TheLittleGingerbreadManWrittenandIllustratedbyCarolMooreOnceu
ponatimetherewasanoldwomanwholovedbakinggingerbread.S
hewouldbakegingerbreadcookies,cakes,housesandgingerbread
people,alldecoratedwithchocolateandpeppermint,caramelcand
iesandcoloredfrosting.Shelivedwithherhusbandonafarmat
theedgeoftown.Thesweetspicysmellofgingerbreadbroughtch
ildrenskippingandrunningtoseewhatwouldbeofferedthatday
.Unfortunatelythechildrengobbledupthetreatssofastthatth
eoldwomanhadahardtimekeepinghersupplyofflourandspice
stocontinuemakingthebatchesofgingerbread.Sometimesshesu
spectedlittlehandsofhavingreachedthroughherkitchenwindow
becausegingerbreadpiecesandcookieswoulddisappear.Onetime
awholegingerbreadhousevanishedmysteriously.Onedayshemad
easpecialbatchofgingerbreadmenbecausetheywereextrabig.
Unfortunatelyforthelastgingerbreadmansheranoutofbatter
andhewashalfthesizeoftheothers.Shedecoratedthegingerb
readmenwithcare,eachhavingsocks,shirtandpantsofdiffere
ntcolors.Whenitcametothelittlegingerbreadmanshefeltso
rryforhimandgavehimmorecolorthantheothers."Itdoesn''t
matterhe''ssmall,"shethought,"He''llstillbetasty."Puttingt
herackonthekitchenwindowsillsheleftittheretocoolandw
enttofinishherlaundry.Thegingerbreadmenlayquietly,their
frostedeyesgazingattheskywithitspuffyclouds.Atthatmom
entavoicecamefromnowhere."Getup.Getup.Comewithme."Eve
ryonelookedtoseewhowasspeaking。Itwasabutterflyflyingju
stoutsidethewindow.Butterfliesarenaturallybeautiful,buth
erwingswereanexceptionallyprettymarbledblue."Comewithme,
"sheurgedagain.Thegingerbreadmendidn''treactexcepttokeep
staring.Allbutthesmallestgingerbreadmanwhojumpedupfrom
thetrayandleapedoffthekitchenwindowsillontothegrassbe
lowfasterthanyoucouldsay"hurry.""Wherearewegoing?"heas
kedbreathlessly."Away."Andbeforethebutterflyhadfinishedsp
eakingchildrenappearedintheyard.Spyingthelittlegingerbre
admantheystartedshriekingwithdelightandbeganchasinghim.
"Stop,stop,"theyshouted."Wewanttoeatyou."Butwithhislit
tlelegschurningthegingerbreadmanonlyranfaster.Heyelled,
"Iwon''tstop.Run,runasfastasyoucan.Youcan''tcatchme.I''m
thegingerbreadman."Andtrulythosechildrencouldnotcatchhim
.Onceoutoftheirsighthecontinuedrunninguntilhehadreach
edapasturewheretwohorsesweregrazing.Hesatdownonarock
nearthefence."Don''tstop,"saidthebutterflyflutteringnearb
y."Iwanttorest,"heargued.Thatwasamistakeasoneoftheho
rsestrottedovertothefenceandwhinnied."Ohyousmellsogoo
dlittlegingerbreadman.ComeoverheresoIcansmellyoubette
r."Thelittlegingerbreadmanshookhishead,butsuddenlythath
orsejumpedthefenceandbegangallopingafterhim,sohehadto
runevenfaster.Hecalledout,"IoutranchildrenandI''lloutru
nyou.Run,runasfastasyoucan.Youcan''tcatchme.I''mtheging
erbreadman."Andtruly,thathorsecouldnotcatchhim.Thenextt
imeherestedthelittlegingerbreadmantookcaretolieamongst
thegrasswellofftheroadwherenoonewouldseehim."Everybod
ywantstoeatme,"hecomplainedtothebutterfly."Doyouwant
toeatme,too?"Laughingsheanswered."Ilovethesmellofginge
rbread.It''sbetterthanmyfavoriteflowers.ButIsipnectar,n
otgingerbread.Besides,you''remyfriendandfriendsdon''teatf
riends."Pleasedtohearthathehadafriendthelittlegingerbre
admanwasabouttoreplywhenagaintheywereinterrupted.Afar
mer''sdogwithakeennosehadcometoinvestigate.Lickinghism
uzzleatthesightofthegingerbreadman,thedogsaid."Excusem
eforinterrupting,butlittlegingerbreadmanyoulooksogood.
Imeantired.Pleasestayawhileandrestifyoulike."Asthedog
talked,hesteppedcloserandcloser.Thecloserhestepped,the
morenervousbecamethelittlegingerbreadman.Whenthebutterf
lyflittedfromhergrassperchinalarm,thelittlegingerbread
mantookoffrunningwiththedognippingathistinyheels.Hes
houted,"Ioutranchildren.Ioutranahorse,?andI''lloutrunyou,
too.Run,runasfastasyoucan.Youcan''tcatchme.I''mtheginge
rbreadman."Andtrulythatdogcouldnotcatchhim.Atlasttheli
ttlegingerbreadmanandthebutterflyreachedastream.Itwasn''t
averybigstreamunlessyouareatinygingerbreadman.Tohim
itwasariver.Fromoutbehindabushsaunteredaredfoxstoppi
ngtostretchbecausehehadjustawakenedfromanap.Lookingat
thegingerbreadmanhesaidnonchalantly,"MayIhelpyou?"Theb
utterflywasquicktorespond."Nothankyou.We''regoingtofly
acrossthisstream.Wedon''tneedyourhelp."Smiling,thewilyfo
xglancedatthebutterflybeforeturningtothelittlegingerbre
adman,"You''regoingtocarryhim?I''venodoubtMs.Butterflyt
hatyouhavegoodintentions,butyou''reonlyabug.Youcouldn''t
carryanythinganywhere,letalonethisgingerbreadmanacrosst
hestream.You''lldrophim.Iguaranteeit!"Thelittlegingerbrea
dmanwasconfused.Heknewthathisbutterflyfriendhadgoodin
tentionsbutcouldshereallycarryhim?Hedoubtedit.Herwings
weresothinanddelicate.Thethoughtofhimfallingintothec
oldwaterandcrumblingtodampbitswasfrightening.Hesaidto
thefox,"Ioutranchildren.Ioutranahorse,andIoutranadog
.Willyoukeepmesafeandnoteatme?""Ofcourse!"thewilyfox
quicklyassuredhimbeforethebutterflycouldobject."Ieaton
lymeatandIhadafullmealjustbeforemynap.Here,rideonm
ybushytail.Let''sgobeforeIchangemymind."Sothelittlegin
gerbreadmanclimbedontothefox''stailandtheyenteredthewat
er.Unfortunatelythefox''stailbegandippingintothewater."Yo
u''retooheavyformytail,hesaid.Climbontomyback."Thelitt
legingerbreadmandidashewasasked.Butthewaterbegancreepi
ngupthefox''sbackforcingthelittlegingerbreadmantoclimb
highertothefox''sneck."That''snotgoodenough,I''mafraid,"s
aidthewilyfox."Climbtomyhead."Nowthelittlegingerbreadm
anwasterrified,butwhatcouldhedo?Heclimbedtothefox''se
ars."Oh,littlegingerbreadman,youhavetoclimbontomynose,"
insistedthewilyfox,"otherwiseIcan''thelpyou.Don''tyouse
ethewaterisgettingevendeeper?"Sothelittlegingerbreadman
reluctantlyclimbedontothefox''snose.Themomenthedid,that
wilyfoxtossedhimintotheair,openinghisjawswidewithant
icipation.Thelittlegingerbreadman''seyesroundedwithfearbe
causeheknewhewasgoingtobeeaten.Itdidn''tmatternowhow
fasthecouldrun.Butthelittlegingerbreadmanandthewilyfox
hadforgottenaboutthebutterfly.Sheswoopedintothatfox''sj
aws,grabbingherfriendbyonelegandrescuinghimfromanawfu
lfate.Sheflewhigherandhigheruntilthestreamandthefoxw
erebutspotsonthelandscape."Youcancarryme,"criedthelitt
legingerbreadman."Yes,"sheanswered."I''mstrongerthanyouco
uldimagine.NowI''lltakeyousomewheresafe."Sheflewwithhim
overfarmfieldsandforestsandevenmountains.Itfeltlikethe
yhadbeenintheskyforeverwhentheyreachedalake,itswater
scalmlikepaleglass.Therewasanislandinthemiddleofthe
lakelinedwithforesttrees.Andamongthetreeswaswheretheb
utterflytookthelittlegingerbreadman.Sheflewdown,down,an
ddownuntiltheycametothefootofapinetree.Thelittleging
erbreadmancouldnotbelievehiseyes.Beneaththatpinetreewa
sthemostbeautifulgingerbreadhouse.Throughthefrontdoorof
thegingerbreadhousecameagingerbreadmanandagingerbreadwo
man.Seeingthebutterflyandhercompaniontheysmiledexcitedly
wavingtheirgingerbreadhands."Oh,whathaveyoubroughtus?"c
riedthegingerbreadwoman.Evidentlysheknewthebutterflyvery
well."Ithinkthat''sobvious,dear"saidthegingerbreadman."S
he''sbroughtusagingerbreadboy.Doyourealizethatnowwecan
bethefamilywealwayswanted?"Itwastrue.Thebutterflyhadi
ntendedallalongtobringthesethreetogether.Thelittleginge
rbreadmanhadnotknownthathewas,inreality,agingerbreadb
oy.Itwasallsosudden,butwonderful.Whenbothhisgingerbrea
dparentseachgavehimalovinghugheknewhewashome.Theging
erbreadfamilywentinsidetheirgingerbreadhousetocelebratew
iththebutterflyremainingoutsideontheroof.Shewascontent
justsmellingthegingerbreadandsittingtherequietly,whether
itwasdayornight.Theyalllivedhappilyeverafter.小姜饼人很久以前，有一
位老奶奶，她非常喜欢烤姜饼。她会烤姜饼饼干、姜饼蛋糕、姜饼屋还有姜饼人，装饰着巧克力、薄荷糖、糖果等等。她和她的丈夫住在城镇边缘的
一个农场上。姜饼的甜味常常吸引着孩子们蹦蹦跳跳地跑过来看老奶奶今天又做了什么好吃的来款待他们。每一次孩子们总是一会儿就把老奶奶做好
的好吃的抢没了。有时候老奶奶都来不及准备做下一批姜饼的面粉和香料。还有一些时候，姜饼块和饼干会消失，老奶奶以为是那些贪吃的小朋友们
偷偷地从厨房的窗户伸手进来拿走了它们。有一天，她又做了一批超大号的姜饼人。做到最后的时候，面粉不够了，所以最后一个姜饼人只有其他的
一半大小。她精心地给这些姜饼人穿上不同颜色的袜子、衬衫还有裤子。到最后一个小姜饼人的时候，她觉得对不起他，就给他穿了更加五颜六色的
衣服，她笑着说：“虽然它是个小姜饼人，但是他还是很美味的。”为了把这些姜饼人冷却，老奶奶把盛着姜饼人的托盘放在厨房的窗台上，然后就
去忙别的事情了。这些姜饼人们静静地躺着，他们朦胧的眼睛盯着湛蓝的天空和在天空中飘浮的白云。这时候，一个声音传来：“快起来，快起来，
跟我一起走吧！”大家纷纷寻找那个说话的人。原来，她是窗外飞过的一只蝴蝶。这一只蝴蝶有着如同大理石一般清澈的蓝色的翅膀，十分漂亮。“
跟我来。”她又一次说到。其它的姜饼人们听到了并没有什么反应，还是继续望着天空。只有最小的那一个姜饼人站起来，迅速从窗台上跳到了草地
上。“我们要去哪里呀？”他喘着气问蝴蝶。“离开这里。”不等蝴蝶说完，孩子们便纷纷朝着小姜饼人跑来，嘴里嚷嚷着：“站住，站住，我们要
吃掉你！”听到孩子们的声音，小姜饼人跑的更快了，他回答道：“我才不停下来呢！”他使劲地向前跑着：“你们抓不到我的，我是小姜饼人。”
那些孩子果然没有抓到他。他跑呀跑呀，跑到了一个广阔的牧场上。有两匹马儿在悠闲地吃草。他坐在牧场栅栏边上一块岩石上。“别停下来呀。”
身旁的蝴蝶对他说。“我跑累了，要休息一下。”他回答道。这时候一匹马向他跑了过来。“你闻起来像美味的小姜饼人呀，你快过来，我要吃了你
，”小姜饼人摇了摇头。突然，马儿跳过栅栏，开始向他跑来。他吓坏了，赶紧迅速跑开，他冲着马儿说：“我能跑过孩子们，也能跑得过你，你抓
不住我的，我是小姜饼人。”是的，那匹马儿也没有抓住他。这一次，他停下来，躺在在一个离马路很远的草地中央，这样子，就没有人能看到他了
。“每个人都想吃我。”他向蝴蝶抱怨说：“你不会也想吃我吧？”蝴蝶笑了，回答说“我很喜欢闻姜饼的味道，比我最喜欢的花儿还喜欢。但是我
吃的是蜂蜜，不是姜饼。再说了，你是我的朋友，我怎么能吃你呢？“听到他有了一个新朋友，小姜饼人十分开心，他刚准备说什么，一只有着灵敏
的鼻子的狗狗向他走过来。闻到姜饼人香喷喷的味道，狗狗说“对不起，打扰你了。小姜饼人，你闻起来好像呀，如果你喜欢的话，你就多在这里休
息一会儿吧。”狗狗一边这么说着，一边向小姜饼人走来。狗狗越走近，小姜饼人越感觉到害怕。蝴蝶轻轻扇动翅膀拂过青草向小姜饼人发出报警，
小姜饼人迅速地站起来跑开了。“我能跑过孩子们，也能跑得过马儿，我也能跑得过你，你抓不住我的，我是小姜饼人。”是的，那只狗狗也没有抓
到他。最后，小姜饼人和小蝴蝶来到了一条小溪旁。当然，除非你是小姜饼人，不然你才不会觉得它是一条宽的小溪呢。但对小姜饼人来说，这小溪
就像小河一样宽广。这时候，一只刚刚从睡梦中醒来的小狐狸，在灌木中散步。他傲慢地问小姜饼人：“需要我帮助你吗?”“不，谢谢你。我们不
需要你的帮助，我们会飞过这条小溪的。”小蝴蝶说。狐狸哈哈大笑，瞥了一眼小姜饼人，说：“你准备带上他飞过去吗？我相信美丽的蝴蝶小姐心
地是善良的，可是，你不可能带任何东西飞过小溪，更别说这个小姜饼人了。你帮不了他的，还是让我来吧！”小姜饼人犹豫了。他知道他的朋友小
蝴蝶是善良的，可是，她能带他飞过去吗？她的翅膀是那么的纤薄。一想到要掉进冰冷的溪水里，小煎饼人有些害怕。他对狐狸说：“我跑得过小朋
友，也跑得过马儿，还跑得过狗狗。你会安全把我带到对岸，不会吃我的吧？”“那当然”狐狸很快回答他。不等小蝴蝶说话，狐狸又说：“我只吃
肉，而且我睡觉前刚刚饱餐一顿。上来吧，爬到我尾巴上。我们一起过小溪吧，不然我会反悔的哦！”于是，小姜饼人爬上了狐狸的尾巴。他们慢慢
走近了水里。然而，狐狸的尾巴开始慢慢淹没到了水里。“你太重了，把我的尾巴压得太低了。你还是爬到我背上来吧。”小姜饼人按照狐狸的要求
爬到了他的背上。然而水越来越深，慢慢淹没了狐狸的背，小姜饼人不得不爬得更高一些，他爬到了狐狸的脖子上。“我觉得，你还是爬到我头上吧
。等下我的脖子也会被水淹没的呢！”狐狸说。小姜饼人很害怕，可是他有什么办法呢？他只好爬到了狐狸的耳朵上。“小姜饼人，你必须爬到我鼻子上来。”狐狸吓唬他说：“要不然，我就帮不了你了。你没看到水越来越深了吗？”于是，小姜饼人慢慢地爬上了狐狸的鼻子。这时候，狐狸突然使劲把小姜饼人抛向空中，然后张开大嘴，等着要把他吃掉。小姜饼人害怕极了。看到这样的情景，小蝴蝶急忙飞过来，使劲拉住小姜饼人的腿，扇动翅膀越飞越高，直到小溪和狐狸变成地上的一个小黑点。“你可以带动我的。”小姜饼人感动地库了。“是的，”小蝴蝶回答道：“我比你想象得要强壮得多。我能带你去任何安全的地方。”她和他一起，飞过农田，飞过森林，飞过山峰。飞了很久很久，终于到了一个湖边，湖水平静极了，像一块干净的玻璃一般。湖的中央有一个小岛，岛上有一大片森林。小蝴蝶带着小姜饼人轻轻地降落在一棵松树下。让小姜饼人惊奇的是，松树下面竟然有一个世界上最漂亮的姜饼屋，它是那么的漂亮，小姜饼人简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。一个煎饼男男主人和一个煎饼女主人从姜饼屋的大门走出来。看到小蝴蝶和她的同伴，他们开心地向他们招手。“看呀，你给我们带来了什么贵客？”女主人惊讶地说，看起来，她和小蝴蝶是很亲密的朋友呢。“天哪，他给我们带来了一个姜饼男孩！”男主人开心地说：“我们一直想要组成一个家庭的愿望终于要实现了！”原来，小蝴蝶是专门带小姜饼人来和他们夫妇团聚的。小姜饼人这才意识到，原来自己是一个姜饼小男孩呢！多么神奇呀！姜饼爸爸和姜饼妈妈高兴极了，每人都给了小姜饼男孩一个爱的抱抱。好幸福呀，他突然觉得，有家的感觉，真好。姜饼家族回到了美丽的姜饼屋里，庆祝全家团圆。而美丽的蝴蝶，盘旋在屋顶上，日日夜夜闻着诱人的姜饼的味道。从此以后，姜饼人一家和小蝴蝶过上了幸福的生活。 |
|
