“And I can run away from you, I can!”

And when he found that he was ahead of the mowers, he turned and shouted back to them,—­

“Run! run! as fast as you can!

“You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

And the mowers couldn’t catch him.

By this time the little Gingerbread Boy was so proud that he didn’t think anybody could catch him.  Pretty soon he saw a fox coming across a field.  The fox looked at him and began to run.  But the little Gingerbread Boy shouted across to him, “You can’t catch me!” The fox began to run faster, and the little Gingerbread Boy ran faster, and as he ran he chuckled,—­

“I have run away from a little old woman,

“A little old man,

“A cow,

“A horse,

“A barn full of threshers,

“A field full of mowers,

“And I can run away from you, I can!

“Run! run! as fast as you can!

“You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

“Why,” said the fox, “I would not catch you if I could.  I would not think of disturbing you.”

Just then, the little Gingerbread Boy came to a river.  He could not swim across, and he wanted to keep running away from the cow and the horse and the people.

“Jump on my tail, and I will take you across,” said the fox.

So the little Gingerbread Boy jumped on the fox’s tail, and the fox began to swim the river.  When he was a little way from the bank he turned his head, and said, “You are too heavy on my tail, little Gingerbread Boy, I fear I shall let you get wet; jump on my back.”

The little Gingerbread Boy jumped on his back.

A little farther out, the fox said, “I am afraid the water will cover you, there; jump on my shoulder.”

The little Gingerbread Boy jumped on his shoulder.

In the middle of the stream the fox said, “Oh, dear! little Gingerbread Boy, my shoulder is sinking; jump on my nose, and I can hold you out of water.”

So the little Gingerbread Boy jumped on his nose.

The minute the fox reached the bank he threw back his head, and gave a snap!

“Dear me!” said the little Gingerbread Boy, “I am a quarter gone!” The next minute he said, “Why, I am half gone!” The next minute he said, “My goodness gracious, I am three quarters gone!”

And after that, the little Gingerbread Boy never said anything more at all.

FOOTNOTES: 

[11] I have tried to give this story in the most familiar form; it varies a good deal in the hands of different story-tellers, but this is substantially the version I was “brought up on.”

THE LITTLE JACKALS AND THE LION[12]

Once there was a great big jungle; and in the jungle there was a great big Lion; and the Lion was king of the jungle.  Whenever he wanted anything to eat, all he had to do was to come up out of his cave in the stones and earth and roar.  When he had roared a few times all the little people of the jungle were so frightened that they came out of their holes and hiding-places and ran, this way and that, to get away.  Then, of course, the Lion could see where they were.  And he pounced on them, killed them, and gobbled them up.