JOHNNY CAKE
Once there lived an old man and an old woman. One day the old man said,
‘Find some flour, wife, and bake a cake.’
The old woman found some flour and made a cake. ‘Well, my Johny Cake, go to the oven!’
When Johnny Cake was baked, the old woman put him on the window-sill to cool. Johnny Cake lay and lay, and then… rolled down from the window to the door.
Then from the door to the yard, from the yard to the road, and along the road far away.
By and by Johnny Cake met a hare.
‘Johnny Cake, I shall eat you up!’
‘Don’t eat me, hare, I’ll sing you a song.’
‘I got away from the old man, I got away from the old woman. I can get away from you! Run, run as fast as you can. You’ll never see Johnny Cake again.’
And Johnny Cake ran away.
Later, Johnny Cake met a wolf.
‘Johnny Cake, I shall eat you up!’
‘Don’t eat me. I’ll sing a song to you.’
Johnny Cake sang his song to the wolf and ran away.
Next morning Johnny Cake met a bear.
‘Johnny Cake, I’ll eat you up!’
‘Run, run as fast as you can. You’ll never see Johnny Cake again,’ sang Johnny Cake and rolled away.
Suddenly Johnny Cake met a Fox.
‘Johnny Cake, I shall eat you up!’
‘Don’t eat me. I’ll sing a song to you.’
And Johnny Cake began to sing his song: ‘I got away from the old man, I got away from the old woman. I got away from the hare, I got away from the wolf, I got away from the bear, and I’ll get away from you.’
The fox said, ‘It’s a nice song, but I am deaf. Sit down on my tongue and sing once more.’
Johnny Cake jumped down onto the tongue of the fox, and the fox…
… did not eat him but only broke its teeth and ran away crying from pain. During those days, Johnny Cake became quite stale. It saved his life. But since he never boasted again.
THE END