A little old woman and a little old man lived together in a little old house. One day, the little old woman made a gingerbread man. She gave him raisin eyes, a currant mouth, and sugar buttons down his front. Then she put him in the oven to bake.

When she opened the oven door, the gingerbread man jumped right out! He hopped off the baking tray, ran across the kitchen floor, and dashed out the door.

"Stop! Stop!" cried the little old woman.

"Stop! Stop!" cried the little old man.

But the gingerbread man just laughed and called back, "Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me — I'm the gingerbread man!"

And away he ran.

He ran past a cow in a field. The cow said, "Stop! You look delicious!" But the gingerbread man called out, "I've run from a little old woman and a little old man, and I can run from you too! Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me — I'm the gingerbread man!"

He ran past a horse by a fence. The horse said, "Stop! I want to eat you!" But the gingerbread man laughed. "I've run from a little old woman, a little old man, and a cow, and I can run from you too! Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me — I'm the gingerbread man!"

He ran and ran, past farmers and dogs and chickens, and nobody could catch him. The gingerbread man was very proud of himself.

Then he came to a river. He couldn't swim. He stopped at the bank and frowned.

A sly fox was sitting by the water. "Well, hello," said the fox. "Need to get across? Hop on my tail and I'll carry you."

The gingerbread man wasn't sure, but the crowd was getting closer. So he jumped onto the fox's tail, and the fox began to swim.

The water got deeper. "You'd better climb onto my back," said the fox. "So you don't get wet." The gingerbread man climbed up.

The water got deeper still. "Better climb onto my head," said the fox. The gingerbread man climbed higher.

"Better climb onto my nose," said the fox, "or you'll surely get soggy."

The gingerbread man climbed onto the fox's nose. And the fox flipped his head back, opened his mouth, and — snap! — that was the end of the gingerbread man.

And he was delicious.