Goldilocks And The
Three Bears
Once
upon a time in a large forest, close to a village, stood the cottage where the
Teddy Bear family lived. They were not really proper Teddy Bears, for Father
Bear was very big, Mother Bear was middling in size, and only Baby Bear could be
described as a Teddy Bear.
Each bear had its own size of bed. Father Bear's was
large and nice and comfy. Mother Bear's bed was middling in size, while Baby
Bear had a fine little cherrywood bed that Father Bear had ordered from a
couple of beaver friends.
Beside the fireplace, around which the family sat in
the evenings, stood a large carved chair for the head of the house, a
delightful blue velvet armchair for Mother Bear, and a very little chair for
Baby Bear.
Neatly laid out on the kitchen table stood three china
bowls. A large one for Father Bear, a smaller one for Mother Bear, and a little
bowl for Baby Bear.
The neighbors were all very respectful to Father Bear
and people raised their hats when he went by. Father Bear liked that and he
always politely replied to their greetings. Mother Bear had lots of friends.
She visited them in the afternoons to exchange good advice and recipes for jam
and bottled fruit. Baby Bear, however, had hardly any friends. This was partly
because he was rather a bully and liked to win games and arguments. He was a
pest too and always getting into mischief. Not far away, lived a fair-haired
little girl who had a similar nature to Baby Bear, only she was haughty and
stuck-up as well, and though Baby Bear often asked her to come and play at his
house, she always said no.
One day, Mother Bear made a nice pudding. It was a new
recipe, with blueberries and other crushed berries. Her friends told her it was
delicious. When it was ready, she said to the family:
"It has to be left to cool now, otherwise it won't
taste nice. That will take at least an hour. Why don't we go and visit the
Beavers' new baby? Mummy Beaver will be pleased to see us." Father Bear
and Baby Bear would much rather have tucked into the pudding, warm or not, but
they liked the thought of visiting the new baby.
'We must wear our best clothes, even for such a short
visit. Everyone at the Beavers' will be very busy now, and we must not stay too
long!" And so they set off along the pathway towards the river bank. A
short time later, the stuck-up little girl, whose name was Goldilocks, passed
by the Bears' house as she picked flowers.
"Oh, what an ugly house the Bears have!" said
Goldilocks to herself as she went down the hill. "I'm going to peep
inside! It won't be beautiful like my house, but I'm dying to see where Baby
Bear lives.' Knock! Knock! The little girl tapped on the door. Knock! Knock!
Not a sound...
"Surely someone will hear me knocking,"
Goldilocks said herself, impatiently. "Anyone at home?" she called,
peering round the door. Then she went into the empty house and started to
explore the kitchen.
"A pudding!" she cried, dipping her finger
into the pudding Mother Bear had left to cool. "Quite nice!" she
murmured, spooning it from Baby Bear's bowl. In a twinkling, the bowl lay empty
on a messy table. With a full tummy, Goldilocks went on exploring.
"Now then, this must be Father Bear's chair, this
will be Mother Bear's, and this one must belong to my friend, Baby Bear. I'll
just sit on it a while!" With these words, Goldilocks sat herself down
onto the little chair which, quite unused to such a sudden weight, promptly
broke a leg. Goldilocks crashed to the floor, but not in the least dismayed by
the damage she had done, she went upstairs.
There was no mistaking which was Baby Bear's bed.
"Mm! Quite comfy!" she said, I bouncing on
it. "Not as nice as mine, but nearly! Then she yawned. I think I'll lie
down, only for a minute just to try the bed." And in next to no time,
Goldilocks lay fast asleep in Baby Bear's bed. In the meantime, the Bears were
on their way home.
"Wasn't the new Beaver baby ever so small?"
said Baby Bear to his mother. Was I as tiny as that when I was born?"
"Not quite, but almost," came the reply, with
a fond caress. From a distance, Father Bear noticed the door was ajar.
"Hurry!" he cried. "Someone is in our
house . . ." Was Father Bear hungry or did a thought strike him? Anyway,
he dashed into the kitchen. "I knew it! Somebody has gobbled up the
pudding."
"Someone has been jumping up and down on my armchair!"
complained Mother Bear.
"and somebody's broken my chair!" wailed Baby
Bear.
Where could the culprit be? They all ran upstairs and
tiptoed in amazement over to Baby Bear's bed. In it lay Goldilocks, sound asleep.
Baby Bear prodded her toe.
"Who's that? Where am I?" shrieked the little
girl, waking with a start. Taking fright at the scowling faces bending over
her, she clutched the bedclothes up to her chin. Then she jumped out of bed and
fled down the stairs.
"Get away! Away from that house!" she told
herself as she ran, forgetful of all the trouble she had so unkindly caused.
But Baby Bear called from the door, waving his arm:
"Don't run away! Come back! I forgive you, come
and play with me!"
And this is how it all ended. From that day onwards,
haughty rude Goldilocks became a pleasant little girl. She made friends with
Baby Bear and often went to his house. She invited him to her house too, and
they remained good friends, always.
