Fourth Grade
Worksheets
The First Gingerbread Man
Many, many years ago, there was an old woman who lived in a cozy, little cottage in the middle of the forest. She didn't have any relatives that anyone knew about, but all of the children in the nearby village called her Granny. From the time the children could walk until they were young adults, they would go into the forest from the nearby village to visit with the old lady.
Granny would tell the children wonderful stories, stories of enchanted lands, knights, and fair maidens. The children sat on the floor, eagerly waiting to hear the story that the elderly woman had for them each day.
Sometimes the children would arrive at the little cottage in the afternoon and not leave until it was starting to get dark.
Granny sat one day in her little home and wished that she could make a snack for the children. She was concerned that they had to walk back to the village with hungry stomachs.
Granny was not a wealthy woman, and she barely had enough in her small cottage for herself to eat. However, she searched through all of her cabinets to find something she could make for the children.
The window was open in the kitchen of her little home, and a sweet smelling breeze blew in from the forest. Granny was so busy searching for the ingredients for her special snack that she didn't notice the little man who sat on the windowsill. After all, he was only about six inches tall.
The little man listened to the old woman fuss about the sorry state of her cupboards. Finally, she found enough sugar and flour to make a few cookies and enough milk to have with them. She mixed the ingredients and prepared her stove to bake the cookies.
As the delightful little cookies baked in the oven, the tiny man became enchanted with the wonderful smell coming from the stove. Finally, the cookies were done, and Granny took them from the oven and sat them by the window to cool. Even though the cookies were small, to the little man they were just right.
