3 little bear

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

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Picture by Bertie - a retake of the classic illustration by Walter Crane.

Duration 3:15.
Based on the Charming version by the Victorian writer Andrew Lang.
Read by Natasha.

Once upon a time there were three bears, who lived together in a house of their own in a wood. One of them was a little, small wee bear; one was a middle-sized bear, and the other was a great, huge bear.

One day, after they had made porridge for their breakfast, they walked out into the wood while the porridge was cooling. And while they were walking, a little girl came into the house. This little girl had golden curls that tumbled down her back to her waist, and everyone called her by Goldilocks.

Goldilocks went inside. First she tasted the porridge of the great, huge bear, and that was far too hot for her. And then she tasted the porridge of the middle bear, and that was too cold for her. And then she went to the porridge of the little, small wee bear, and tasted that. And that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right; and she liked it so well, that she ate it all up.

Then Goldilocks went upstairs into the bed chamber and first she lay down upon the bed of the great, huge bear, and then she lay down upon the bed of the middle bear and finally she lay down upon the bed of the little, small wee bear, and that was just right. So she covered herself up comfortably, and lay there until she fell fast asleep.

By this time, the three bears thought their porridge would be cool enough, so they came home to breakfast.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!” said the great huge bear, in his great huge voice.

“Somebody has been at my porridge!” said the middle bear, in his middle voice.

Then the little, small wee bear looked at his, and there was the spoon in the porridge pot, but the porridge was all gone.

“Somebody has been at my porridge, and has eaten it all up!” said the little, small wee bear, in his little, small wee voice.

Then the three bears went upstairs into their bedroom.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!” said the great, huge bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice.

“Somebody has been lying in my bed!” said the middle bear, in his middle voice.

And when the little, small, wee bear came to look at his bed, upon the pillow there was a pool of golden curls, and the angelic face of a little girl snoring away, fast asleep.

“Somebody has been lying in my bed, and here she is!” Said the little, small wee bear, in his little, small wee voice.

Goldilocks jumped off the bed and ran downstairs, out of the door and down the garden path. She ran and she ran until she reached the house of her grandmama. When she told her grandmama about the house of the three bears who lived in the wood, her granny said: “My my, what a wild imagination you have, child!”

(Updated with shorter version September, 13, 2016).

Goldilocks and the Three Bears ~ Bedtime Stories for Kids

Thanks to Artist, yehachan

This is the fairy tale story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with a modern twist. It is brought to you by Stories to Grow by. Check out our other great stories! 

 Listen to the story while you read along! 

Once upon a time a girl named Goldilocks lived in a house at the edge of the woods. In those days curls of hair were called "locks."  She was "Goldilocks" because golden hair ran down her head and shoulders.   

One morning Goldilocks was out for a walk when she came across a beautiful bird.  She followed that bird right into the woods, where her mother had said many times she must never go.  But Goldilocks didn’t think of that.

Thanks to Artist, JoannaPasek

Deeper and deeper into the woods she went. But where was the bird?  It was nowhere to be seen.  Goldilocks looked around.  That's when she knew she was lost.  

But a house was not far away.  “I wonder who lives there,” she thought, "so deep into the woods."  She went up and knocked on the door.   No answer.  She knocked again.  Still no answer.  Goldilocks knocked a third time and the door opened. But no one was behind the door.  

“Well, the door is already open,” said the girl. “So I may as well go in.”

Goldilocks smelled a wonderful smell, and soon knew why. On the table were three steaming bowls of oatmeal.  All of a sudden she realized how very hungry she was.

What Goldilocks did not know, however, is that three bears lived in this house.  In fact, that very morning the three bears had sat down to their bowls of oatmeal but the cereal was too hot.  So they had decided to take a short walk.  They said to each other, "By the time we return home our oatmeal will be perfect."

Gazing at the steaming bowls of oatmeal, Goldilocks thought, “I'm sure whoever lives here won’t mind if I take just one sip.” She sat at the first chair and took a sip.  “Ah!” she said, “it is too hot.”

She moved to the next bowl and took a sip.  “Ah!” she said, “it is too cold. ”

Thanks to Artist, JoannaPasek

She moved to the third bowl and took a sip.  “It is just right!” And before she knew it, the oatmeal was all gone.  

Goldilocks rubbed her tummy.  “I'm full! I must find somewhere to sit that's more comfortable.”  

She went to the living room.  Three chairs were lined up in a row – one big chair, one medium-sized chair, and a wee little chair.

“I'm sure whoever lives here will not mind if I sit on just one chair,” said Goldilocks. She sat on the big chair, but it was too hard. 

“The next chair looks good,” said Goldilocks.  She moved to the medium-sized chair, but it was too soft.

“The wee little chair looks better,” said the girl.  She sat on the little chair and it was just right!  But when Goldilocks leaned back a bit, the chair broke into a dozen pieces.  She plopped right on the floor.

“Oh, no!” Goldilocks wailed. Then she yawned.   There must be somewhere she could lie down for a short nap.

The girl saw a ladder and climbed it to an attic.  In a row, three beds were lined up – one big bed, one medium-sized bed, and a wee little bed.  

“I'm sure whoever lives here won’t mind if I lay down for just a short nap,” she said.  She laid down on the big bed but it was too hard.  She laid down on the medium-sized bed but it was too soft.  The girl laid down on the wee little bed, and it was just right!  As her head hit the pillow, Goldilocks was fast asleep.

Just then, the three bears came home from their walk.  "Oh, my!" said Mama Bear. “Did either of you leave the front door open?” 

“Not I,” said Papa Bear. 

"Not I," said Little Bear.

Slowly the three bears stepped inside and looked around.    

“Most odd!” said Papa Bear, seeing his spoon in his bowl.  “Someone has been eating my oatmeal!”

“Most odd indeed!” said Mama Bear, also seeing her spoon in her bowl.   “Someone has been eating my oatmeal!”

“This is the most odd of all!” said Little Bear.  “Someone has been eating my oatmeal and they ate it all up!”

The three bears were very surprised, as you can imagine.  With care, they stepped into their living room.

“Do you think someone was sitting in my chair?” said Papa Bear.

“I know someone was sitting in my chair,” said Mama Bear, “because I can see the seat cushion is pushed down.”

“And I know someone was sitting in my chair!” said Little Bear. “Because it’s all broken!”

Thanks to Artist, Joannapasek

The three bears were even more surprised at that!  They climbed the ladder to their attic.  

“Someone has been sleeping on my bed,” said Papa Bear, who could see that his blankets were moved.

“Someone has been sleeping on my bed, too,” said Mama Bear, who could also see that her blankets were moved.

“Someone has been sleeping on my bed,” said Little Bear. “And look - she is still there!”

Goldilocks bolted awake.  Three bears were looming over her, and they did not look happy.

Thanks to Artist, Joannapasek

“Oh my!” said Goldilocks, jumping out of bed.  As quick as she could, she climbed down the ladder and ran out the front door.

Little Bear chased after her.  "Wait, please!"

Goldilocks stopped and turned around. 

"Tell me," said Little Bear, “Why did you come inside our house?”

“I guess I didn’t think–,“ said Goldilocks. 

“And why did you eat my oatmeal?” said Little Bear.

“Well I guess I didn’t think–,“ said Goldilocks.

“And why did you break my chair and sleep in my bed?” said Little Bear.

“Well I guess I didn’t think about that, either,” said Goldilocks.

They were silent.

Goldilocks said, “I suppose I could have waited outside your door.”

“We were coming right home,” said Mama Bear.   "We might have invited you in if we knew you were hungry."

“I’m sorry about the chair,” said Goldilocks.  “I guess you saw it broke.”

"Yep," said Mama Bear with a frown.

“I’m good at fixing things,” said Goldilocks, “If you have glue.”

“Of course we have glue!” said Papa Bear. “What kind of bears do you think we are?”

“I will make it up to you!” said Goldilocks. 

“Come on in then, dear,” said Mama Bear. 

“We'll start over,” said Papa Bear with a nod.

“Come in, come in!” said Little Bear, jumping up and down.  

With smiles, they skipped together inside the Bear’s house.

Three bear cubs