[FONT=helvetica,arial]Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman who had no children. So they baked a gingerbread man. When they took him out of the oven, they were happy. But then he jumped out of the pan and ran away.
"Come back!" called the old man and the old woman. But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!" And they couldn't catch him.
The gingerbread man ran and ran. He ran past a cow standing on a patch of grass. The cow said, "Mmm! A gingerbread man. I'm going to eat you!" But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!" And the cow couldn't catch him.
The gingerbread man ran and ran. He ran past a ram in a carrot patch. The ram said, "Mmm! A gingerbread man. I'm going to eat you!" But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!" And the ram couldn't catch him.
The gingerbread man ran and ran, until he came to a river. Just then a fox walked by and said, "Mmm! A gingerbread man. I'm going to eat you!" But the gingerbread man just laughed and said, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!"
"Maybe I can't catch you," said the fox, taking a step closer, "but if you try to cross that river, you will surely get wet and crumble to pieces. Hop on my tail, and I'll carry you across." So the gingerbread man did just that.
The fox began to swim. As he did, his tail dipped into the water, and he said, "Oh, dear. My tail is getting wet. Climb onto my back to stay dry." So the gingerbread man did just that.
The fox swam on. But soon he said, "Oh, dear. Now my back is getting wet. Climb onto my nose to stay dry." So the gingerbread man did just that.
The gingerbread man looked back and saw the old man, the old woman, the cow, and the ram, standing at the bank of the river. He laughed and said, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm..."
But before the gingerbread man could say another word, the fox flipped him into his mouth. And that was the end of the gingerbread man.
The End[/FONT]
