When the Gingerbread Man Ran Away

Previously

…But the fox didn’t answer. Instead, with a swift, brutal movement, he flicked his head back, and the Gingerbread Man felt himself being pulled, not towards the bank, but towards the wide, gaping maw of the fox’s mouth. He tumbled through the air, a fleeting vision of green fields and blue sky, and then… darkness. A warm, wet darkness, filled with the crunch of gingerbread and the taste of sugar and spice. And then, nothing at all. The river flowed on, its surface smooth and serene once more, as if nothing had happened at all.