Once upon a time in a little house on the edge of the woods a girl called Goldilocks lived with her parents. One morning she woke up as the sun was streaming through her window; thinking it was time for school, she leapt out of bed.

Goldilocks pesters mumDownstairs her mother was busy “It’s far too early for school; don’t get under my feet. Why don’t you go out for a walk? You can pick me some blackberries to make a pie for dinner tonight” she grumbled.

Goldilocks went skipping into the woods swinging a basket for the blackberries. Singing to herself, she went further and further into the woods.

After a while she began to feel hungry and a little bit tired. Across a clearing in the woods she suddenly saw a cottage, “Perhaps I could get something to eat there and have a rest” she thought.

She knocked on the door but there was no reply. Gently she pushed the door and, to her surprise, it opened. Cautiously she went in. “Hello” she called, but there was no reply.

The door had opened into a kitchen and she could see on the table three bowls from which came the most delicious smell that made her tummy rumble. The bowls were 3 different sizes, big, middle sized and little, and by each bowl was a chair also big, middle-sized and little. Goldilocks scrambled onto the biggest chair because it had the biggest bowl of porridge by it. She picked up a big spoon and tried the porridge “Ouch” she cried for it was very very hot.

She moved onto the next chair and the next bowl. Picking up a middle sized spoon she tried the porridge. “Yuck” she said, for it was very very cold.

She moved onto the next chair and the smallest bowl. Picking up the smallest spoon she tried the porridge. It was perfect. So, very quickly, she ate it all up. As she was finishing it she began to hear a strange creaking sound and, just as she ate the last spoonful, the legs of the chair she was sitting on broke and she landed with a bump on the floor.

After all the porridge and the bump she felt very sleepy. So she went up the stairs to see if she could find somewhere to lie down. First of all she found a great big bed, she climbed up onto it but, oh, it was so hard.

Then she found a middle-sized bed, she climb into it but it was so soft she felt as though she would disappear in it.

Then she found a little bed. It felt just right so she climbed right into it, pulled the covers over herself and was soon fast asleep.

The three bearsJust after she fell asleep the owners of the cottage came back. They were 3 bears, Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear and Baby Bear. They’d been for a walk in the woods before breakfast and now they were hungry.

“Hello, what’s this” growled Daddy Bear, “it looks as though someone’s been messing with my porridge and whoever it is has left muddy footprints on my chair”.

Mummy Bear came to look “You’re right, my dear” she said in her soft growl “someone’s been messing with my porridge too, and I’m sure the cushion on my chair has been sat on”.

Then Baby Bear began to cry “Someone’s been messing with my porridge and they’ve eaten it all up and they’ve broken my chair as well” he sobbed in his little, squeaky, growl.

Who could have done this? And where were they now? they wondered.

They looked around the house and went upstairs.

“Well” growled Daddy Bear “Someone’s been in my bed, but they’re not there now”

“Someone’s been in my bed too” said Mummy Bear “but I can’t find them”

Then they heard a squeak from Baby Bear “Daddy, Mummy, come quickly, there’s someone fast asleep in my bed”

Daddy and Mummy Bear raced into his room and stood around the bed with him looking down at Goldilocks. She woke with a start and was frightened to see three bears all looking down at her. Before they could talk to her, she jumped out of bed, out of the window and ran away through the woods back to her home because she didn’t know that they were really gentle, friendly bears.

“Well I never” growled Daddy Bear scratching his head “my Grandfather told me people were strange. Fancy, eating all that porridge and then running away”. Puzzled, the three bears went back to the kitchen where Daddy Bear mended Baby Bear’s chair while Mummy Bear made more porridge, and from that day to this bears all over the world have always known that people are strange things who are not to be trusted with porridge.

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