The Stinky Cheese Man
Original by: Jon Scieszka
Adapted by: Breanna Nunez
Once upon a time, there was a little old couple that lived in a shoe. The little old lady loved to prepare meals for the little old man in her little kitchen. One night, she was preparing their favorite dish; baked cheese wheel, prepared with only the finest of cheeses. The cheese was baked to perfection and given tomatoes for eyes,a mushroom for a nose, and asparagus for a mouth.
The oven was set to 350 degrees and the timer for 20 minutes...
The little old lady opened the oven door as soon as she heard the timer go "BBRRRIIINNNGGG" and out popped the Stinky Cheese Man! He had a cheese wheel for a head and a lump of cheese for a body. He sprung out of the oven onto his newly sprouted legs and shouted "You won't eat me, I'm out of this pan. You can't catch me, I'm the Stinky Cheese Man!" He sprinted towards the door and ran down the paved street. Cars and school buses honked at the Stinky Cheese Man running down the street because they could not believe what they were seeing! He came across a group of boys about to start softball practice and said "You may be fast around these bases, but you're no match for my fast paces! You can't catch me I'm the Stinky Cheese Man!"
"Ewwwww what is that aweful smell?!" said one of the boys. "It smells worse than my lucky softball socks that I never let my mom wash", said another boy. The Stinky Cheese Man began to feel down. He just wanted a friend to run and play with, but his stinky cheese odor was turning the boys away. He began to run towards downtown, where he was sure to find someone who would want to be his friend.
He came across a grocery store where the store owner was outside sweeping up the sidewalk. "I'm a cheese wheel, not a bun, chasing me around would be so much more fun! You can't catch me I'm the Stinky Cheese Man!" The store owner took one look at the Stinky Cheese Man and his eyes widened with amazment. "What is that dreadful odor?!" he shouted and retreated back into his store. The Stinky Cheese Man was left outside alone, feeling blue. He noticed a playground across the street, so he decided to cross and see if he could befriend someone there.
While crossing the street, the Stinky Cheese Man noticed something crawling out of the sewer and it seemed to be running towards him. As it got closer, he realized that it was nothing other than a big grey, hairy rat! He was new to the outside world, but he knew at least one thing to be very true: rats LOVED cheese. His first instinct was to begin sprinting in the other direction, so he yelled "Ahhh! You can't catch me I'm the Stinky Cheese Man!" and began running away from the rat. He darted in and out of parked cars, around trees, under slides at the parks, and through bushes where he was sure the rat wouldn't see him. He couldn't hear anymore footsteps behind him, so he decided to stop underneath a bus stop bench and look out for the rat. He did not see a single sign of that wiry tale, or those big buck teeth so he decided that the coast was clear and walked out from under the bench.
"Hello." The simple greeting that the Stinky Cheese Man heard from above. He looked up to see the rat standing on top of the bus stop bench with a huge grin on his face. "You can't catch me I'm the--" the Stinky Cheese Man began to say, but the rat cut him off. "My name is Stuart. That was some game of tag! What's your name?" The Stinky Cheese Man was confused. Weren't rats supposed to want to devour cheese? "I'm the Stinky Cheese Man", he said with hesitation. He was prepared to make a dash for the garden across the street if Stuart made any sudden moves. But he didn't, instead he asked the Stinky Cheese Man where he came from because he had never seen anything like him before. When the Stinky Cheese Man asked Stuart why he wasn't grossed out by his potent smell, or why he didn't want to devour him, Stuart simply said "Oh it doesn't bother me, I spend my spare time in sewers and garbage cans! And I would never want to eat you, you're my friend. Plus I'm lactose intolerant. You might want to stay away from my brothers and sisters though." The Stinky Cheese Man was so glad to finally find a friend, even if it was in someone so unlikely.
THE END