The Stinky Cheese Man

“Look!” said the Story Girl. She was six years old and she held a book that liked to giggle. She pointed with her finger and the words wiggled like jelly.

On the first wiggly page lived the Stinky Cheese Man. He was a bright yellow wedge with a tiny white chef hat and a napkin cape that fluttered when he ran. He wasn’t scary — he was proud, silly, and loved a good joke.

“I’m the Stinky Cheese Man!” he sang, wobbling on his crumbly toes. “Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me — I’m the Stinky Cheese Man!”

A friendly fox with a red bandana and a soft satchel heard the song. He trotted up on two cheerful legs and smiled. “Oh really?” said the Fox. “I do love a good chase. But I also love a good story.”

Everyone in the book lined up: a frog in slippers, a cat that practiced ballet, and even a very polite wolf who simply wanted to borrow sugar. They all chased the Stinky Cheese Man — but instead of trying to eat him, they wanted to share a snack and hear one of his jokes.

The Stinky Cheese Man dashed across a cracker bridge, over a puddle of jam, and straight into a picnic full of giggles. The animals called, “Wait! Share a bite!” He stopped, put on his chef hat, and pulled from his napkin cape a tiny wooden spoon.

“I’ll tell you a joke, and then I’ll share!” he declared. He told a joke about moonlit macaroni and everyone laughed so hard the frog almost hopped into a teacup. The Fox teased, “You can’t fool me twice!” but his eyes were kind. He hopped up and offered his satchel full of berries. “Swap?” he asked. “You give a joke, I give a berry.”

The Story Girl pointed and clapped. “No, no!” she said, changing the book with a giggle. The pages flipped themselves and the rules tumbled. Suddenly the Fox was wearing a tiny apron and rolling dough, while the Stinky Cheese Man sat at a pretend table telling stories and sprinkling imaginary pepper. “That’s better,” the Story Girl whispered. The characters listened. They swapped roles like hats at a tea party. The cat taught ballet to the frog. The polite wolf set the table. Even the cracker bridge turned into a slide for laughing lanterns.

At the end, the Stinky Cheese Man stood on a hill of crackers and took a bow. “Stories can be anything!” he announced. The Fox bowed too, bandana bright as a ribbon. The Story Girl closed the book and pointed at the smiling friends. “You can make your own endings,” she said. “You can twist and turn and swap and play.” The book gave one last happy wiggle and the characters waved. They did not follow the old rules. They made new ones — full of jokes, baking, dancing, and friendship.