It was one of those simple things that I talk about so often...

Maggie was running laps in the living room tonight, she was pouring on the steam, running as fast as her little Yorkie legs would take her,  round and round the sofa she went, fur fanning out at the sides of her face, blowing in the breeze.  Her breath was coming in short little puffs, she was starry eyed, having the time of her life…

And this is what I was saying to her -

"Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

I kept repeating it, and she got so caught up in the excitement, I finally had to grab her and hold her to calm her down.

I was laughing as I held her close to me, she was licking my face, it was one of those unforgettable life moments….

The Gingerbread Man was always a childhood favorite of mine – here’s how the whole story goes…

Once upon a time there was a little old woman and a little old man. The little old woman thought she'd make a gingerbread man. She rolled out the dough, and cut out the shape, and she put raisins for his eyes, and peppermints for his teeth, and put icing on his head for the hair. Then she put him in the oven, and when it smelled good, she opened up the door to take a peek and
--- Yooop!---
out jumped the gingerbread man.
"Stop! Stop, little gingerbread man!" said the little old lady. "I want to eat you!"
"No!" said the little gingerbread man. "I can run away from you!"

"Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
And away he ran!
He ran till he got outside, where he saw the little old man. And the little old man said, "Stop! Stop little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!"
And the little gingerbread man said: "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to the pigsty. And the pig said
"(Oink Oink)-- Stop! Stop little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man said, "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to a house. And in front of the house was a dog. And the dog said, "STOP! Stop stop stop stop stoooooooooop! Little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man said, "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, and the little old man, and a pig, and I can run away from you too!"
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to a field full of cows. And the cows said,
"Mooooo! Stoooooooop! Stoooooooop little gingerbread man. We want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man said, "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and a pig, and a dog, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to a river. And next to the river was a fox. The fox said, "Hello little gingerbread man."
The gingerbread man said, "HELLO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and a pig, and some cows, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
"But," said the fox, "I never run. And I don't want to eat you!"
The gingerbread man said
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
The fox said, "Run all you want, I'm not going to chase you. But-- I would like to ask you a question."
The gingerbread man said, "What?"
The fox said, "How do figure you're going to get across that stream without getting wet? I mean, if you get wet, you'll get soggy, right?"
The gingerbread man didn't say anything, but he looked very thoughtful.
The fox said, "I've got an idea."
The gingerbread man said, "What?"
The fox said, "I'm going to swim across, right now. If you want, you can hitch a ride on my tail."
The gingerbread man said, "OK," and grabbed the fox's tail. The fox started to wade into the water.
After a few steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man. The water is getting kind of deep. I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my back?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee, the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's back.
After a few more steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my-- neck?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's neck.
After a few more steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my-- head?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's head.
After a few more steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my-- nose?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's nose.
And the fox went-- SHLLLURP!-- and that was the end of the gingerbread man.