Goldilocks and the Three Bears

This story is called Goldilocks and the Three Bears, written by Leslie Brooke. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived together in a cozy house in the woods. One of them was a teeny-tiny bear, the second one was a medium-sized bear, and the third was a great big bear. They ate oatmeal for breakfast every morning, and each bear had a special bowl for this purpose. The teeny-tiny bear had a teeny-tiny bowl, the medium-sized bear had a medium-sized bowl, and the great big bear had a great big bowl. In the living room, each bear had the perfect-sized chair to sit in-- a teeny-tiny chair for the teeny-tiny bear, a medium-sized chair for the medium-sized bear, and a great big chair for the great big bear. If you went upstairs to their bedroom, you would find that the teeny-tiny bear had a teeny-tiny bed, the medium-sized bear had a medium-sized bed, and the great big bear had a great big bed. Everything was just right. One morning, after the bears had made their oatmeal and poured it into their perfect-sized bowls, they decided to take a walk in the woods while they waited for their breakfast to cool. They didn’t want to burn their tongues! While they were out, a young girl approached the bears’ house. The girl had yellow hair, so everyone who knew her called her Goldilocks. Surprised to see such a cozy looking house in the middle of the woods, Goldilocks was overcome with curiosity. “I wonder what could be inside!” she said. First, she peered through the front window, then she peeked through the keyhole in the door. Confident that no one was in the house, Goldilocks turned the handle of the door. It was unlocked! After all, the owners of the house were good bears. They didn’t harm anyone, so they never suspected anyone would harm them. So, Goldilocks opened the door and went in. When she saw the fresh, steaming oatmeal in bowls on the table, she heard her tummy growl. If she had been a thoughtful child, she would have waited until the bears came home. Then, perhaps, they would have asked her to join them for breakfast. (As I said, they were good bears—a little rough at times, as is the manner of bears, but overall very good-natured and hospitable.) But Goldilocks was not a thoughtful child, and the oatmeal looked tempting, so she helped herself. First, she tasted a bite of oatmeal from the great big bear’s bowl. “Ow!! That’s too hot!” exclaimed Goldilocks. Next, she tasted a bite from the medium-size bear’s bowl. “Yuck! That’s too cold,” she said. Then she tried a bite of the teeny-tiny bear’s oatmeal. It was neither too hot nor too cold. “Mmmmm. This one is just right!” She liked it so much that she ate it all up. Once she had eaten, Goldilocks thought she might sit down and read a book. She went to the living room, chose a picture book from the shelf, and sat down in the chair of the great big bear. “Ow, this chair is too hard!” she said. Next, she tried sitting down in the chair of the medium-sized bear. “This is too soft,” said Goldilocks. Finally, she sat down in the teeny-tiny bear’s teeny-tiny chair. It was neither too hard nor too soft. “Ahh, this is just right!” she said, and she opened the book. Actually, Goldilocks was much too big for the teeny-tiny chair, so after a few moments of reading, the bottom of the chair fell out, and Goldilocks fell to the floor with a thump. “Ow!” Goldilocks got up and brushed herself off. Looking around, she noticed a set of stairs leading to the second floor of the house. She climbed the stairs and entered the bedroom where the three bears slept. When she saw the bears’ three beds, she yawned, feeling sleepy from her adventures downstairs. And first, she lay down on the bed of the great big bear. “Ow, this bed is too hard,” said Goldilocks. Next, she tried the medium-sized bear’s bed. “This bed is too soft,” she said, sinking into the covers. Finally, she lay down on the teeny-tiny bear’s bed. This bed was neither too hard nor too soft. “Ahh, this bed is just right!” So, she snuggled into the covers and fell fast asleep. Around this time, the three bears returned home from their walk. They were hungry and ready to eat their oatmeal. The great big bear sat down to eat, but soon noticed someone had taken a bite of his portion. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN EATING MY OATMEAL!" cried the great big bear in his rough, gruff voice. Then the medium-sized bear looked at her bowl and noticed a bite missing, too. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN EATING MY OATMEAL!" Finally, the teeny-tiny bear looked in his bowl. He frowned. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN EATING MY OATMEAL, AND NOW IT’S ALL GONE!" Realizing that someone had entered their house, the bears began to look around to see if other damage had been done. Goldilocks hadn’t straightened the hard cushion when she tested the great big bear’s chair. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!" cried the great big bear in his rough, gruff voice. Goldilocks had squashed down the soft cushion of the medium-sized bear. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!" she said with a medium-sized growl. And you already know what Goldilocks had done to the third chair. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR, AND NOW IT’S BROKEN!" said the teeny-tiny bear in his teeny-tiny voice. Now feeling outraged, the three bears went upstairs to inspect their bedroom. Goldilocks had crumpled the pillow of the great big bear. "SOMEONE HAS SLEEPING BEEN IN MY BED!" cried the great big bear in his rough, gruff voice. And Goldilocks had pulled the medium-sized bear’s cover out of its place. "SOMEONE HAS BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED!" she said in her medium-sized voice. And when the teeny-tiny bear came to look at his bed, he saw that the cover was in its place, and the pillow was in its place, and on the pillow... was the head of Goldilocks—which was not in its place because it did not belong there! "SOMEONE HAS BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED—AND HERE SHE IS!" sobbed the teeny-tiny bear. When Goldilocks heard the voice of the teeny-tiny bear, it was so sharp, and so shrill, that it woke her up at once. When she saw the three bears on one side of the bed, she jumped up and tumbled herself right out the other side. Goldilocks ran to the nearest window and jumped out. She ran away as fast as she could, never looking behind her. What happened to her next, I cannot say. But the three bears never saw her again. This was Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Leslie Brooks. This has been a LibraryCall adaptation and recording.