The Gingerbread Cat
A.N. Not too long ago, my pal BigMoose01 wrote a True Terrific Tales-inspired story based on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, and after reading it, I felt inspired to write my own. Moose and I discussed many different ideas for what fairytale to adapt, and lo and behold, I settled on The Gingerbread Man. So, with all that out of the way, let's get right into it.
A.N. Just like with my previous TATRK story, this one contains OCs created by BigMoose01, and are being used with his consent.
One day, Zee, Grizelda, and Prime Minister Ecks were on their way True and Bartleby's house.
"It sure was nice of True and Bartleby to invite us over." said Zee. "I wonder what she has planned."
"Whatever it is, I bet it will be lots of fun." said Grizelda.
"Indeed." agreed Ecks. "True sure knows how to have a good time."
They soon arrived at the house, but just as they were coming up to the front door, their noses picked up a lovely aroma coming from the house.
"Hey, what's that smell?" Zee asked as he sniffed the air.
"I don't know, but it sure smells good." said Grizelda.
"There's only one way to find out." said Ecks.
Ecks then knocked on the door, and he and the others were greeted by True.
"Hi, guys." she said. "Come on in."
As True's friends entered the house, they noticed that the smell became stronger than before.
"Okay, what is that smell?" Ecks asked. "And where is it coming from?"
"Now where, who." replied Bartleby as he was setting up a board game. "Mrs. Mom's making gingerbread cookies for the Craft And Bake Sale next week."
Ecks gasped when he heard this.
"Gingerbread cookies?" he grinned. "That's my favorite!"
"Then this is your lucky day, Ecks." said Trinity from the kitchen as she walked over with a tray of gingerbread man cookies. "These ones are fresh from the oven and ready to taste."
With that, each of the five friends took a cookie and tasted it. Ecks immediately fell in love with his.
"Man, of all the gingerbread cookies I've eaten, these are the best!" he sighed. "Boy, I wish I could have more just like this."
"In that case, I'll be sure to put aside an extra batch just for you." Trinity winked. "You too, Zee. And Grizelda."
"Thanks, Trinity." said Zee.
"Yeah, thanks." added Grizelda with a curtsey.
Just then, True had an idea.
"You know, these remind me of the story of the Gingerbread Cat." she said.
"Isn't that like the story of the Gingerbread Man?" asked Grizelda.
"It's exactly like that." True replied as she took out her Story Spinner. "Only different."
Ecks tilted his head in confusion when he saw the object True had just pulled out.
"What's that?" he asked.
"True's Story Spinner." Zee replied.
"Fascinating." said Ecks. "How does it work?"
"I'll show you." True giggled. "Sit down, everybody."
Everyone did just that. Everyone, that is, except Trinity.
"Do you want to hear the story too, Mom?" True asked.
"I'll listen while I'm making the next batches of cookies." Trinity replied. "Who knows, it might help me concentrate."
"Okay." nodded True.
True then gave the Story Spinner a quick turn with her finger, causing it to spin and float out of her hand and up into the air.
"Story Spinner, Story Spinner, zip, zap, zubble!" True chanted. "Time to tell a magic tale from inside your Story Bubble!"
The scene then transitioned to show a bakery shop.
"Once upon a time, there was an old baker whose granddaughter lived with him and would always help him out in the shop." True narrated.
The scene showed True (the baker's granddaughter) selling a loaf of bread to an old woman (Tara).
"Thank you, miss." True said. "Come again!"
Tara collected her bread and left. The baker (Trevor), who was putting some freshly-baked bread and other baked goods into a display case, watched Tara leave with a smile.
"One more happy customer." Trevor said. "You do good work, True."
"Thanks, Grandpa." smiled True.
"But one day, the baker found his granddaughter feeling very glum." True narrated.
In the scene True just described, Trevor had come into True's bedroom and found her sitting on her bed, looking very sad indeed.
"What's wrong, True?" he asked. "Is everything alright?"
"I guess so." True sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I do like working in the bakery with you, I really do. It's just that, well, I kinda wish I had somebody to play with when I'm not working."
Trevor felt bad for True, but then, he had an idea.
"I know just what to do about that." he said.
"What is it, Grandpa?" True asked.
"You said you don't have anyone to play with." Trevor replied. "So, how about we make you one?"
"How?" True puzzled.
"I'll show you." winked Trevor. "Follow me."
The scene then showed Trevor and True in the kitchen of the bakery, where Trevor was showing True a selection of cookie cutters.
"Let's make you a friend out of gingerbread." said Trevor. "Look at these cookie cutters and tell me what we should have your friend look like."
True flipped through the cutters, and eventually picked out one shaped like a cat.
"How about a cat?" she asked.
"Good choice." nodded Trevor as he put the other cookie cutters away.
And so, the two began preparing the gingerbread cookie dough, but as Trevor was adding sugar to the bowl, True nudged the jar of sugar upward. This caught Trevor by surprise.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Adding more sugar." said True. "I want my new friend to be someone who will be super sweet."
"Well, alright." shrugged Trevor. "However, I must warn you. Nobody has ever made cookies with this much sugar. You are tampering with forces well beyond your comprehension!"
"It'll be fine." said True. "Besides, what could go wrong?"
"And so, when the dough was ready, the baker and his granddaughter cut the dough into a cat shape and put it in the oven." True's narration rang out again. "In no time, it was cooked, and once it cooled, they decorated it. They drew eyes, eyebrows, and a mouth with white icing, then placed jelly beans on the face for the eyes and nose, and Fishy Poof Crackers for the buttons."
The scene showed True and Trevor putting the finishing touches on the gingerbread cat (who, unsurprisingly, was Barlteby). Just as they finished, their creation sat up.
"Where...where am I?" the gingerbread cat asked before looking at his creators. "And who are you?"
"I'm True." True replied. "And this is my grandpa, Trevor, who runs this bakery shop."
"Hello there." Trevor greeted.
"So, what do you wanna do?" True asked Gingerbread Bartleby. "Do you want to play a game?"
"Oh, do I!" Gingerbread Bartleby replied giddily. "In fact, I know a perfect game we can play!"
The gingerbread cat then jumped off the counter and ran out of the shop.
"Wait! Stop!" said True as she took off after him. "Come back!"
But Gingerbread Bartleby was going much too fast for her to hear him.
"Run, run, as fast as you can!" he chanted. "You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Cat!"
"The Gingerbread Cat kept running as fast as his cookie legs could carry him." True narrated. "It wasn't long before he came across a farmer who was plowing his field."
The farmer, played by Tobias, had temporarily stopped plowing his field to have a drink of water from his canteen when Gingerbread Bartleby ran past him.
"Oh, boy, that gingerbread cookie looks delicious!" Tobias said as he licked his lips. "I just might eat him up for my snack!"
"And so, the farmer chased the Gingerbread Cat, but he couldn't catch him." True narrated again. "And as he ran, the Gingerbread Cat repeated his rhyme."
"Run, run, as fast as you can!" Gingerbread Bartleby chanted again. "You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Cat!"
"The next people the Gingerbread Cat came across were a knight and his squire." True narrated for a third time.
As True was narrating, the scene showed the knight and squire, played by Ecks (the knight) and Zee (the squire), sitting by their tent while having tea and cake when Gingerbread Bartleby ran past them.
"I say, Squire." said Ecks. "That gingerbread cat will go great with our tea and cakes! Ready the horses!"
"Yes, Sir Ecks." Squire Zee nodded.
"And before long, Sir Ecks and Squire Zee were chasing the Gingerbread Cat on their horses." True's narration said. "But, like the farmer and the baker's granddaughter, they couldn't catch him."
"Run, run, as fast as you can!" Gingerbread Bartleby chanted for a third time. "You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Cat!"
Just then, Gingerbread Bartleby came to a wide river.
"Uh-oh." he said. "I'll never be able to cross this before those people catch up to me."
"Perhaps I can help." said a voice.
At that moment, a fox that had the likeness and voice of Nightpaw, walked up to Gingerbread Bartleby.
"I can take you across this river." the fox offered. "Hop on my tail."
"Okay." nodded Gingerbread Bartleby.
"The Gingerbread hopped onto the fox's tail, and the fox began to swim." True narrated for a fourth time. "But it wasn't long before the fox began to play a trick."
The scene played accordingly to True's narration, for the fox began speaking to Gingerbread Bartleby.
"Hey, my tail's starting to get sore." the fox said. "Why don't you ride on my back instead?"
"Oh. Okay." replied Gingerbread Bartleby as he climbed into the fox's back.
The fox, now with his passenger on his back, kept on swimming, but then spoke again.
"Now my back is getting sore." said the fox. "How about you ride on my head now?"
Gingerbread Bartleby just nodded as he climbed onto the fox's head. Soon, they reached the other end of the river, and Gingerbread Bartleby jumped off.
"Thanks, pal." Gingerbread Bartleby said to the fox. "If there's anything I can do to repay you, just name it."
The fox was delighted at that he heard, and he licked his lips.
"Of course there's something you can do." he said. "You can let me eat you up as my afternoon snack!"
Gingerbread BArtleby was horrified.
"What?!" he gasped. "You can't be serious!"
"Oh, I am." sneered the fox.
"Hey! You!" a voice suddenly snapped. "Get away from that Gingerbread Cat!"
The voice belonged to True, who had finally caught up to Gingerbread Bartleby with the rest of the pursuers.
"How did you guys get across the river?" Gingerbread Bartleby asked.
"We just used that." replied True.
She pointed to a stone bridge. Gingerbread Bartleby face-palmed.
"Oh, gee, why didn't I think of that?" he asked.
True giggled.
"Come on, you." she said. "Let's get you home."
With that, Gingerbread Bartleby jumped onto True's shoulder and she, along with the others, left to go home, leaving the fox behind. The fox, needless to say, was furious about being deinied his snack.
"Drat, drat, and double drat!" he growled. "And I had him right where I wanted him, too!"
Meanwhile, True and Gingerbread Bartleby returned to the bakery and found Trevor waiting for them.
"Grandpa, we caught him!" True said. "We've caught the Gingerbread Cat!"
"I see that." smiled Trevor. "And you're just in time too. I just got done making something I bet our gingerbread friend might really enjoy."
"Really?" asked Gingerbread Bartleby. "What is it?"
Trevor chuckled.
"Follow me." he said.
Trevor led True and Gingerbread Bartleby up the stairs to True's room, where, on a table in the corner, sat a gingerbread house.
"I used the leftover gingerbread cookie dough to make this gingerbread house." Trevor explained. "I think you might like it, Gingerbread Cat."
"I don't like it." said the Gingerbread Cat as he examined his new home. "I love it! It's just the right size for me!"
"I'm glad you like it." said Trevor. "And you know, maybe we should give you a different name instead of calling you "Gingerbread Cat" all the time. But what to name you?"
"Well, I kinda like the name "Barlteby". Gingerbread Bartleby said.
"Barlteby it is, then." agreed True. "Say, how would you like to help me and Grandpa around the bakery?"
"That's a wonderful idea, True." said Trevor. "An extra pair of hands is always a nice thing to have."
"The Gingerbread Cat, now named "Bartleby", agreed, and from that day onward, he helped the baker and his granddaughter in the bakery." True narrated for the final time. "And they all lived happily ever after. The end."
True then popped the Story Bubble to signal the end of the story.
"Now that was a story to end all stories." said Bartleby.
"You said it." agreed Zee.
"And I'll tell you one thing." added Ecks. "It put me in the mood for more cookies."
Everyone laughed when they heard Ecks say that.
"What?" asked Ecks. "Was it something I said?"
"You sure weren't kidding when you said gingerbread cookies were your favorite." said Bartleby.
At that moment, Trinity entered, carrying some small cellophane bags that had gingerbread cookies in them. She had heard the whole thing.
"Here you go." she said. "Extra batches for Zee, Grizelda, and Ecks."
As Ecks gazed upon his batch, pictures of gingerbread cookies appeared in his pupils, and his tongue drooped out of his mouth like Frookie.
"Come to Papa..." he said.
Well, everyone had to laugh at that, too.
"You really are a sucker for those things, Ecks." True giggled.
"Yeah, I guess I am." Ecks shrugged sheepishly.
Just then, Tobias entered.
"Honey! I'm home!" he boomed.
Just then, Tobias smelled the familiar aroma of gingerbread.
"Hey, has someone been baking in here?" he asked.
"Mom has." True replied. "Mom made some gingerbread cookies while you were gone."
"Did she now?" asked Tobias. "Well, let's just hope there are some left for me to have after dinner."
"Oh, don't worry, dear." Trinity reassured her husband. "I ended up baking enough batches to feed an army, and for everyone to buy at the Craft And Bake Sale, of course."
"Well, that's good." said Tobias. "I think I might have a few after we have our dinner. Speaking of, I brought home some meatball subs from the deli."
"Ooh, yum!" grinned True.
Tobias then looked at Zee, Grizelda, and Ecks.
"Why don't you stay for dinner?" he asked.
Zee, Grizelda, and Ecks all agreed, and as True, her friends, and her parents at dinner that night, everyone had the exciting tale True had told in their minds forever more.
The End