The Gingerbread Man facts for kids
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The Gingerbread Man (also known as The Gingerbread Boy) is a classic fairy tale. It tells the story of a gingerbread man who escapes from many people. He runs away from everyone until a clever fox finally catches him.
The story of "The Gingerbread Boy" first appeared in a magazine. It was printed in the May 1875 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine. This tale is a "cumulative tale." This means it has repeated scenes and more characters join in as the story goes on. Think of it like "The Little Red Hen" where things happen over and over. The person who first wrote down the story said a girl from Maine told it to her children. The children loved it so much that she wanted to share it. The girl said an old lady had told her the story when she was a child.
Contents
The Original 1875 Story
In the 1875 story from St. Nicholas Magazine, an old woman bakes a gingerbread man. She and her husband do not have children. As soon as he is baked, the gingerbread man jumps out of the oven! He then runs away.
The old woman and her husband chase him. But they cannot catch him. The gingerbread man then runs past several farm workers. He also runs past farm men. He calls out to them:
- I've run away from a little old man,
- A little old man, and the old lady
- And I can run away from you, I can!
The story ends when a fox catches the gingerbread man. The fox eats him. As he is eaten, the gingerbread man cries out. He says, "I'm quarter gone...I'm half gone...I'm three-quarters gone...I'm all gone!"
Different Versions of the Story
The Gingerbread Man story is still very popular today. Many new versions of the tale have been written. Often, these new stories change the ending. They might not include the original lines about being eaten.
In some versions, the fox pretends to be deaf. This makes the Gingerbread Man come closer and closer. Then, the fox quickly grabs him and eats him. In other stories, the Gingerbread Man reaches a river. The fox offers to help him cross. The fox then convinces him to move closer and closer to his mouth.
Many retellings of the story include a famous line. The Gingerbread Man often teases those chasing him by saying:
- Run, run as fast as you can!
- You can't catch me.
- I'm the Gingerbread Man!
Similar Folk Tales Around the World
The idea of a runaway food character is found in many folk tales. These stories come from different cultures. Folklorists have found similar tales in Germany, the British Isles, and Eastern Europe. They are also found in the United States.
In Slavic lands, there is a traditional character called Kolobok. Kolobok is a ball of bread dough. He tries to avoid being eaten by different animals. This story was collected in 1864.
Another similar tale is "The Pancake" from Norway. It was published in 1842-1844. Ten years later, German brothers collected "The Big, Fat Pancake." There is also "The Runaway Pancake" from 1894. The "Roule Galette" story is a similar one from France.
A different kind of runaway food story comes from Hungary. It is called "The Little Dumpling." In this tale, the main character is not a dumpling. It is a type of head cheese. This "dumpling" eats others! It first eats the family who made it. Then, as it rolls along, it eats many other people. It even eats a whole army! Finally, a swineherd uses his knife to open the "dumpling." Everyone inside runs home.
A similar Russian tale is "The Clay-Boy." In this story, an old couple makes a child out of clay. The clay-child eats all their food. Then it eats them. It also eats many other people. But then it meets a goat. The goat offers to jump into its mouth. Instead, the goat rams the Clay-Boy. This breaks him into pieces. Everyone he ate is then freed. The Czech folk tale Otesánek has a similar plot.
In English fairy tales, there is a story called "Johnny-Cake." It was published in 1890. This johnny-cake rolls instead of runs. The fox tricks him by pretending to be deaf. This makes the johnny-cake come closer. Another Scottish tale is "The Wee Bannock." It features a bannock as the hero.
Modern Stories and Pop Culture
The Gingerbread Man story has inspired many modern works. These include musicals, books, and video games.
A musical called The Gingerbread Man opened in 1905. In this show, the main gingerbread character was named John Dough. This John Dough was different from the original story. He was not a troublemaker. He seemed to fear being forgotten more than being eaten.
L. Frank Baum, who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also wrote about a gingerbread man. His books John Dough and the Cherub (1906) and The Road to Oz (1909) feature a life-sized gingerbread man named John Dough. This John Dough is scared of being eaten. But he bravely sacrifices his hand to save a child's life.
Many modern tales use the runaway food idea. Eric Kimmel's The Runaway Tortilla (2000) is about a tortilla in the desert. It avoids many animals. But a clever coyote defeats it. There is a Hanukkah version called The Runaway Latkes (2000). Ying Chang Compestine's The Runaway Rice Cake (2001) is a Chinese New Year tale. Stop That Pickle! (2005) is about a runaway deli pickle.
New stories with a gingerbread man hero include The Gingerbread Cowboy and The Gingerbread Kid Goes to School (2002). There is also The Gingerbread Girl (2006). In 1992, Jon Sciezka wrote The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. In this book, the "Stinky Cheese Man" runs away from everyone. He fears they will eat him. But really, everyone just wants to get away from his smell!
The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett is a version where the gingerbread man escapes the fox. He then lives in a gingerbread house.
The tale has also appeared in other media. The band The Residents used the gingerbread man as a narrator in their 1994 album Gingerbread Man. The Korean mobile game series Cookie Run is inspired by this fairy tale. The British video game Ninjabread Man also features a gingerbread man character.
The Gingerbread Man is a character in the Jasper Fforde Nursery Crimes series. He is a criminal in these books. He is also a main bad guy in the novel The Fourth Bear.
The book "The Hypnotizer" by Michael Rosen includes a story called "fast food." It is similar to the Gingerbread Man. But it features a hamburger instead.
A happy-ending Gingerbread Man book was published in 2019. It is called "The True Story of the Gingerbread Man."
The Gingerbread Man is famously made fun of in the Shrek movies. He is a recurring character there. He is voiced by Conrad Vernon.
American rapper Nardo Wick used a sample from The Gingerbread Man song. It is in his song Dah Dah DahDah.
See also
In Spanish: El hombre de jengibre para niños
