The Little Gingerbread Man Read online

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  The Little Gingerbread Man

 

  Cook makes the Gingerbread Man]

  The Little Gingerbread Man

  by G.H.P.

 

  PICTURES & DECORATIONS by Robert Gaston Herbert

  G. P. Putnam's Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press

 

  COPYRIGHT, 1910

  BY

  G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

  First Printing, October, 1910 Second " September, 1912 Third " July, 1915 Fourth " April, 1921 Fifth " July, 1923 Sixth " April, 1927

  The Knickerbocker Press New York]

  Made in the United States of America

  The Little Gingerbread Man

  The Little Gingerbread Man]

  One day, the cook went into the kitchen to make some gingerbread.She took some flour and water, and treacle and ginger, and mixedthem all well together, and she put in some more water to make itthin, and then some more flour to make it thick, and a little saltand some spice, and then she rolled it out into a beautiful,smooth, dark-yellow dough.

  Then she took the square tins and cut out some square cakes for thelittle boys, and with some round tins she cut out some round cakesfor the little girls, and then she said, "I'm going to make alittle gingerbread man for little Bobby." So she took a nice roundlump of dough for his body, and a smaller lump for his head, whichshe pulled out a little for the neck. Two other lumps were stuck onbeneath for the legs, and were pulled out into proper shape, withfeet and toes all complete, and two still smaller pieces were madeinto arms, with dear little hands and fingers.

  But the nicest work was done on the head, for the top was frizzedup into a pretty sugary hat; on either side was made a dear littleear, and in front, after the nose had been carefully moulded, abeautiful mouth was made out of a big raisin, and two bright littleeyes with burnt almonds and caraway seeds.

  Then the gingerbread man was finished ready for baking, and a veryjolly little man he was. In fact, he looked so sly that the cookwas afraid he was plotting some mischief, and when the batter wasready for the oven, she put in the square cakes and she put in theround cakes; and then she put in the little gingerbread man in afar back corner, where he couldn't get away in a hurry.

  Cook goes up to sweep the Parlor]

  Then she went up to sweep the parlor, and she swept and she swepttill the clock struck twelve, when she dropped her broom in ahurry, and exclaiming, "Lawks! the gingerbread will be all baked toa cinder," she ran down into the kitchen, and threw open the ovendoor. And the square cakes were all done, nice and hard and brown,and the round cakes were all done, nice and hard and brown, and thegingerbread man was all done too, nice and hard and brown; and hewas standing up in his corner, with his little caraway-seed eyessparkling, and his raisin mouth bubbling over with mischief, whilehe waited for the oven door to be opened. The instant the door wasopened, with a hop, skip, and a jump, he went right over the squarecakes and the round cakes, and over the cook's arm, and before shecould say "Jack Robinson" he was running across the kitchen floor,as fast as his little legs would carry him, towards the back door,which was standing wide open, and through which he could see thegarden path.

  The Gingerbread Man Escapes.]

  The old cook turned round as fast as she could, which wasn't veryfast, for she was rather a heavy woman and she had been quite takenby surprise, and she saw lying right across the door-way, fastasleep in the sun, old Mouser, the cat.

  "Mouser, Mouser," she cried, "stop the gingerbread man! I want himfor little Bobby." When the cook first called, Mouser thought itwas only some one calling in her dreams, and simply rolled overlazily; and the cook called again, "Mouser, Mouser!" The old catsprang up with a jump, but just as she turned round to ask the cookwhat all the noise was about, the little gingerbread man cleverlyjumped under her tail, and in an instant was trotting down thegarden walk. Mouser turned in a hurry and ran after, although shewas still rather too sleepy to know what it was she was trying tocatch, and after the cat came the cook, lumbering along ratherheavily, but also making pretty good speed.

  Now at the bottom of the walk, lying fast asleep in the sun againstthe warm stones of the garden wall, was Towser, the dog.

  And the cook called out: "Towser, Towser, stop the gingerbread man!I want him for little Bobby."

  And when Towser first heard her calling he thought it was some onespeaking in his dreams, and he only turned over on his side, withanother snore, and then the cook called again, "Towser, Towser,stop him, stop him!"

  Then the dog woke up in good earnest, and jumped up on his feet tosee what it was that he should stop. But just as the dog jumped up,the little gingerbread man, who had been watching for the chance,quietly slipped between his legs, and climbed up on the top of thestone wall, so that Towser saw nothing but the cat running towardshim down the walk, and behind the cat the cook, now quite out ofbreath.

  He thought at once that the cat must have stolen something, andthat it was the cat the cook wanted him to stop. Now, if there wasanything that Towser liked, it was going after the cat, and hejumped up the walk so fiercely that the poor cat did not have timeto stop herself or to get out of his way, and they came togetherwith a great fizzing, and barking, and meowing, and howling, andscratching, and biting, as if a couple of Catherine-wheels had goneoff in the wrong way and had got mixed up with one another.

  Cook takes a tumble]

  But the old cook had been running so hard that she was not able tostop herself any better than the cat had done, and she fell righton top of the mixed up dog and cat, so that all three rolled overon the walk in a heap together.

  And the cat scratched whichever came nearest, whether it was apiece of the dog or of the cook, and the dog bit at whatever camenearest, whether it was a piece of the cat or of the cook, so thatthe poor cook was badly pummelled on both sides.

  Meanwhile, the gingerbread man had climbed up on the garden wall,and stood on the top with his hands in his pockets, looking at thescrimmage, and laughing till the tears ran down from his littlecaraway-seed eyes and his raisin mouth was bubbling all over withfun.

  After a little while, the cat managed to pull herself outfrom under the cook and the dog, and a very cast-down andcrumpled-up-looking cat she was. She had had enough of huntinggingerbread men, and she crept back to the kitchen to repairdamages.

  The dog, who was very cross because his face had been badlyscratched, let go of the cook, and at last, catching sight of thegingerbread man, made a bolt for the garden wall. The cook pickedherself up, and although her face was also badly scratched and herdress was torn, she was determined to see the end of the chase, andshe followed after the dog, though this time more slowly.

  The Monkey catches the Gingerbread Man]

  When the gingerbread man saw the dog coming, he jumped down on thefarther side of the wall, and began running across the field. Nowin the middle of the field was a tree, and at the foot of the treewas lying Jocko, the monkey. He wasn't asleep--monkeys neverare--and when he saw the little man running across the field andheard the cook calling, "Jocko, Jocko, stop the gingerbread man,"he at once gave one big jump. But he jumped so fast and so far thathe went right over the gingerbread man, and as luck would have it,he came down on the back of Towser, the dog, who had just scrambledover the wall, and whom he had not before noticed. Towser wasnaturally taken by surprise, but he turned his head around andpromptl
y bit off the end of the monkey's tail, and Jocko quicklyjumped off again, chattering his indignation.

  Meanwhile, the gingerbread man had got to the bottom of the tree,and was saying to himself: "Now, I know the dog can't climb a tree,and I don't believe the old cook can climb a tree; and as for themonkey I'm not sure, for I've never seen a monkey before, but I amgoing up."

  So he pulled himself up hand over hand until he had got to thetopmost branch.

  But the monkey had jumped with one spring onto the lowest branch,and in an instant he also was at the top of the tree.

  The gingerbread man crawled out to the furthermost end of thebranch, and hung by one hand, but the monkey swung himself underthe branch, and stretching out his long arm, he pulled thegingerbread man in. Then he held him up and looked at him sohungrily that the little raisin mouth began to pucker down at thecorners, and the caraway-seed eyes filled with tears.

  And then what do you think happened? Why, little Bobby himself camerunning up. He had been taking his noon-day nap upstairs, and inhis dreams it seemed as if he kept hearing people call "LittleBobby, little Bobby!" until finally he jumped up with a start, andwas so sure that some one was calling him that he ran down-stairs,without even waiting to put on his shoes.

  Bobby thought he heard someone calling.]

  As he came down, he could see through the window in the fieldbeyond the garden the cook, and the dog, and the monkey, and couldeven hear the barking of Towser and the chattering of Jocko. Hescampered down the walk, with his little bare feet patteringagainst the warm gravel, climbed over the wall, and in a fewseconds arrived under the tree, just as Jocko was holding up thepoor little gingerbread man.

  "Drop it, Jocko!" cried Bobby, and drop it Jocko did, for he alwayshad to mind Bobby. He dropped it so straight that the gingerbreadman fell right into Bobby's uplifted pinafore.

  Then Bobby held him up and looked at him, and the little raisinmouth puckered down lower than ever, and the tears ran right out ofthe caraway-seed eyes.

  But Bobby was too hungry to mind gingerbread tears, and he gave onebig bite, and swallowed down both legs and a piece of the body.

  "1/3 gone"]

  "OH!" said the gingerbread man, "I'M ONE-THIRD GONE!"

  Bobby gave a second bite, and swallowed the rest of the body andthe arms.

  "2/3 gone"]

  "OH!" said the gingerbread man, "I'M TWO-THIRDS GONE!"

  Bobby gave a third bite, and gulped down the head.

  "_Oh!_" said the gingerbread man, "_I'm all gone!_"

  And so he was--and that is the end of the story.

  The end of the story]