Among the entertaining and enjoyable stories for children, which attract their attention and help them expand their imagination because they expect the rest of the events of the story, and even are happy with the beautiful ending of that story.
The Events of the Story: It is told that an elderly woman was skilled in baking distinctive gingerbread in the shape of dolls of different sizes, characterized by their wonderful taste and distinctive aroma. So all the children of the neighborhood would gather around her to eat the delicious cake and enjoy the beautiful shape of the dolls.
Every time the woman prepared the cake and left it by the window to cool, then returned to find it had disappeared, she thought the children were eating it, and she was happy about that. One day, the elderly woman woke up to prepare the distinctive gingerbread, took out the flour, salt, water, and ginger, and began preparing the cake and shaping it. Then she put it inside the baking tray and shaped it in the form of large dolls.
But a small piece of dough remained, so she was forced to make a piece of gingerbread cake in the shape of a small doll. She put it inside the oven, then left it by the window to cool.
Gingerbread Turns into the Gingerbread Man: A beautiful butterfly with blue wings came to look at the wonderful shape of the gingerbread and enjoy its fragrant aroma, then the butterfly approached the small gingerbread.
She whispered, “Come, let’s rise and play together.” Indeed, the small gingerbread rose and looked at the beautiful butterfly. He said to her, “Come, I want us to play together.” The butterfly flew from the window to the garden, then the small gingerbread man followed her with his small feet that helped him jump everywhere.
When the children saw the small gingerbread man with his beautiful shape and smart aroma, they began jumping behind him trying to catch him to eat him.
But the butterfly shouted, “Hurry, little one, before the children catch you.” The small gingerbread man continued jumping, running quickly away from the children, until they reached the garden of the neighboring house.
The small gingerbread man lay on the ground tired, while he and the butterfly were resting. They heard the sound of a dog barking approaching them, so the butterfly was very afraid.
She said, “Come, little man, the dog has smelled your scent and is approaching you to eat you.” So the small gingerbread man rose quickly, jumping behind the butterfly.
Then the dog started following them until they reached the edge of the lake. The gingerbread man shouted, “What will I do now, for I cannot swim?” The butterfly said, “I will carry you on my wings and we will fly.” The gingerbread man said, “How can you carry me on your delicate wing; it will not bear me?” The butterfly said, “Trust me, I will be able to carry you.”
During the conversation, there was a fox swimming and playing in the water, listening to the conversation. He said to the gingerbread man, “Come jump on my tail, and I will carry you to the other side.” The butterfly shouted, “Do not believe him; he is the cunning fox and will eat you.” But the gingerbread man said to her, “I will stay on his tail, away from his mouth, so he will not be able to devour me.”
Indeed, he ran on the fox’s tail and swam with him in the water. The fox started wagging its tail right and left, then said, “Jump on my head now; the tail is swaying and may throw you in the water.”
So the gingerbread man jumped quickly onto the fox’s head. The fox opened its mouth to eat the gingerbread man while he was jumping on its head. The butterfly sped up, carried him with her wings, and began flying away.
The small gingerbread man was afraid and said to her, “Where can I hide, and everyone here wants to devour me?” She said to him, “Do not worry, I will take you to a safe place.” The butterfly flew, carrying the small gingerbread man, until she reached a small island full of trees in the middle of the lake.
The small gingerbread man said to her, “Where will we go?” She said to him, “I have carried many gingerbread men, women, and children in this place, and they made a home to live in, instead of being eaten by children or animals.”
The small gingerbread man descended onto the island and found many gingerbread children playing and having fun. He was happy that he would join this beautiful island without annoyance from anyone. The small gingerbread man thanked the butterfly for what she was doing and said goodbye to her with sadness, but she promised him that she would come to play with him soon.
Translated from the story: The Little Gingerbread Man. By the author Carol Moore.