The Messed Up Origins™ of the Gingerbread Man | Folklore Explained - Jon Solo

[@raven3067]

Jon Solo: “Outrunning old people is not exactly difficult.” My grandfather beat me in a footrace all the way down the street and back.

[@mikailthomas1466]

That's why God says respect your elders.

[@ladykoiwolfe]

My great grandmother used to pretend she needed to take breaks while climbing lighthouses so my mom could catch up. She always was in great shape.

[@briansullivan5908]

You go grandpa

[@justasentientmclarenp1879]

You must’ve been slow

[@hospitalcakewalk]

Bro, I work with old people. A dementia resident ran away three times from our facility. She dead ass BOLTED. Ran down the hill to the large grocery store and started stealing food and hitting people. So I'm not allowed in the store anymore cuz I 'let it happen.' :(

[@Dracoofthevas]

I'm Hungarian, and when I was a kid, I used to hear that story a lot. In fact it was told to us kids every time of a pig slaughter, when we made Gömböc. (It's actually stuffed with cooked blood, left over meat scraps, cooked pig skin and all kind of insistence. It's also called "Pig cheese".) Still a very popular food here. As for a moral, well back in the day, every boy got a knife when he reached a certain age (I got my first one at 8). A small one at first, but a regular pocket knife in his teens. It was a handy tool for lots of reasons (I still carry one, to this day). But a lot of boys, tended to loose their knifes. So this story was a good reminder, to keep your knife on you at all times, 'coz it can save your life one day... At least that's how my Grandpa always finished the tail...

[@PeterPeter-pr2hi]

Hungarian here, and yeah, I heard the tale a lot in my childhood, it is a very famous one here. I wish Jon covered other Hungarian folk tales too, there is so much to unpack here.

[@alicevicariously2396]

Is it good?

[@ratgirl34]

Putting that on my list of foods that aren’t what they sound like and probably won’t enjoy the texture of…. I’m just thinking though, the first daughter went up to cut the dumpling down from its rope. Wouldn’t she have had a knife or something?

[@PeterPeter-pr2hi]

@@ratgirl34 Welp, I always just kinda assumed it was from the shock of it. Think of it in the way that she just saw a dumpling coming to life in front of her. She probably just froze in place, unable to do anything, letting the dumpling consume her. On the other hand, I guess the shepherd boy was already well aware of the danger, and therefore, acted in the best way he could. Idk, these folk tales aren't always the most logical, you kinda have to just suspend your disbelief and roll with them sometimes, especially with weird as hell stories like this one.

[@ratgirl34]

@@PeterPeter-pr2hi True enough. Sometimes finding the loop holes is like a bingo game. It’s fun as long as you don’t get to hung up on it.

[@becca7101]

Every time I hear this story I think of shrek I can’t help it especially with the muffin man part thanks Jon solo for this I look forward to your videos every single Thursday

[@carlintaylor4053]

Same never knew the original story until this

[@kendellstewart2090]

Not the buttons, not the gumdrop buttons!

[@XxSlothpoolxX]

He hoofed and he poofed.....and he...he signed ze eviction notice....

[@TheRealNormanBates]

The Muffin Man?

[@gljtiamo]

THE MUFFIN MAN!

[@DoubleDealingDisarray]

I remember hearing of the fox "escorting" the Gingerbread Man across the river, then flipping the living snack into its mouth. The dumpling one reminds me of a folktale, but I can't recall it. All I know is, a bunch of people were eaten until someone clever got them out. But there are probably a lot of folktales like that. It doesn't surprise me, just intrigues me. Yeah, I'm weird.

[@babybug6462]

When I was a girl I interpret that the gingerbread man was crossing the river to get away from the fox and drowned in the river.

[@DoubleDealingDisarray]

@@babybug6462 Makes sense. I did too, but I always thought the Gingerbread Man was stupid to trust a fox to take him anywhere. X) Never trust a fox or a wolf in tales like those.

[@atbanimations1763]

That version of The Little Dumpling was probably from a cartoon because I remember it as well, just with a different ending.

[@helenamirian908]

I think a pig ate a pancake that was rolling away in the same way in one version.

[@DoubleDealingDisarray]

@@helenamirian908 Lol! Nice!

[@secretserenity44127]

I can't believe the Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka didn't make it into this video! That was one of my favorite Gingerbread Man variants when I was growing up. Awesome video as usual!

[@jbear3478]

I remember that one!!

[@goober112]

Omg this was exactly what popped in my head when he's like "where were you when you first heard the story of the gingerbread man. Lol

[@gloriamontgomery6900]

I used to direct and perform in a reader’s theater group that performed in schools for children. Out most popular story adaptation of all time was the Stinky Cheese Man!

[@stanleywaters2619]

Omg!!! I thought the same thing

[@spicybeantofu]

Yup lol

[@timothyryders6248]

Hey, Jon Solo, my name's Timothy and I'm from Kyrgyzstan, which was the part of USSR. After the Soviet union fallen apart. I used to listen and read the tale about the Russian counterpart of the Gingerbread man or gingerbread boy. It's called Kolobok and it's the same as Brothers Grimm's pancake

[@Logitah]

I'm Finnish and we used to have a small wooden chest with handpainted illustrations of that tale! My parents had gotten it from a Russian acquaintance who made and decorated it with his wife! In short, I was reading this tale before I knew how to read. :D

[@conniecarroll747]

Hey Timothy ! Got any good Russian folk fairytale titles you'd like to share ! I'm trying to collect some from other countries.

[@ArinJager1]

I'm czech and I know about kolobok ^^ (I think there was a kids magazine with that name, also - a soviet thing, it was my dad's probably, I'm not THAT old... I can't read cyrilic, but I remember there was a manual to make a paper airplane, lol... thinks a person remembers, right? But not the important stuff, like "did I lock the door when going out?" Immediately out of my mind)... In Czech Republic the gingerbread boy is "koblížek" - basically a doughnut

[@ИгорьПахомов-д5д]

Baba-Yaga @@conniecarroll747

[@yourlocaltrickstergod]

I'm a 17 year old trying to get back into folklore and mythology when I used to be obsessed with it when I was younger and your videos honestly help me remember why I fell in love with it in the first place, a very sincere thank you from me to you 😭

[@ajsofaygo1351]

Same 😭

[@Calc_Ulator]

Dumbest pfp ever. Got a store to loot rather than pollute here?

[@RJPolito]

Strangely when I was little I had one of those book and record sets and in that version the Gingerbread Man does not get eaten. It ends with the line, "As far as we know the Gingerbread Man is still running away." So that was the version I originally heard and it was a surprise when I found out the original and more common ending. At first you might think since this book and record was made for little kids they decided to have a happier ending, except the same series also had a version of Chicken Little that ended with Foxy Loxy eating everyone including Chicken Little herself. In most versions Chicken Little ends up running back home after realizing what the fox was up to.

[@aprilgosa5779]

i thought Foxy loxy was Henny Penny thats the one I had the book but i do remember the one of these i heard he got away supposedly so I like that version better no like this version very sad

[@thomasnuedling9167]

Show n Tell? It was a record player that played film strips, too??? I had one and many fairy tales made for it.

[@cooperminion825]

I remember reading a version to some preschoolers that didn't even include foxy loxy. It had chicken little and the gang actually meeting the king who explains to them that the sky isn't falling. He simply tells them that chicken little had an acorn fall on her head and that she didn't have to worry. The kids hated it, i hated it, but the parents loved it

[@harmonijarvis571]

I've heard both versions

[@tarawalker7193]

I remember - I had a fairy tale book that I loved as a kid and used to read all the time. In that version, he was created for the baker's grandson. After escaping everyone else, he finally ran across the little boy. Somehow knowing who the boy was and that he was created for the child to eat, the gingerbread man slowed down his pace on purpose so the child could catch him and eat him. Gotta love the 80s!

[@atbanimations1763]

Growing up in Eastern Europe, I grew up with the Flatbread version, but also heard The Little Dumpling on a cartoon about Hungarian folklore (I think the cartoon was called "Hungarian Folk Tales"), and I actually loved the story as a 7 year old. It wasn't until I was 6 when I heard the Gingerbread Man story at an English class. I find it quite fascinating how different our perceptions of these folk tales are depending on where we live. Edit: The version I heard of THE LITTLE DUMPLING was actually called "The Pork Pudding"

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Pork pudding or pork bun?

[@atbanimations1763]

@@SlapstickGenius23 Pork Pudding

[@Agent_3141]

This should be interesting. I remember reading this story (and many other variations) when I was in Kindergarten

[@medo5417]

I remember hearing this story a lot when I was younger, it didn't horrify me as much as a lot of other stories though. Chicken Lickin, The boy who cried wolf and Ali Baba were all pretty terrifying, and don't even get me started on the story about the baby goats getting tricked by the wolf...

[@camrynbrewer2370]

The last one is called “The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids”, I think.

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

The 3 Billy Goats Gruff was one that scared me. I think I heard it first in Sunday School.

[@cooperminion825]

Probably one of the most gruesome Grimm tales

[@Eminster]

@@cooperminion825 I guess you could say they were quite "Grimm"

[@cooperminion825]

@@Eminster lol

[@blackrex828]

The earliest memory I can remember of hearing the story/song of the Gingerbread Man was on a field trip as a small child on some kind of farm. I was with my class and my mom was there. I just can't remember the actual date or what I was wearing, but I remember my was wearing her rain jacket. That's it. So there Mr. Solo, I can almost remember when and where I heard this story/song. Parts of this memory just lingers with me for some reason.

[@Joe-ug2mb]

there is a story from ancient Greece called "The Gingerbread Boy" that features a boy made of barley meal and honey who runs away from his creator and eventually meets a fox, who tricks him into getting eaten. This story shares many similarities with "The Gingerbread Man," although it has a different ending. I'm willing to bet it's related to the story of icarus.

[@violinmissy]

I remember reading the version somewhere as a child where the fox tricks gingy by slowly sinking like one of the variations he says! It's so cool to remember this I haven't thought about this in years an now im realizing it was dark haha. Can't wait for more lore.

[@RobertAyonSuarez]

Same. I remember reading it though

[@krissy172]

Me too

[@violinmissy]

@@RobertAyonSuarez SAME here i think the picture book we read might have been the book he used for the pictures of the fox cuz it looks so familiar when the cookie balances on his nose like that

[@violinmissy]

@@krissy172 its such a nostalgic memory lol i wanna find the book now

[@RobertAyonSuarez]

Yeah I want to find it too. Yeah the pictures were familiar that he used.

[@DoritosAndMountainDew]

By the way, L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wizard of Oz", wrote another book, "John Dough and the Cherub", and the character of John Dough seems to be based on the story of the Gingerbread Man. Just thought that was worth mentioning.

[@inkyboy88]

He also wrote “The Life and Times of Santa Claus.”

[@Logitah]

That's so cool! I had no idea he made a version of this too!

[@kaydisney9872]

I STILL love those 15 Oz books! And I'm an adult!!!

[@kaydisney9872]

Oh and every Christmas I listen to the Santa Clause books!

[@conniecarroll747]

Unfortunately never read any of his books.

[@meppep6733]

I remember where I first heard this story. I was in my school’s library, I was almost definitely in a school uniform, and yes, 4 or 5 year old me was certainly disturbed. My teachers tried to say the story was about not have too much pride. I mean... I guess it could about that? If you squint?

[@TheRealNormanBates]

A lot of fairy tales are about hubris and how naivety can get you killed. "So, Mr. Rabbit.. do you have a problem with shit sticking to your fur?" "Why no, Mr. Bear.. why do you ask?" Mr. Bear picks up Mr. Rabbit and proceeds to wipe his ass with Mr. Rabbit.

[@ladykoiwolfe]

I thought it was about being careful who you trust there at the end. Sure pride right up until then, but then trust issues hit hard.

[@harmonijarvis571]

My mom told me it was either about not bousting or not trusting people you don't know

[@ladykoiwolfe]

@@harmonijarvis571 I'd say she's not wrong. There a lot of lessons you can learn from this story. Those are two good ones.

[@arselcrusader5600]

The Dumpling story can't scar me anymore because I'm already scarred by a nightmare from my childhood. It was about a bagpipe that eats stuff and turns it into gold after excreting it from the backside (Don't ask me why a bagpipe, it just was). It got larger because people kept feeding it, then it went on a rampage eating people the moment it was able to. People were turned into gold statues. Forgot how it was stopped, but it turns out the thing was possessed by a demo

[@Yourmom8149]

Ok, so I don't normally comment on things from two years prior... but I had to. As a child, that dream must have been terrifying... but I find it hilarious, lol. So, thank you for the story 😆

[@jamesevans7388]

Not the BUTTONS! Not the Gumdrop BUTTONS!!

[@jessicacommans1684]

Gumdrop buttons

[@lextonwilliams2627]

Yes I have been waiting for messed up organs of the Ginger bread man😁😁😁

[@geekgirl616]

You should do some Egyptian mythology I’m sad you haven’t done any because you’re my go to for reliable information on myths legends and fables and I wanted to brush up for moonknight

[@cristopherj1324]

I'm loving the extra spice (6:21 8:27) being added in the newest episodes, keep up the great work.

[@crypticcorgi8280]

I have this vague memory of the fox tricking a gingerbread man from my childhood. Even then, I didn't associate it with the "Run, run, run" lyrics. Infact I never questioned where it came from wierdly. Neat. Now I want to know about the Muffin Man. What's his deal?

[@texasaquarius01]

I had several different versions of this story as children’s books growing up. I def remember being very upset and scared about the cookie getting eaten

[@kobieravenhenderson1756]

All have good lessons. The Hungarian tale of the dumpling has a common lesson seen in scary movies. Don't go upstairs alone and also, always be armed with something.

[@kendellstewart2090]

The original version I know is the Fox carrying him across the river and eating him. I have also read the pancake and the cake version.

[@DeJahMode]

Lol that scene as soon as he said “Do you know the muffin man?and the banter they do my mom started laughing in a way I never seen her laugh to a “child’s movie”. I personally was a fan of the stinky cheese man i loved that book “ The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales”.

[@kennethjames9999]

Yes Stinky Cheese Man was the best.

[@ladykoiwolfe]

I do remember, perhaps not the first time, but definitely who I was with because it was a regular feature. It was one of my early childhood books, one of the first ones I learned to read from. My mother would read it to me, some times my brother would as he learned to read, and then I would try to read it. I was mostly non verbal so I was trying to read the books to myself. The other books were largely Dr. Seuss and other Little Golden Books. The picture you showed of Gingy on the Fox's nose was in the version I had as a kid. It always seemed odd that I remembered being able to read before I could speak, but writing it out it's making a lot more sense.

[@exoticraptor9436]

A variation that I grew up with was one about either stinky and rotten cheese, with the main difference being that whenever he tries to challenge someone into chasing him, they all quit because of how bad he smells. It ends with him stopping at a river. A fox offers him a ride across, wanting to eat him, but he falls back on his plan when he gets a whif of him. It's been years so I forgot if the fox ducked his head in the river and the cheese fell in or the cheese just walked in thinking he could make it across, but it just ends with him falling apart in the water and dying.

[@whyiamafs]

What's the lesson of that? 🥺

[@ViridisEve]

In Bulgaria we have similar folktale with a honeybread (wich we usually make round). The honeybread rolls away from an old couple, bunny, wolf, bear and then gets tricked by a fox that pretends to not hear well.

[@mleighqs]

The last version of the story made me think of Haggis :) . Over all the idea of alive runaway foods always made me giggle as a kid.

[@AustynSN]

A variant of the version with two "run"s and the fox tricking The Gingerbread Man into climbing to his (the fox's) nose is what I've always known.

[@LiveFreeOrDie2A]

The pig stomach one could be a lesson about gluttony? It’s about a literal pig’s stomach who met it’s demise because it refused to stop consuming. The fact it starts with a family that’s exhausted their food supply also fits well.

[@TheMightyPALADIN]

One thing that might suprise you is that there are versions of the story where Gingy escapes from the fox and returns to live in the safety of the old couple's home as their child as they intended. The lesson here being that you need to stay home where it's safe and not go running away getting into trouble, at least until your older. I like these versions best of all because I had a gingerbread man toy as a child and loved him, so I always wanted him to have a happy ending.

[@zdanee]

I originally only knew the Hungarian version and only learned about the Gingerbread man as an adult from Shrek. However I think that tale belongs to a different classification: a tale where a family member is asked to do a common task, but fails to accomplish it due to some unforeseen hurdle, and one by one all the family members meet the same fate trying to help them, until the smallest son somehow solves the situation, the end. One such tale from Hungarian folktales would be "The small fur coat", where during a wedding the daughter is asked to go down the basement to bring some wine for the party, but she sees a big stone used to make sour cabbage down there and she imagines once she'll have a small child, and this child will have a small fur coat and will come down here to play and the stone will fall upon it and it will die and whatever will she do then with the small fur coat, and this saddens her so much that she starts to cry. Later all the family members looking for her comes down to see what's up and one by one she tell them this and they all stay down there crying. The groom notices everybody had gone missing, find the whole family crying in the basement, and upon hearing their reason gets really upset how stupid the whole family is and cancels the wedding until he can find 3 people that are more stupid than them. He goes on a quest and indeed finds more idiots, one trying to bring sunshine into a windowless room with a bag, one trying to load walnuts to the attic with a pitchfork and one trying to knit a sweater by putting the sheep on the spinning wheel. After that he goes back and marries the idiot girl, but at the end of the story the idiot girl wastes all their food and they are starving so he sends her back to their parents and decides to stay single without a wife. There is no small child and no small fur coat later in the story so the title is a bit misleading...

[@thedanielstraight]

I think it also speaks to how those people you choose surround yourself with influence you and potentially change your life. If you aren't careful, you get swept up in their drama and conflama.

[@nanoglitch6693]

The Hungarian Folk Tales channel has an animated version of the dumpling story. Fair warning though: that channel is dangerously binge-able :)

[@janet6421]

Especially when they do compilation videos

[@ambermeridy7550]

I almost cried when he said that stories about runaway food have been told for a long time because it dawned on me that my beloved Gingy was the reason for Sausage Party

[@Mimi22668]

I remember being told this story with the fox eating Gingy after tricking him. The story of the pig stomach reminds me of a story about a wolf eating a family and the family had to be cut out of the wolf's tummy. Something like that. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@catinthewater7969]

Some variations of “Little Red Riding Hood” include the huntsman cutting open the wolf’s stomach to rescue Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.

[@ArinJager1]

yeah, what Cat in the Water above me said (Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma are cut out from the wolf by the huntsman... then they stuff his now empty stomach with rocks and stones, sew him together, then he wakes up and is thirsty, leans into a well to drink... and falls down and drowns and dies... pretty rough, eh?)

[@SuperDarkria]

My grandmother had story books with both the Gingerbread Man and the Runaway Pancake. I recognise that first illustration of the Gingerbread man being in the book :D

[@kokichisimp9660]

I remember the first time I heard the gingerbread man I was in first grade in the library the library teacher straight up just told use the story then after that I went home crying because I realized I was going to eventually die to

[@elizabethnelms2564]

Love it! Thanks Jon. Kids today are learning this story. 1 st grade teachers I know do a unit on The Gingerbread Man. They use several versions from story books.

[@IshbelJekyllhyde]

Funny enough, I do remember the first time I heard the story; we had a collection of cassettes (that old) with children stories from different countries translated to my L1, and in one of them, this story was the second on one side. I heard it before going to bed, so hearing this video is the exact re-enactment of how I heard the first time... Also, the one I heard was where the fox tricks the gingerbread man to climb to its nose and I loved that part because it felt like karma (gingy did mean pranks on everyone and that's why they chased him). Oh and I hated the gingerbread man, which makes really funny that my favourite Shrek characters are gingy, Puss and mongo, in that order

[@conniecarroll747]

Now that you mentioned it, I could have heard this story long time ago . I was a member of the, don't laugh Mickie Mouse Clubhouse back in the 60s where I had several of old vinyl records. Am I the only one here that old? They were a orange 🍊 color unfortunately no longer have any of them as a relative destroyed all of them but believe they had several stories on them. Wow ! Thanks that just brought back memories!

[@renee.c.seymour]

I'm Hungarian and I used to listen to all of these Hungarian stories and even had a collection of cartoons of these folktales definitely still watch em till this day

[@PedroHernandez-uy3pi]

I answered yes to all the questions at the beginning except for what o was wearing I was 5 in kindergarten learning English having storytime in Socorro what I was wearing... Idk something from goodwill probably God damn it's been a long time

[@tenebrousoul9368]

my babysitter Princess would tell us fables with our afternoon snack, if we were good about taking naps.

[@Morri10]

I had a book when I was younger about the run away Pan cake,it was funny 😂😂

[@JV-bc8um]

It says two comments but I can't see them. Hello Jon! 👋

[@darriendastar3941]

This was why I love this channel so much. I clicked on this thinking I'd learn stuff - and then realised I had been told this story years and years and years ago. I can't remember whether my mother told it to me or read it from a book. But it brought back such good memories. Tangent: you mentioned "Saving Private Ryan". A friend of mine was a 'stunt' amputee on the film. He'd lost his lower leg to cancer when he was a kid and used a prosthetic. For the landing scene on the film, Spielberg needed lots of amputees so they could have scenes of limbs being blown off. My friend spent several weeks being filmed jerking around on a beach and flicking his prosthetic as far as he could. He said it was one of the most fun experiences of his life and made enough money to put down a sizeable deposit on a flat in London. Even though I told him the Second World War didn't work like that, he kept on hoping they'd make "Saving Private Ryan 2".

[@daveshn]

"The shepherd boy had a knife in his pocket." What was the army using? Blunt sticks?

[@MoltenIce777]

They could have used their guns to shoot out of the stomach.

[@vivienballard391]

I remember hearing The Gingerbread Man in an episode of Between the Lions. I also remember the first day of kindergarten. Our teacher took us around the school to hunt for the gingerbread man, & when we returned to the classroom, each of us had a gingerbread man on our desk.

[@lafregaste]

Question, did you checked when other countries started making gingerbread cookies? Cause Hungary has a tradition of making them but I don't know when that started. Also, I had already heard the pig stomach's story thou as a "pig pudding", love Hungarian folktale. And I love that story the most, I find it funny, to me is not terrifying, it's just nonsensical

[@conniecarroll747]

A lot of countries started marking cookies from wooden cut out pieces, I've forgotten the names it started with a 'L' but they're about 10"to 12" high they would look like people and are still popular today. My memory isn't that great but the craft has been around for centuries, back then they were more detailed as Jon mentioned in Queen Elizabeth's time they would resemble people so would given as gifts 🎁. The artisans who did this were as good as those who painted miniatures we see on the sleeves in paintings 🖼.

[@deedeewashington6995]

I haven’t watched your videos in awhile but recently I watched rapunzel origin, and for three days I’ve been binge watching and liking all your videos. Thank you so much for doing this videos.

[@grapeshot]

Well he could be worse after all the gingerbread man could be possessed by the spirit of Gary Busey.

[@kkcake5771]

Who is Gary Busey?

[@grapeshot]

@@kkcake5771 look it up Google is your friend.

[@kkcake5771]

@@grapeshot 🙂

[@bethmorgan7024]

As a kid my Mom used to read me a book called "Journey Cake, Ho!" by Ruth Sawyer from 1953 that is basically the same story but with a flapjack that would say "catch me and eat me as I roll by!"

[@krealyesitisbeta5642]

Everyone: “Wow Germany, you’re version was so very wholesome. Now Hungary, it’s your turn~” Hungary: “(Deep breath).” (Hours later) Everyone else: 😨

[@hopejordan2997]

Gingerbread Man is one of my favorite fables! I have very fond memories of my Kindergarten teacher reading us the story then the class walked out into the hallway to follow the "gingerbread man's footprints" all the way to the cafateria where we all got to eat gingerbread men cookies. 😁

[@reneephillips9012]

Yall so quick. I thought I would be the first one to comment lol

[@wendykellow7795]

I always look forward to your stories, you're one of the best story tellers out there. Been listening to you for three years now and still look forward to each new one 😊

[@knitcrochettiger361]

Queen Elizabeth could have had a cooking hobby, she's the queen, it's her right to have a hobby...after all her cousin, Queen Marry of Scotts did have a gardening thing....she was quite contrary growing silver bells and cockerel shells....she loved her maids all in a row

[@facelesscat1138]

I've heard the story where the fox tricks the gingerbread man when I was younger, like in pre-school or something, so I vaguely remember it. I didn't think about how gruesome it was and I never thought about there being other versions of the story. Anyway, I can't wait for next week's video!

[@connordwyer6389]

whoever sees this have a great day

[@Alvin-gb6fv]

Thank you, kind and generous lady. No comments, lemme fix that as well.

[@cainherrera643]

The first time I heard the story of the Gingerbread Man was on a kids show called Between the Lions. It was the version where the fox tricks the Gingerbread Man. Anyone else remember Between the Lions?

[@jayde04]

Heyyyyyyyy.....first

[@v3ru586]

Hungarian here, I always considered the story of the little dumpling a warning. If you're greedy like the dumpling, it will end as badly as for you as for him. I think it was even pointed out for me, after I read the story.

[@thomaschapman5263]

Thank you for the origin stories I'm in my mid 60s and heard when I was a child good luck I look forward to your next one thank you again

[@gred_and_forge]

hears the story of "The Little Dumpling":😱😨 *what the-* 'the shepherd boy cut the dumpling, releasing everyone':😌😅 *you had me in the first half, not gonna lie, haha* i love ur videos, i knew some of the classic Grim fairytales, but stories like "The Little Dumpling" and the history behind these stories are why i love watching these vids💖 thank you for all the effort and work you put into creating these videos for us to enjoy😊 also, Penny is soo cute😍!!!

[@wolfnome]

Thanks for posting, been watching since your start. Congrats on 1.2 mil subs plus.. I remember hearing it in grade school

[@richewilson6394]

I was in the 1st grade when I heard of it. It was the scorpion the Frog tale. I think the Hungarian dumpling story was telling people to be aware of your surroundings and to always carry some sort of a weapon with you.

[@Basium1]

My first variation was the Stinky Cheese Man. My parents weren't big into reading to me so I had to read these tales on my own. It was in a book called "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales". Its a good laugh.

[@haywardgarner4850]

This is a personal favorite. The ugly duckling told in this book is a favorite read-aloud. The puzzled looks from most of the kids. The snickering from the kids that got the joke.

[@Syeona]

I have seen every single last one of your videos and I can without a doubt say that this is the most messed up story I have ever heard in my entire history of watching your videos. Scarred for life thank you very much.

[@marioduddu471]

Your videos are a real pleasure to watch. It's quite surprising to realise the extent of research that goes into making these videos.

[@Yamp44]

When I was young, we had a book with accompanying 45 rpm record (yes, I'm that old) that told the story of the gingerbread man with the ending where the fox trick him into crossing the river on it's back. There was even a little earworm song about the gingerbread man singing and taunting everyone to try and catch him. I can still sing parts of it even if I haven't heard it in 35 years...

[@rachelle_banks]

COUSIN JOHN! I have been busy and missing out on so many of your videos but I'm glad I'm back!

[@BeeMcDee]

It’s not so much food running away as food going on an adventure, but there’s an Australian kids’ story from 1918ish about a magic pudding that goes on an adventure with a koala, a wombat, a possum and a Bunyip. The tale is inventively called The Magic Pudding. Was turned into a puppet TV show in the 80s/early 90s.

[@micwhitehouse5674]

would LOVE a podcast from you!! Love your content and you're so easy and enjoyable to listen to :)

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

Between the first grade alcove and my grandma’s library I went through several sessions of following the book, accompanied by vinyl/cassette narrating. Both had the moral, “That’s what a Gingerbread Man is for.” In one of them, Gingy outran a horse.

[@mariposaorofusionfoodchann7573]

Very interesting!! Thanks for the second Anansi story! Could you find more Caribbean folklore from other Islands as well?

[@BlackVeganTravels]

I love that you covered this one. J.A. Stubbs wrote a book about "The Adventures of a Gingerbread Man" and it's one of my favorite modern takes on the story. I'd been talking about it earlier and then this video popped up on my suggestions, weird coincidence...

[@Melody-un1id]

All I could think of during this video was the book from my childhood about the Sticky Cheese Man. Same story but with stinky cheese and comedy.

[@eli-he9nz]

i used to work in a nursery and we still read this story to 2-4 year olds, it’s simple and repetitive in nature so it’s easy for them to remember and is a good way to test their memory. you’d be surprised at how many kids stories have animals eating things, people, other animals, gingerbread men in this case, as an aspect of the story, even if it doesn’t actually end up happening. they can get pretty violent too. the amount of times i’ve read a different version of red riding hood and it ends in them filling the wolf’s stomach with rocks, and even throwing him in the river once, is kind of wild. three billy goats gruff was always a favourite where i used to work and i have no idea why, but that one ends with the largest billy goat pushing the troll off the bridge and into the river. kids like violent stories i guess

[@erikarussell1142]

I just love your channel. So addictive and informative.

[@juicesquad5616]

Jon i recently watched your video on the fox and the hound it really had me thinking for a while 😭rest in peace to Tod like wow he really died that’s my favorite video by you tbh keep up the great work man ! ❤️

[@Broccoliboiii1996]

Your videos are always really interesting and I love them! Keep up the good work??

[@solveigelisabethhenne1739]

I had never heard of the Gingerbread Man until I saw Shrek back in 2001. Never looked into the story, but was immediately reminded of the Norwegian folk tale of the Pancake when you explained the tale of the Gingerbread Man! Was very pleased to hear you bring it up in the Around The World section. Greetings from Norway.

[@Mururm]

Such a good Chanel glad I got here so soon

[@Nipplator99999999999]

I remember that I was a Little kid at my grandma's house and it was Christmas...I know this because it was my uncle ribbing me for dropping a gingerbread man cookie that was bigger than my head I was just given.

[@prettyprincess8187]

I remember the rhyme bc my mom bought these huge books of nursery rhymes when I was a baby and she'd read them to me. They were my favorite.

[@owouwuowuuwo]

this book was absolutely HUGE in my elementary school. literally EVERYONE read this book and i remember feeling so cool because i knew that tale before everyone else. i first was read the book when i was four, and i remember screaming at him my second time reading it 'DONT CLIMB ON THE FOX! DONT TRUST HIM!'

[@devinkrike5968]

I know I am late to the party, but russians also have similar story. Its a story about Kolobok, a round pastry of sorts. It goes something like this, grandma bakes him, he runs away and whenever he is caught by someone, he goes "Don't eat me, I am gonna sing you a song in return" and then he proceeds to sing a song how he got away from his previous captors. That is until he meets a fox. So yeah, very similar to the other stories of this nature.

[@danielmeredith4222]

Cheers and thankyou so much Jon Solo this was alot of fun and very educational i had some very good laughs :)

[@antihero627]

I remember seeing an adaptation of the Gingerbread Man in that old Krypto the Superdog show. I always found that one funny. "Run, run, run! Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I'm the Gingerbread man! Wahoo!" Krypto appears in front of him; he turns to run away but Krypto intercepts him again. "How'd you do that? Please don’t eat me!"

[@charlottesavage5966]

I vaguely remember as a kid reading one where like, it was a chocolate soldier who was in the shop but wanted to explore, and ended up like melting down the drain etc and attempting wildly to get back to the shop window when he realised that the outside world was scary Same book was gingerbread man story and I remember that was where I first heard it cos my grandparents read it to me lol

[@rosalindmatteson3697]

I was about 4 or 5 when my mom read The Gingerbread Man to me. It was the version of the fox tricking him. My mom's mora was "when you are mean to others, it comes back to you in spades." She was referring to the Gingerbread Man taunting the others. She was sorta trying to reassure me that the bullies who picked on me would get their comeuppance down the road.

[@bocar4127]

I had heard of the standard “Run, run, run,” version like most other kids but my parents had bought “The Runaway Rice Cake” book and that’s the version that I think of immediately when someone mentions the gingerbread man

[@OofmanLeon20]

I had the book of this, it was kinda creepy at the time, but now its after ruining my childhood looking back at it

[@mwatson4970]

Cute Penny! Also, what about the meatball, i.e. " 🎶 on top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese 🎵 ..."? I remember reading the Ginger bread Man story in a collection of fairytale as kid and somewhere seeing the Chinese Dumpling tale on like a kids video some years later.

[@Bluephoenix240]

I vividly remember being in preschool and hearing this exact story!! It was actually read by the teacher more than once and after the first time I heard the ending I was actually so scared and traumatized. So whenever we read the story again I would get upset and start crying because I didn’t want to hear him die again.

[@MATABEI]

Great video! My first time hearing the Gingerbread Man tale was in the VHS Richard Scarry Animal Nursery Tales. Such nostalgia~ Also, I gotta shoutout the "Stinky Cheese Man" which bizarre storybook visuals scarred me for life :/

[@racookster]

When I was a preschooler, my dad read a short (and sometimes longer) children's book to me every night before I went to sleep, so I'm sure that's how I first heard The Gingerbread Man. I even remember some of the book's illustrations, but I couldn't tell you exactly how old I was when he first read it to me - two, three, four, something like that. He wanted to instill a love of reading in me, and it worked. It did not work for my younger brother. He wouldn't hold still for it and, at 58, still hates to read.

[@ritzansullivan9137]

Your videos are always such a lesson and a shocking story of all time