Week 13 Story: Leopard Cake

There once was a little boy who lived with his mother and father. The little boy was celebrating his birthday, and his mother asked him what type of cake he wanted. The little boy said he wanted a cake shaped like a leopard. The mother put the cake in to bake and told the little boy, "Your father and I are going to the market. Keep an eye on the oven while we are gone."

The mother and father left, and the little boy sat in the kitchen staring at the oven. He got very bored, and decided to go outside to play. When the little boy got tired, he went inside and found the oven door wide open! He went to the front door, only to see the leopard cake running away! The little boy chased after the cake, but got very tired and had to sit down.

The leopard cake kept running and kept running, until it came across two mice. The mice asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The mice tried chasing after the leopard cake, but they grew weary and gave up the chase.

The leopard cake kept running and eventually found two dogs. The dogs asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy and two mice. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The dogs tried chasing after the leopard cake, but eventually they ran out of breath and had to stop.

The leopard cake kept running, eventually finding a deer. The deer asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, and two dogs. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The leopard cake took off and the deer tried running after it, but gave up quickly.

The leopard cake reached a horse, and the horse asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, and a deer. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The horse ran after the leopard cake, but got tired and sat down.

The leopard cake continued running and saw a fox laying down. The fox asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, a deer, and a horse. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too."

The fox said, "What was that? I can't hear very well. Come closer." The leopard cake moved closer to the fox and said louder, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, a deer, and a horse. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too."

The fox said, "I still cannot hear you. You have to speak up." The leopard cake moved right in front of the fox and yelled, "I just outran a little boy, two mice, two dogs, a deer, and a horse. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than you and can outrun you too." The fox said, "You can, can you?" and ate the leopard cake in one bite.

Fox from USFWS Photo

Author's Note: I wrote my story based on "Johnny-Cake" from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. I decided to keep the plot almost identical to the original, in which a cake runs and finds many people and animals that it outruns. I changed the characters the cake encounters along the way so they are all animals, rather than some people and some animals. I thought this might make the story feel a bit more like a classic fairy tale. I also changed the type of cake that is running. In the original, it is a Johnny-cake that is running; I choses to use a leopard to explain why the cake brags to the characters it encounters about being able to outrun them. The one character the cake encounters that I kept the same is the fox. I thought it was really fitting to have a fox be the one to outsmart the cake. I also kept the fox's last line the same, because I thought it worked well as a "gotcha" moment. 

Story Source: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890).