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The Little Gingerbread Man

Written and Illustrated by Carol Moore

Once upon a time there was an old woman who loved baking gingerbread. She would bake gingerbread cookies, cakes, houses and gingerbread people, all decorated with chocolate and peppermint, caramel candies and colored frosting.

She lived with her husband on a farm at the edge of town. The sweet spicy smell of gingerbread brought children skipping and running to see what would be offered that day.

Unfortunately the children gobbled up the treats so fast that the old woman had a hard time keeping her supply of flour and spices to continue making the batches of gingerbread. Sometimes she suspected little hands of having reached through her kitchen window because gingerbread pieces and cookies would disappear. One time a whole gingerbread house vanished mysteriously. She told her husband, "Those naughty children are at it again. They don't understand all they have to do is knock on the door and I'll give them my gingerbread treats."

One day she made a special batch of gingerbread men because they were extra big. Unfortunately for the last gingerbread man she ran out of batter and he was half the size of the others.

She decorated the gingerbread men with care, each having socks, shirt and pants of different colors. When it came to the little gingerbread man she felt sorry for him and gave him more color than the others. "It doesn't matter he's small," she thought, "He'll still be tasty."

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The Little Gingerbread Man Once upon a time there was an old woman who loved baking gingerbread. She would bake gingerbread cookies, cakes, houses and gingerbread people, all decorated with chocolate and peppermint, caramel candies and colored frosting. She lived with her husband on a farm at the edge of town.

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❤ Little Red Riding Hood Audio Book Fairy tale story ♥ Bedtime

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Little Red Riding Hood Audio Book Brothers Grimms Fairy tale cartoon bedtime Story. Support us ► https://www.patreon.com/lullabyworld Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/lullabyworldofficial/ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/LullabyWorld www ► http://www.lullabyworld.co.nf/ Pinterest ► https://www.pinterest.com/lullabyworld/

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How to enchant a terrible Sultan through the art of Story-telling.

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Download the audio Click to Play, Right Click to Save As

Scheherazade is married to the Sultan. All his many previous brides have been beheaded the morning after their wedding. Her plan to stay alive is to keep the terrible tyrant amused with stories, always leaving him wanting more.

Her first story is an amusing tale which she heard from her father. It tells of a crafty donkey who advises a bull how to avoid work. He does not realise that their master can understand the speech of animals and will outwit him. But there is a twist to the tale. The master's wife demands to know what the animals have said, but he cannot tell her or else he will die.

Bertie has adapted this story from the rather racy, x-rated (and no doubt true to the original), translation of 1001 Nights by the famous Victorian explorer, Richard Burton. We try to keep the spirit of the original as much as possible - and in fact we think this is much closer than most children's versions out there - but there's a lot in 1001 Nights that just wouldn't quite do for a children's site.

Adaptation by Bertie.

Read by Elizabeth. Duration 19.30.

Proofread by Jana Elizabeth.

Praise be to Allah, Scheherazade is married to the Sultan Sharyar. All the many brides of the Sultan, who came before her have been put to death on the first morning of their marriage. It is late in the night, and the dawn is but a few hours away. The newly weds cannot sleep, and Scheherazade begins to tell her husband a story.

There was once a merchant who was rich in cattle and camels. He lived in the country with his wife and family and devoted himself to farming. Now, Allah in his wisdom had given him the power to understand the speech of all kinds of animals and birds. But this great gift came with a condition: he must not tell any human being what he heard the animals say or he would surely die on the spot.

One evening he was sitting by the stables while he watched his children playing in the hay, when he heard his bull talking in his deep low voice:

"Oh donkey," he was saying to his fellow animal. "How come you have the best barley, the freshest water, and the easiest life? You stay here indoors all day while the men wait upon you like servants, sweeping your stall, and brushing your coat until it shines. But as for me, they lead me out to work at the call of the dawn prayer. The men make me wear a thing called a yoke around my shoulders and it is heavy and uncomfortable. They crack whips over my back and force me to pull the plough through the fields from morning to sunset. My life is nothing but toil and trouble. But your duties are light and pleasant. Once every two weeks, you carry the master to the market on your back. He is not fat, and the burden is not great, and on the way he learns to like you and appreciate you. Your life is so much better than mine. Dear donkey, pray do help me. Tell me how I can live like you?"

You can imagine how the merchant was intrigued by this conversation, and how he tuned in his ears in to make sure that he did not miss a word. He heard the donkey laugh with a great Eeeee-ore! and reply to the bull:

"Why you big old fool! You are ten times as strong as I am, and yet you let the humans treat you without any respect for your superior force. Don't you have any sense? Do your horns grow inside your head where your brains should be? Listen to your wiser and better brother, and your problems shall be done and dusted. Do not show willingness for work, or of course the men will take advantage of you. When they come in the morning, and try to place the thing called a yoke over your neck, toss your head. When they try to drive you out to the fields, lie down in your manger and refuse to move. They cannot make a great hulk like you even budge an inch if you do not wish it. Bellow like you are angry or ill. They will soon get the message and leave you alone."

The merchant heard all the words of the donkey, and he was curious to see whether the bull would heed his advice. It was therefore not entirely surprising to him when, the next morning, the steward came to him, looking anxious and worried and and said:

"Sir, something has got into the bull. Perhaps it is a demon, or perhaps he is ill. When we try to put the yoke on his neck, he tosses his head so that we cannot manage it. When we try to drive him out of the stall, he bellows at us and paws the ground with his front leg. And now, finally, he is lying down in the straw. What are we to do sir? We cannot force the bull to go out into the fields if he does not wish it. He is far to big and strong."

The merchant understood only too well what was wrong with the bull. He was not ill, and no demon had bedevilled him. All that had happened was that he was following the advice of his friend the donkey. The merchant had already decided what must be done. He would teach the donkey a lesson. He said to his steward:

"If the bull does not wish to work, then let him take a well earned rest. Put the yoke on the donkey, and make him plough the fields today, for it is only fair that he takes his share of the hard work."

And following their master's orders, the men placed the yoke over the shoulders of the donkey, and they dragged him out to the fields. When he stubbornly dug his heels into the ground, they cracked whips over his back. He had no choice but to pull the heavy plough through the earth all day, even though the sun was hot, and his mouth was dry. When at last he came back to his stall in the evening, his legs were weak and and his whole body was weary. He saw the bull lying down in clean straw, looking rested and happy. Indeed the bull welcomed him home cheerily saying:

"My true friend, the kind and wonderful donkey, I have done exactly as you advised me, and today I have enjoyed rest, water, and good food. I thank you from the bottom of my bull's heart for your words of wisdom."

But the donkey had little to say just then. He was unusually quiet beacuse he was so weary. He took a long drink of water and lay down in his hay, utterly exhausted by his day's work.

When the morning came, the merchant rose early for he wanted to see how his animals had faired. He peeped in through the window of the stables and he saw that the bull was swishing his tale happily. They donkey was still lying down in his straw, feeling less than his best. The bull was saying:

"I am so looking forward to another day's rest. When the men come for me, I shall again toss my head, paw the ground, and bellow with my great voice. Then I shall lie down and they will not be able to lead me out to work."

As the donkey stood up, he felt that his legs were still shaky from the previous day's toil in the fields. When he heard the bull's plans to stay at home, he reflected: "Oh foolish me! I am not half as clever as I thought. I gave the bull good advice, but I did not foresee how it would rebound on me and how I would pay for it. Now I must play a trick on him, or I shall suffer once more."

And so now he said to the bull:

"My friend, I have advised you well once, and now I shall advise you again. When the men come today, do not toss your head and refuse to take the yoke. Nor should you bellow with rage or lie down in your straw, if you care for your life. For yesterday, I heard the merchant speaking to his steward. He gave orders that if the bull does not work, he should take him to the butcher and make meat for the poor people, and leather for shoes and saddles."

The bull thanked the donkey for once again giving him wise advice, and when the men came to fetch him from the stall, he willingly took the yoke and went out to the fields for his day's work.

The merchant saw all that had happened, and all day long he was laughing and smiling to himself whenever he thought of the trick that he had played on the donkey.

Now the merchant had a wife, whom he had been married to for many years, and whom he loved dearly. She did not fail to notice that he was smiling to himself all day, and she asked him the reason. He said:

"My beloved, I am laughing at a conversation that I overheard between the animals, but I cannot tell it to you for I will surely die on the spot. Long ago, I prayed to Allah that I should understand the speech of all kinds of creatures, and in return for this favour I offered that if ever I should betray what I heard to another human soul, then I should die immediately."

The merchant's wife only grew more curious when she heard this reply, and demanded more and more vehemently that he should tell her what he had heard the animals say and that she should share in his amusement.

"But I shall surely die if I tell you!" he protested.

"Nonsense! There can be no secrets between man and wife. I shall leave you if you do not tell me! " she replied.

The argument went on so long that the merchant could bear her sulking no longer. He sat down to write his will and worked with his steward to make sure that all his affairs were in order and his debts were paid before he died. Then he called all his family and his servants to a meeting and told them of his decision:

"This evening I shall relate to my wife what I heard of the conversation between the bull and the donkey, and then I must surely die. And therefore this is my last farewell. May Allah be praised and always be with you."

And so saying, he went about the family and servants distributing small gifts so that they would remember him well.

Now when Scheherazade reached this part of the story, she said to the Sultan:

"But great one, I must halt my tale, for the sunlight is at our window and it is time to rise and meet whatever the day holds in store for us."

And the Sultan, who had been listening very intently to the tale, and was greatly amused by it, was anxious to hear what happened next. Would the merchant really tell his wife what had happened, and die on the spot? He begged Scheherazade to finish the tale, but the call to Prayer was already echoing around the rooftops of the palace, and the maids were busy sweeping the courtyards.

The wise and lovely woman stroked the Sultan's head, and said: "If it so pleases you, great master, I shall finish telling the tale this following night."

And as the Sultan so wanted to know the end of the story, he gladly agreed to her suggestion, and Scheherazade lived through that day as his queen. The following night, she continued her story of the merchant:

All of the merchant's household was in tears and even the dogs got to hear of the terrible news and began to howl. Only the cockerel strutted about the farm looking as proud and as pleased with himself as usual. He made his call to the hens:

"Cock-a-doodle-do!!"

The behaviour of the cockerel angered the farm dogs who said:

"Why do you make merry when we are in mourning for the master? Have you not heard that he is about to die? Do you not have any respect for him?"

And the proud cockerel replied:

"I am not sorry for the master. I have 50 wives and he has but one. He should understand better how to behave with his wife."

And it so happened that the merchant, was sitting in his study overlooking the farmyard, and when he overheard this conversation, he felt ashamed that he had given in to despair and not handled the situation better. He thought to himself:

"I am shrewd in business, and know all there is to know about farming, but in my own home I am like a fool, and understand nothing of diplomacy. I must be as cunning as.... as the donkey."

And with new hope in his heart, he went to his wife's room, and knocked softly on the door: His wife's voice called out from within:

"Are you now ready to tell me what you heard the animals say that was so amusing?"

And the merchant replied that he was ready, and he came into the room:

"My dear, it is all very simple," he explained. "The bull spoke like this:"

"LOWWWWWW!"

And the donkey replied like this:

"EEEE-AWWWW!

And then the dogs said:

"AOWWWWWW!"

and the cockerel said:

"Cock-a-doodle-do!"

And when she heard her husband speak like this, the wife laughed so much that she forgot her anger and was happy.

And that was the very first story of 1001 Nights that Scheherazade told the Sultan, enchanting and amusing the cruel tyrant with her words and in so doing softening his heart. When she had finished the tale, her sister, Dunyazad, who shared the room with them spoke up and said:

"Your excellence, do you wish my sister to tell you another tale? For she has a great many others, some even more wonderful than this one.

And the Sultan who was not sleepy, said that he would gladly hear another tale, if it was as entertaining as the one they had just heard, and so Scheherazade began the second story of 1001 Nights.

But if you would like to hear it, you will have to come back another time to Storynory.com. We do have many stories on the site, including classic stories, adaptations and originals, all of which you can download for free.

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Download the audio Click to Play, Right Click to Save As Scheherazade is married to the Sultan. All his many previous brides have been beheaded the morning after their wedding. Her plan to stay alive is to keep the terrible tyrant amused with stories, always leaving him wanting more.

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The Sun looks down on the earth and sees all the human folly. He tells three tales or "fables": The Milkmaid, Juno and the Peacock, and The Sun and the North Wind.

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The story is rather dark and scary in parts. We have toned it down quite a bit from the original, but it's still not a tale for more sensitive listeners.

It's the central story of the Seven Voyages of Sinbad. It's the most profound, and the one that casts the most doubt on the good character of its hero, the wealthy merchant Sinbad. If you don't mind a plot that deals with death and an underground tomb, then listen on, because it is a fascinating tale.

Adapted by Bertie.
Read by Elizabeth.
Proofread by Jana Elizabeth.

The following night, there was again feasting and merriment inside the house of Sinbad the Merchant. He spoke to his namesake the porter and said:

"You see all around you that my house is bright and full of fun and laughter. When you have heard the story of my fourth voyage, you will know that in order to reach this happy state I had to crawl through a grim place more dead than alive."

Once again I journeyed down to the Port of Basrah and boarded a merchant ship. We sailed through the straits of Hormuz and beyond. As before, we sailed from place to place doing brisk and profitable business. Then one day, the wind blew against us and and the captain cast out his anchors and brought the ship to a standstill, fearing lest she should founder in mid-ocean.

Then we all fell to prayer and humbling ourselves before the Most High, but as we did this we were hit by a furious squall which tore the sails to rags and tatters. The anchor cable snapped and the ship rolled this way and that until we were cast into the sea, goods and all.

The waves washed some of us ashore, almost dead with weariness and lack of sleep, cold, hungry, thirsty and fearful.

And so we walked about the island until we came to the gate of a fine house. A number of men came out. They did not speak our language, but they bowed and greeted us in a way that was welcoming and not at all threatening. We believed that we had been fortunate.

They led us through gardens and courtyards and into a great hall where they presented us to their king. He too proved to be most courteous and friendly, and signalled to us to sit down at the table. Servants brought plates full of delicious fruits and bread and placed them before us. Our men began to eat, but they had forgotten their good manners. They could not help themselves, but they greedily grabbed more and more food with their hands and stuffed it into their mouths. They chomped and slavered like animals. This rude behaviour was most unusual in them. It was as if they had been possessed by an evil spirit.

Our hosts did not seem to mind. They brought coconut milk and when the men had drunk this, they became still more greedy. Only after they had eaten enough to burst did they eventually cease to gobble the food. Now sated and drowsy, they allowed themselves to be led out to a pen where they were kept like cattle. For the next few weeks, they wandered amongst the trees and rested at will, growing fatter and fatter. But I, who had no interest in this animal behaviour, wasted away with lack of food and fear. I had by now realised the true intention was of our hosts. We had fallen into the hands of cannibals. The men were being fattened up to be eaten.

But one day, when the shepherds drove the men out onto the fields to graze, an old shepherd saw that I was standing apart from them. I understood from the look in his eye that he would make no objection if i made my escape. In fact, he pointed me the way to go. I left and found a road, which I followed for several days. I walked and walked, and lived on berries and herbs. Thanks to Almighty Allah for all his favours, I eventually saw the walls of a magnificent city.

When I was close to the city I fell in with some travellers who asked my name and where I was from. When they heard how I had escaped the cannibals' farm, they marvelled and said that my story proved the greatness of Allah. Fate had once again favoured me, for these people were well connected and promised to introduce me to their king.

We entered the city and I was impressed by the fine houses, the prosperous people, and the markets well stocked with food. I saw that all the citizens, great and small, rode fine horses, high-priced and thoroughbred, but oddly they lacked saddles.

"Well now," I thought, "these people lack for nothing but a comfortable seat to travel on. I see a gap in the market - a fine opportunity for a man of business to make money."

When I met the king, he received me kindly. I told him my story, and he listened with great interest and amazement. When I had finished, he asked me my station in life in the city of Baghdad:

"Sire, I am a merchant," I said. "When I am at home, I live a quiet life and have a great many friends. But let me say, I have an idea to remain in your fine city and set up a business. I have noticed how your citizens ride horses but make no use of saddles."

"Saddles?" asked the king. "What are they?"

I described the leather seat and the other equipment that we use to ride a horse in comfort, and his Majesty was most interested. Indeed he asked if I could make one to show him. I answered that I would gladly do so.

I sought out a clever carpenter to make the frame, and a tanner to produce a comfortable leather seat and fine reins, and a blacksmith to hammer out the stirrups and bit. Moreover, I made beautiful fringes of silk.

I presented the work to the king, and demonstrated how to make use of it to ride a horse. He was greatly impressed by the comfort of this arrangement - so much less bruising than riding bareback. He paid me a fine price for my equipment, and his officials and all the nobility in the land wished to imitate him. A great number of wealthy people ordered saddles and horse equipment from me, and I soon became quite wealthy. One day the king called me to his office and said:

"Your industry and business have improved the quality of life in our city. I have in mind to reward you with a beautiful and wealthy wife, so that you will wish to stay in our country and continue your work."

So he summoned the prime minister and witnesses and married me straightway to a lady of a noble family, the flower of an ancient race of beauty and grace, and the owner of farms and estates and many houses.

I said to myself: "When I return to my native land, I will take her with me." But I should not have tempted fate, for no one knows what destiny has in store for them.

From then on, my ease and prosperity, already great, continued to grow. Then about a year after I was married, ill-fortune struck my neighbour's house. My friend, who lived next door, lost his wife to illness. He was beside himself with grief. I said to him:

"Do not mourn for your wife, who has now found the mercy of Allah. The Lord will surely give you a better one in her place, and your life shall be happy, prosperous, and long, God Willing!"

But the man could not be comforted. "You are a stranger here," he said. "You do not yet know all our ways. This very day they bury my wife, they will bury me with her in the same tomb. It is our custom that if a man dies first, his wife is buried with him, and if a wife dies first the husband is buried with her."

And then I understood why my neighbour could not be consoled. The women of the house dressed the wretched man's wife in her finest clothes, and decked her in her richest jewellery, with gold and diamonds. Later that day, soldiers took husband and wife on their last journey to the tomb. They set aside a great stone, and first lowered her down into it. Then they placed a rope of palm fibers under the husband's armpits, they let him down into the cavern, and with him a great pitcher of fresh water and seven pieces of bread.

I asked the people who were gathered around: "And if the wife of a foreigner like myself were to die among you, would you do the same to him as you have done to this man?"

And they replied that assuredly, the would do just the same to me, for it was the custom of the place.

I feared greatly when I heard those words, but I remained in my comfortable house with my agreeable wife. Then a few months later, she sickened and took to her bed. I prayed to Allah who is merciful for her to get better soon, but her illness took a turn for the worse, and she passed away.

As soon as the doctor let it be known that my wife was gone to the next world, soldiers came to fetch both her and me. I cried out:

"Almighty Allah never made it lawful to bury the living with the dead!" They took no notice of my protests, but tied me up by force and let me down into the cavern, with a large jug of water and seven loaves of bread, according to their custom.

At the bottom of that dark pit, I said to myself:

"What curse was upon me to take a wife in this city? There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! As often as I escape from one calamity, I fall into a worse."

I looked around at the grim tomb and its grimmer contents. Even in this terrible place, the will to live was strong inside my heart. I resolved to eat and drink as little as possible to prolong my life.

And so I lived in the darkness among the bodies not knowing how many days and nights had passed. Groping in the dark I found collars and necklaces of pearls and jewels and trinkets of gold and silver set with precious stones and other ornaments and valuables that were worn by the deceased. I gathered this fortune and piled them into my turban. But what use was this fortune to me me here, below ground in the tomb.

But it was not my fate to die there. For eventually I heard a rustling and a scurrying. I realised that some animal, perhaps a fox or a dog, had found its way down into this grim place. And if it could get in, it must surely be able to get out. I followed its sound, crawling and wriggling on my belly like a worm. I made my way through a tunnel until eventually I saw a chink of light. This gave me strength to crawl faster. The hole was just big enough for a skinny man such as myself to get through. And then I found myself on the shore of the sea. I gulped in the fresh air and covered my eyes from the blazing sun. I gradually opened them, adjusting to the light. When I could see once again I spotted a ship at sea. I took a piece of a white shroud I had with me, and tying it to a stick, ran along the seashore making signals therewith and calling to the people in the ship, until they noticed me, and hearing my shouts, sent a boat to fetch me.

The captain and crew received me kindly and listened in awe of my return from the land of the dead. I travelled with them to Basrah via the islands of Bell, Kala and Hind. When I reached home I had once again added to my wealth, thanks to the rich ornaments of the dead that I had brought with me. I gave freely to beggars, widows and orphans, and still had plenty left over for a life of ease. Then I gave myself up to pleasure and enjoyment, returning to my old merry mode of life. for sure

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The story is rather dark and scary in parts. We have toned it down quite a bit from the original, but it's still not a tale for more sensitive listeners. It's the central story of the Seven Voyages of Sinbad.