Published: 03/07/2021
Download the transcript:
Welcome to Storytime with Dad. To read along and do fun activities, sign up for a free Kids’ Club membership at storytimewithdad.com.
Today we will be reading, The Gingerbread Man
Once upon a time there was a little old woman and a little old man. One day, the little old woman decided to make a gingerbread man. She rolled out the dough and cut out the shape, and she put raisins for his eyes, and peppermints for his teeth, and put icing on his head for the hair. Then she put him in the oven, and when it smelled good, she opened up the door to take a peek and out jumped the gingerbread man!
“Stop! Stop, little gingerbread man!” said the little old lady. “I want to eat you!”
“No!” said the little gingerbread man. “I can run away from you!”
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” And away he ran!
He ran till he got outside, where he saw the little old man. And the little old man said, “Stop! Stop little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!”
And the little gingerbread man said: “NO! I ran away from the little old woman, and I can run away from you too!”
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” And away he ran!
He ran till he came to the pigsty. And the pig said, “Oink, oink – Stop! Stop little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!”
But the gingerbread man said, “NO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and I can run away from you too!”
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” And away he ran!
He ran till he came to a house. And in front of the house was a dog. And the dog said, “STOP! Stop stop stoooooooooop! Little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!”
But the gingerbread man said, “NO! I ran away from the little old woman, and the little old man, and a pig, and I can run away from you too!”
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” And away he ran!
He ran till he came to a field full of cows. And the cows said,
“Mooooo! Stoooooooop! Stoooooooop little gingerbread man. We want to eat you!”
But the gingerbread man said, “NO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and a pig, and a dog, and I can run away from you too!
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” And away he ran!
He ran till he came to a river. And next to the river was a fox. The fox said, “Hello little gingerbread man.”
The gingerbread man said, “HELLO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and a pig, and some cows, and I can run away from you too!
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
“But,” said the fox, “I never run. And I don’t want to eat you!”
The gingerbread man said
“Run, run, fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
The fox said, “Run all you want, I’m not going to chase you. But, I would like to ask you a question.”
The gingerbread man said, “What?”
The fox said, “How do think you’re going to get across that stream without getting wet? I mean, if you get wet, you’ll get soggy, right?”
The gingerbread man didn’t say anything, but he looked very thoughtful.
The fox said, “I’ve got an idea.”
The gingerbread man said, “What?”
The fox said, “I’m going to swim across, right now. If you want, you can hitch a ride on my tail.”
The gingerbread man said, “OK,” and grabbed the fox’s tail. The fox started to wade into the water.
After a few steps, the fox said, “Oh, little gingerbread man. The water is getting kind of deep. I’m afraid you might get wet. Why don’t you climb up onto my back?”
The gingerbread man looked, and said, “Gee, the water is getting kind of deep, ok,” and he climbed up onto the fox’s back.
After a few more steps, the fox said, “Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I’m afraid you might get wet. Why don’t you climb up onto my… neck?”
The gingerbread man looked, and said, “Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok,” and he climbed up onto the fox’s neck.
After a few more steps, the fox said, “Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I’m afraid you might get wet. Why don’t you climb up onto my… head?”
The gingerbread man looked, and said, “Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok,” and he climbed up onto the fox’s head.
After a few more steps, the fox said, “Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I’m afraid you might get wet. Why don’t you climb up onto my… nose?”
The gingerbread man looked, and said, “Gee the water is getting really deep, ok,” and he climbed up onto the fox’s nose.
And the fox went, CHOMP! And that was the end of the gingerbread man.
The end.
Oooo, what a terrible end for the gingerbread man, but I guess that’s how all gingerbread men end up eventually. He shouldn’t have trusted that fox! Foxes are known for being the sneakiest of animals, and it seems that the gingerbread man didn’t know that. It’s also sad but true, in real life we can’t trust everybody, either.
I know, I know, I wish we could. Unfortunately, some people care more about themselves than others. The fox cared more about having a full stomach than he did about the gingerbread man.
I do hope you’re like me and care about other people, but don’t think for a second that everyone treats others the way they would like to be treated. You have a responsibility to take of yourself. That means, not trusting strangers, but getting to know people before you trust them. If you trust the wrong person, they might try to trick you and hurt you just like that fox. It’s not a happy thing to think about, which is why you need to know this!
So, make sure you are being careful around strangers. And if you ever do get lost and need an adult to help you, look for the closest mommy or daddy that you can find! You’ll know they’re a mommy or daddy because they’ll have kids with them. Of all the strangers in the world, they’re the safest.
I mentioned the Kids Club at the start of this episode, and I want to repeat it again. If you want to read along, get some coloring pages, word finds, and other activities for each episode, sign up for a free membership at storytimewithdad.com. I’m so happy you’re listening to these episodes and have made my voice part of your life. I hope you will tune in for many, many more episodes.
Thanks for listening! I’ll see you again next time.
Narrated by: Grant Dryden
Kids Club Activities
Join the Storytime with Dad Kids Club and get FREE downloadable activities to do with your family!Register Here