Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, in a snug house at the edge of the woods, there lived three bears. There was a great big Papa Bear, a middle-sized Mama Bear, and a small wee Baby Bear, and they liked porridge for breakfast better than anything in the world.

One morning the porridge was too hot to eat, every bowl of it. So the three bears left it steaming on the table and went for a walk while it cooled, down the path and into the trees.

That very morning, a girl called Goldilocks was out walking too. She had bright tumbling curls and a habit of following her curiosity wherever it went. When she saw the snug little house, her curiosity said, I wonder, and when she knocked and nobody answered, her curiosity said, just a peek, and in she went.

You already know she should not have. Goldilocks knew it too, somewhere under the curls. But the door was open, and the house smelled of warm porridge, and in she went all the same.

---

On the table sat three bowls. Goldilocks was hungrier than she had realized.

She tried the great big bowl. "Ow! Too hot!"

She tried the middle-sized bowl. "Brr. Too cold." (It had cooled the fastest, sitting by the window.)

Then she tried the small wee bowl, and it was just right, so she ate it all up. Every spoonful.

By the fire stood three chairs. Goldilocks was fuller than she had realized, and sitting down sounded lovely.

She tried the great big chair. "Too hard."

She tried the middle-sized chair. "Too soft." It nearly swallowed her like a marshmallow.

Then she tried the small wee chair, and it was just right. But Goldilocks was a bit bigger than a small wee bear, and the little chair wobbled, and creaked, and crick-CRACK! One leg snapped, and down she bumped onto the rug.

"Oh no," said Goldilocks, very quietly, and she set the broken chair back on its three good legs as carefully as she could.

Upstairs there were three beds, and Goldilocks was sleepier than she had realized. The great big bed was too hard at the top. The middle-sized bed was too soft in the middle. The small wee bed was just right all over, and before she could think one more thought, Goldilocks was fast asleep.

---

Home came the three bears, ready for breakfast.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," said Papa Bear, in his great big voice.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," said Mama Bear, in her middle-sized voice.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," said Baby Bear, in his small wee voice, "and they ate it all up!"

They looked at the chairs.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said Papa Bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said Mama Bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said Baby Bear, "and now it wobbles!"

Up the stairs they went, quiet as three bears can be, which is not very.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed," said Papa Bear.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed," said Mama Bear.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed," said Baby Bear, "and here she is!"

---

Goldilocks opened her eyes and saw three bears looking down at her, one great big, one middle-sized, one small and wee, and every one of them frowning just a little.

She sat straight up. Her cheeks went as pink as the quilt.

"I'm sorry," she said, and she truly was. "I was curious, and then I was hungry, and then I was sleepy, and I should not have come in at all. I ate the little porridge and I broke the little chair, and I am very, very sorry."

Baby Bear looked at his empty bowl. Papa Bear looked at the wobbly chair. Mama Bear looked at Goldilocks, the way mamas look when they can tell a sorry is real.

"Thank you for saying so," said Mama Bear at last. "Off you go home now. Sorries work best when they are followed by breakfast at your own table."

So Goldilocks went home, and had her own porridge, in her own bowl, and thought about the whole morning.

And the next day, she came back. She knocked properly this time, and waited. When Baby Bear opened the door, she held out a jar of honey with both hands, and behind her ear was a pencil, and under her arm was a small piece of wood exactly the size of a chair leg.

She and Papa Bear fixed the little chair together, tap tap tap. Mama Bear stirred honey into four bowls of porridge, not too hot, not too cold. And Baby Bear decided that a friend who comes back to mend things is just right.