<P> The Gingerbread Man (also known as The Gingerbread Boy) is a folktale about a gingerbread man's escape from various pursuers and his eventual demise between the jaws of a fox . "The Gingerbread Boy "first appeared in print in the May, 1875, issue of St. Nicholas Magazine in a cumulative tale which, like "The Little Red Hen", depends on repetitious scenes featuring an ever - growing cast of characters for its effect . According to the reteller of the tale, "A girl from Maine told it to my children . It interested them so much that I thought it worth preserving . I asked where she found it and she said an old lady told it to her in her childhood ." </P> <P> In the 1875 St. Nicholas tale, a childless old woman bakes a gingerbread man who leaps from her oven and runs away . The woman and her husband give chase but are unable to catch him . The Gingerbread man then outruns several farm workers and farm animals while taunting them with the phrase: </P> <Dl> <Dd> I've run away from a little old woman, </Dd> <Dd> A little old man, </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> I've run away from a little old woman, </Dd>

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