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close to a village, stood the cottage
where the Teddy Bear family lived. They
were not really proper Teddy Bears, for
Father Bear was very big, Mother Bear
was middling in size, and only Baby Bear
could be described as a Teddy Bear.
Each bear had its own size of bed.
Father Bear's was large and nice and
comfy. Mother Bear's bed was middling
in size, while Baby Bear had a fine
little cherrywood bed that Father Bear
had ordered from a couple of beaver friends.
Beside the fireplace, around which the
family sat in the evenings, stood a
large carved chair for the head of the
house, a delightful blue velvet armchair
for Mother Bear, and a very little chair
for Baby Bear. Neatly laid out on the
kitchen table stood three china bowls.
A large one for Father Bear, a smaller
one for Mother Bear, and a little bowl
for Baby Bear.
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Father Bear and people raised their hats
when he went by. Father Bear liked that
and he always politely replied to their
greetings. Mother Bear had lots of
friends. She visited them in the afternoons
to exchange good advice and recipes for
jam and bottled fruit. Baby Bear,
however, had hardly any friends. This
was partly because he was rather a
bully and liked to win games and arguments.
He was a pest too and always getting into
mischief. Not far away, lived a
fair-haired little girl who had a
similar nature to Baby Bear, only she
was haughty and stuck-up as well, and
though Baby Bear often asked her to
come and play at his house, she always
said no.
One day, Mother Bear made a nice pudding.
It was a new recipe, with blueberries
and other crushed berries. Her friends
told her it was delicious. When it was
ready, she said to the family:
"It has to be left to cool now,
otherwise it won't taste nice. That
will take at least an hour. Why don't
we go and visit the Beavers' new baby?
Mummy Beaver will be pleased to see us."
Father Bear and Baby Bear would much
rather have tucked into the pudding,
warm or not, but they liked the thought
of visiting the new baby.
'We must wear our best clothes, even
for such a short visit. Everyone at the
Beavers' will be very busy now, and we
must not stay too long!"
And so they set off along the pathway
towards the river bank. A short time
later, the stuck-up little girl, whose
name was Goldilocks, passed by the
Bears' house as she picked flowers.
"Oh, what an ugly house the Bears have!"
said Goldilocks to herself as she went
down the hill.
"I'm going to peep inside! It won't be
beautiful like my house, but I'm dying
to see where Baby Bear lives.'
Knock! Knock! The little girl tapped
on the door.
Knock! Knock! Not a sound...
"Surely someone will hear me knocking,"
Goldilocks said herself, impatiently.
"Anyone at home?" she called, peering
round the door. Then she went into
the empty house and started to explore
the kitchen.
"A pudding!" she cried, dipping her
finger into the pudding Mother Bear
had left to cool. "Quite nice!"
she murmured, spooning it from Baby
Bear's bowl.
In a twinkling, the bowl lay empty on
a messy table.
With a full tummy, Goldilocks went on
exploring.
"Now then, this must be Father Bear's
chair, this will be Mother Bear's,
and this one . . . must belong to my
friend, Baby Bear. I'll just sit on it
a while!" With these words, Goldilocks
sat herself down onto the little chair
which, quite unused to such a sudden
weight, promptly broke a leg.
Goldilocks crashed to the floor, but
not in the least dismayed by the damage
she had done, she went upstairs.
There was no mistaking which was
Baby Bear's bed.
"Mm! Quite comfy!" she said, while
bouncing on it.
"Not as nice as mine, but nearly! Then
she yawned. I think I'll lie down, only
for a minute . . . just to try the bed."
And in next to no time, Goldilocks lay
fast asleep in Baby Bear's bed.
In the meantime, the Bears were on
their way home.
"Wasn't the new Beaver baby ever so
small?" said Baby Bear to his mother.
Was I as tiny as that when I was born?"
"Not quite, but almost," came the
reply, with a fond caress. From a distance,
Father Bear noticed the doorwas ajar.
"Hurry!" he cried. "Someone is in
our house . . ." Was Father Bear hungry
or did a thought strike him? Anyway, he
dashed into the kitchen. "I knew it!
Somebody has gobbled up the pudding..."
"Someone has been jumping up and down
on my armchair!" complained Mother Bear.
". . . and somebody's broken my chair!"
wailed Baby Bear. Where could the culprit
be?
They all ran upstairs and tiptoed in
amazement over to Baby Bear's bed. In
it lay Goldilocks, sound asleep. Baby
Bear prodded her toe..
"Who's that? Where am I?"
shrieked the little girl, waking with
a start. Taking fright at the scowling
faces bending over her, she clutched
the bedclothes up to her chin. Then
she jumped out of bed and fled down
the stairs.
"Get away! Away from that house!" she told
herself as she ran, forgetful of all
the trouble she had so unkindly caused.
But Baby Bear called from the door,
waving his arm:
"Don't run away! Come back! I forgive
you... come and play wlth me!"
And this is how it all ended.
From that day onwards, haughty rude
Goldilocks became a pleasant little
girl. She made friends with Baby Bear
and often went to his house. She
invited him to her house too, and
they remained good friends, always.
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given to me by my grammy!
©2002
Used with Permission
