Once upon a time, in a little wooden house in the woods, there lived a family of three bears. There was great big Papa Bear, middle-sized Mama Bear and wee little Baby Bear. Every morning Mama Bear made porridge and poured it into three bowls: a great big bowl, a middle-sized bowl and a wee little bowl.
One morning the porridge was much too hot to eat. "Let's take a little walk while it cools," said Papa Bear. So the three bears went strolling down to the stream to look at the bluebells, leaving the door unlatched, just as they always did.
Just across the meadow lived a curious little girl with golden curls. Everyone called her Goldilocks. Her family had just moved in, and that morning her mother gave her a jar of strawberry jam. "Take this to our new neighbors, the bears, and say hello. Their house is just across the meadow. You can see it from our garden." Goldilocks skipped across the meadow and knocked. Knock, knock. No answer. The door swung open with a creak. "Hello?" she called. Nobody was home.
The house smelled of warm porridge. Goldilocks knew she ought to wait outside, but she was very curious, and her tummy was rumbling. She tasted the porridge in the great big bowl. "Too hot!" She tasted the porridge in the middle-sized bowl. "Too cold!" She tasted the porridge in the wee little bowl. "Just right," she whispered. And spoon by spoon, she ate it all up.
Then she wanted to sit down. The great big chair: "Too hard!" The middle-sized chair: "Too soft!" The wee little chair: "Just right." But she wiggled and wiggled, and then... crack! One little chair leg came loose, and down she bumped onto the soft rug, not hurt at all. "Oh no," she said.
By now Goldilocks felt very sleepy. She tiptoed upstairs. The great big bed: "Too high!" The middle-sized bed: "Too lumpy!" The wee little bed, with a soft blue blanket: "Just right." She snuggled down, gave a big yawn, and fell fast asleep.
Soon the bears came home. "Somebody's been eating my porridge," said Papa Bear in his great big voice. "Somebody's been eating my porridge," said Mama Bear in her middle-sized voice. "Somebody's been eating my porridge," said Baby Bear in his wee little voice, "and it's all gone!" They found a jar of strawberry jam on the table. They found the wobbly little chair. Then they tiptoed upstairs. "Somebody's been sleeping in my bed," said Papa Bear. "And in mine," said Mama Bear. "And somebody is sleeping in my bed right now!" whispered Baby Bear.
Goldilocks opened her eyes and saw three bears looking at her. They weren't cross, only very surprised. She sat up with pink cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I came to bring you jam, and nobody was home, and I should have waited outside. I ate Baby Bear's porridge and I broke his little chair." Mama Bear smiled. "Thank you for telling us the truth, dear." Papa Bear chuckled. "Chairs can be fixed."
So they fixed it together. Papa Bear held the chair, Goldilocks passed the nails, and Baby Bear went tap, tap, tap. Mama Bear made a fresh pot of porridge, and they all had it with strawberry jam on top. Then the bears walked Goldilocks home across the meadow, where her mother was waiting by the garden gate, and the two families became good neighbors.
That night, Goldilocks climbed into her very own bed. Not too high, not too lumpy. Just right. Across the meadow, in the little wooden house, Papa Bear yawned a great big yawn, Mama Bear yawned a middle-sized yawn, and Baby Bear yawned a wee little yawn. The moon shone softly on both houses. And everyone, big and middle-sized and little, drifted off to sleep. Just right.
Parent tip: Use a deep voice for Papa Bear, a middle voice for Mama Bear and a tiny voice for Baby Bear, then slow down and yawn together at the end.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
A gentle retelling of a classic tale — nothing scary: the bears are kind, Goldilocks says sorry and everyone sleeps safe at home.