Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, in a cottage deep in a wood, there lived three bears. There was a Great Huge Bear, and a Middle Bear, and a Little Small Wee Bear. Each of them had a bowl for porridge: a great bowl, a middle-sized bowl, and a little bowl. Each had a chair to sit in: a great chair, a middle-sized chair, and a little chair. And each had a bed to sleep in: a great bed, a middle-sized bed, and a little bed.

One morning the three bears made their porridge and poured it into their bowls. It was too hot to eat right away, so while it cooled, they went for a walk in the wood.

Not far off lived a little girl with golden hair, and everyone who knew her called her Goldilocks. That morning her mother had sent her on an errand, but Goldilocks wandered off the path chasing butterflies, and before long she found herself in front of the bears' cottage. She peeped through the window, then through the keyhole, and seeing no one about, she pushed open the door, for it was not locked. In she went.

There on the table sat three bowls of porridge, and Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge in the great bowl, but it was too hot. She tasted the porridge in the middle-sized bowl, but it was too cold. Then she tasted the porridge in the little bowl, and it was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right, so she ate it all up, every last spoonful.

Then, feeling tired from her wandering, Goldilocks went to sit down. She tried the great chair, but it was too hard. She tried the middle-sized chair, but it was too soft. Then she tried the little chair, and it was neither too hard nor too soft, but just right. She settled into it happily, but the little chair could not bear her weight, and down she went, right through the bottom, tumbling onto the floor.

Still tired, Goldilocks climbed the stairs and found the bears' bedroom, where three beds stood in a row. She lay down on the great bed, but it was too high at the head. She lay down on the middle-sized bed, but it was too high at the foot. Then she lay down on the little bed, and it was neither too high at the head nor at the foot, but just right. She pulled up the little blanket, and in no time at all, she was fast asleep.

Before long the three bears came home, ready for their breakfast. But when the Great Huge Bear looked at his porridge, he saw his spoon standing in it.

"Somebody has been tasting my porridge!" he said, in his great, gruff voice.

The Middle Bear looked at his porridge, and there was his spoon too.

"Somebody has been tasting my porridge!" said the Middle Bear, in his middle-sized voice.

Then the Little Small Wee Bear looked at his bowl, and it was empty.

"Somebody has been tasting my porridge, and has eaten it all up!" cried the Little Small Wee Bear, in his little wee voice.

The three bears looked around the room. The Great Huge Bear saw that his chair had been sat in.

"Somebody has been sitting in my chair!" he said, in his great, gruff voice.

The Middle Bear saw that his cushion had been pressed down.

"Somebody has been sitting in my chair!" said the Middle Bear, in his middle-sized voice.

Then the Little Small Wee Bear looked at his own little chair.

"Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and has sat the bottom clean out of it!" cried the Little Small Wee Bear, in his little wee voice.

Worried now, the three bears went upstairs to look in their bedroom. The Great Huge Bear saw his pillow was out of place.

"Somebody has been lying in my bed!" he said, in his great, gruff voice.

The Middle Bear saw his pillow was out of place too.

"Somebody has been lying in my bed!" said the Middle Bear, in his middle-sized voice.

Then the Little Small Wee Bear came to his own bed, and there, right on his pillow, was a little golden head.

"Somebody has been lying in my bed, and here she is!" cried the Little Small Wee Bear, in his little wee voice.

His voice was so sharp and so shrill that it woke Goldilocks at once. She opened her eyes and saw the three bears standing beside the bed, staring down at her. Goldilocks was so frightened that she leapt straight out of the other side of the bed, ran to the open window, and jumped through it. Then she ran and ran, out of the wood and all the way home, and she never went near the three bears' cottage again.