Gingerbread Man Story For Children With Moral (2024)

Children have strong imagination skills. They often create a magical world for them with talking teacups, musical teddy bears, and space cowboys. Today, we will read a similar magical tale of a gingerbread man who comes alive and runs away from the woman who baked him. He meets various pursuers while on the run, like chicken, horse, and cat. The Gingerbread Man story in English is a fantastic chase story that will keep you, and your little one gripped till the end. To get the Gingerbread Man full story, scroll down!

Origin And History Of The Gingerbread Man Story

The Gingerbread man is an old folktale that appeared first in 1875 in an American publication St. Nicholas Magazine.Since then, several versions of this story have been available in different languages worldwide.

Story Type of the Gingerbread Man Story

The Gingerbread Man is an old fairy tale about a magical character gingerbread man who comes to life after being tossed into the oven and runs as fast as he can to escape whoever tries to eat him. It is a superb bedtime fairy tale that your kid will absolutely love!

Story Characters

The story is full of magical characters, including the gingerbread man, the couple lady and his husband, the chicken, the cat, the horse, the fox, and two well diggers.

The Story Of The Gingerbread Man For Children

A long time ago, there was an old couple that lived in a cottage. One fine day, the old lady decided to bake some gingerbread and shaped one gingerbread like a man and decorated it with chocolate buttons for eyes, icing for a smile, and little colourful sweets for buttons. Then she put the gingerbread in the oven to bake. When she came to check up on the gingerbread and opened the door, she got shocked. The gingerbread shouted, “Don’t eat me!” and leapt out of the oven. He ran and rolled across the room and out through the open door.

The old lady called out to his husband, who was working in the garden. After seeing the gingerbread man running away, he joined his wife in the chase. The couple ran after the gingerbread man as fast as they could, but he outran them and shouted, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me; I’m the gingerbread man!” They got some rest at the river’s bank and resumed chasing.

On and on went the gingerbread man and met a chicken. The chicken was eating food when she saw the gingerbread man passing by. She called him and asked, “Where are you going, gingerbread man? You look delicious!”

To this, the gingerbread man laughed and shouted, “I have outrun a couple, and I can outrun you too.”

“You think? We’ll see about that.” replied the chicken, left her food and ran after him. The gingerbread man shouted, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me; I’m the gingerbread man!” The chicken joined the old couple and ran after him.

On and on went the gingerbread man and met a cat. The cat was quietly purring when she saw the gingerbread man passing by. She called him and asked, “Where are you going, gingerbread man? You look delicious! Can I take a bite?”

To this, the gingerbread man laughed and shouted, “I have outrun a couple and a chicken, and I can outrun you too.”

“You think? We’ll see about that.” replied the cat and ran after him. The gingerbread man shouted, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me; I’m the gingerbread man!” The cat joined the old couple and the chicken in chasing the gingerbread man.

On and on went the gingerbread man and came by a horse. The horse lazed around in the field when he saw the gingerbread man passing by. He called him and asked, “Where are you going, gingerbread man? You look delicious! I can fancy you with my tea.”

To this, the gingerbread man laughed and shouted, “I have outrun a couple, a chicken and a cat, and I can outrun you too.”

Always for a challenge, the horse replied, “You think? We’ll see about that.” and ran after him. The gingerbread man shouted, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me; I’m the gingerbread man!” The horse joined the old couple, the chicken and the cat, in chasing the gingerbread man.

On and on went the gingerbread man and met two diggers. The diggers were digging a well when they saw the gingerbread man passing by. They called him and asked, “Where are you going, gingerbread man? Want to accompany us?”

To this, the gingerbread man laughed and shouted, “I have outrun a couple, a chicken, a cat and a horse, and I can outrun you too.”

“You think? We’ll see about that.” said the diggers and ran after him. The gingerbread man shouted, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me; I’m the gingerbread man!” The diggers joined the old couple, the chicken, the cat and the horse in the chase.

On and on went the gingerbread man and came to a halt next to a wide river. Along the river, there was a mango tree under which a fox lay quietly.

The fox saw the gingerbread man along the river and asked, “Where are you up to, gingerbread man?” The gingerbread man turned and saw a fox standing behind him.

“You need a ride?” asked the fox.

“I know you want to eat me.” replied the gingerbread man.

At this, the fox laughed and said, “You are so tiny. I’ve got a big appetite. If I eat you now, you will not satiate my hunger. You are not even a snack.” “Look, I am crossing the river. If you want a ride to the other side, let me know. I’ll help you!”

The gingerbread man started thinking hard.

“Look, I haven’t got all day. I have several errands to do. So, if you want to come, tell me now.” said the sly fox.

The gingerbread man did not have much time either. The old couple, the chicken, the horse, the cat, and the diggers were all after him, and he had to escape.

The gingerbread man climbed on the fox’s back. After a while, the fox started complaining that his back hurt. “Would you care to move a little and sit on my nose? My back hurts,” he asked.

“Yes, sure!” said the gingerbread man and sat on the fox’s nose. As they reached the riverbank, the clever fox flipped the gingerbread man into the air, caught him with his mouth and ate him in one bite.

And that was the end of the gingerbread man.

Story Summary

Below is the summary of the story The Gingerbread Man Story.

A long time ago, an old lady baked gingerbread in the shape of a man. When she opened the oven to check on the gingerbread, the gingerbread man leapt out and ran away. She and his husband began to chase him. The gingerbread man, on his way, came across a chicken, a cat, a horse, and two well diggers who all tried to eat him but could not catch him.

He came to a halt along the foot of the river as it was deep, and he would get soggy if he tried to cross it. The fox saw the gingerbread man and offered him his help. The gingerbread man agreed to his support and sat on the sly fox’s back. Halfway through the river, the clever fox complained of backache and requested the gingerbread man to sit on his nose. As soon as they reached the riverside, he tossed the gingerbread man in the air and ate him in one bite.

Moral Of The Story

The story teaches us two morals:

First, “we should never be full of ourselves”. Overconfidence leads to one’s demise. The gingerbread man was very confident that he could run fast and escape from everyone. However, he was proved wrong when the sly fox caught him.

Secondly, “we should never trust anyone blindly”. The gingerbread man believed the fox offered him and was not at all tempted to eat him. This led him into the clever fox’s trap easily and to his downfall.

How Can Children Apply The Morals In Their Real Life?

Children can easily apply this short story’s moral values in their practical lives. We must teach them never to trust strangers, whether at home or outside. If any stranger tries to talk to them, the children should not talk back and get to the person authorised as safe by their parents. Also, they should never boast of themselves and badmouth any children. They should speak to everybody politely and respectfully.

We hope you had fun reading this story with pictures, and will teach your children moral lessons.

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Moral Story of Tinkerbell For Children
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Story of The Musical Donkey for Children with Moral