeared beside him. “I know what it’s like to be hunted and chased. I’ll swim across the river, and you can ride on my back!”

The Gingerbread Man was delighted by the assistance. He climbed on top of the fox’s back just as all the king’s soldiers, the farm animals, the villagers, and the baker reached the river. They knew they would never catch him now.

The Gingerbread Man sang and danced when he saw all their long faces.

“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the—”

Before he could finish his song, the fox gobbled up the Gingerbread Man.

“My compliments to the baker!” the fox said and licked his lips.

The king’s soldiers returned to the castle, the farm animals returned to the farm, the villagers returned to the village, the baker returned to the bakery, and they all returned to their normal lives.

The baker learned a very valuable business lesson: Always double-check your ingredients when trying new endeavors. If you add legs to something, it might just get up and run away.

The End