The Gingerbread Man (story)

"The Gingerbead Man" is a folk story in which a person, usually a woman, bakes a gingerbread man. The gingerbread comes to life and runs away, taunting all who chase him, before finally being consumed by a predator (often a fox).
While first published in the United States of America as "The Gingerbread Boy" in 1875, the story has its roots in earlier European versions in which a pancake comes to life and runs away (published as early as the 1840s). A German version uses Reynard the Fox.
The story has been adapted for children's stories and records, cartoons, and other media, including a version by Richard Scarry. As Gingy, the Gingerbread Man is a supporting character in the Shrek franchise.
==References==
* "The Gingerbread Man" is featured in the 1980 book The Sesame Street Storybook Alphabet, to illustrate the word "oven." He runs away from baker Cookie Monster.
* When the book was remade in 2008 as Storybook ABCs, the story is merged with "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man," and the bakers are now the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs.
* The Gingerbread Man appears in the "Smart Cookies" segment of the same name. 
* The Gingerbread Man returns in Sesame Street Episode 5219, when Cookie Monster mistakes the book for a recipe and bakes a gingerbread person.
==External links==
*Runaway Pancake folk tales and variants
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Category:Fairy Tales
Category:Literary References