Once upon a time there was a little girl whose hair was so golden and curly, she was called Goldilocks. She was very lively and curious, which got her into a lot of trouble at home. One morning her mother found her reaching into the cupboard for jam. "Goldilocks," she scolded, "get off that chair! You could fall and hurt yourself. Why don't you go outside and play?"

In a house not far away, Baby Bear was sitting down to his breakfast. But he was crying! When he tried to eat his porridge, it was too hot. "Baby Bear," said his parents, "we'll go for a walk until your porridge cools down and maybe we'll find some berries."

The three little bears put on their scarves and set off for the woods. "Wait," cried Baby Bear, "I left the basket at home!" And he ran back to the house to get it. "Don't forget to close the door," called Papa Bear. But... Baby Bear forgot!

A little while later, Goldilocks, who had wandered away from home, saw the bear family's cottage. "Oh!" she cried, "What a pretty house. I wonder who lives here? I must have a closer look."

Goldilocks knocked loudly on the door but there was no answer. Then she saw that it was open, so she looked inside. Behind the door were three brooms: a large broom, a medium one, and a small one. And on the table was a steaming bowl of porridge. It smelled so good that Goldilocks felt hungry.

Forgetting her manners she pushed open the door and went in. On the table she saw three bowls of porridge: a large bowl, a medium one, and a small one. In the middle was alos a big pot of porridge. She sat down and tried some porridge from the large bowl, but it was too hot.

"I can't eat this!" said Goldilocks. So she tried the next bowl. It was too cold. Finally, she ate from the smallest bowl. "This is just right!" she exclaimed, and greedily finished it all. Then she began to look around the cottage.

"This house has three of everything," thought Goldilocks, as she looked at the candles on the sideboard. By the fireplace she saw two armchairs and a small rocking chair. She went to look more closely.

Of course she knew better, but she climbed onto the largest chair and jumped up and down. It was hard and springy. When she made a big dent in the cushion, she moved onto the medium armchair. It was soft and lumpy.

Then, Goldilocks sat in the little rocking chair and rocked as hard as she could. What fun! But she was going so fast...

... the rocking chair tipped over. She fell on the floor, and the chair broke into pieces. "Oh dear!" cried Goldilocks as she picked herself up. "Someone is going to be very upset with me."

Goldilocks thought it was time to go home, but then she noticed a staircase. "I must investigate," she decided as she climbed the stairs. "It will only take a minute."

At the top of the stairs she pushed open the door and saw three beds. One large, medium and small. "Just like the bowls and chairs." she thought as she entered the room.

The beds looked so inviting that Goldilocks wanted to curl up and go to sleep. She climbed onto the largest bed, but it felt much too hard. Then she tried the middle-sized bed, but it was too soft and lumpy.

Finally, she lay down on the little bed. It felt just right! In a moment she was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, the three bears were having a pleasant walk in the woods. Mama Bear was gathering flowers and Baby Bear was picking blackberries. Papa Bear was looking for honey, but the bees became angry and flew out to scare him away. "Let's go home!" cried Papa Bear.

"My porridge must be cool by now," said Baby Bear on the way home. "I can't wait to eat it! I'm hungry." His parents, too, were ready for breakfast, so they all hurried back.

When they reached their house, the three bears stopped in surprise. The door was wide open! Papa Bear frowned at Baby Bear. "Didn't I tell you to close the door?" he said. "I thought I had," answered Baby Bear. "Perhaps it didn't catch," suggested Mama Bear," and the wind blew it open."

But once the three bears were inside, they knew immeadiately that someone has been eating my porridge!" growled Papa Bear. "And someone has been eating my porridge, too!" added Mama Bear crossly. "Someone has been eating my porridge and has eaten it all up!" cried Baby Bear.

When they looked into the living room, Mama Bear exclaimed, "Someone has been climbing on my chair!" Papa Bear said, "And jumping on mine!" Baby Bear started crying loudly. "Someone has sat on my chair and broke into pieces!" he wailed.

Mama Bear spooned out a new bowl of porridge for Baby Bear, while Papa Bear continued to look around. "I mean to find out what happened here," he said angrily. "I'm tired," yawned Baby Bear, when he had finished his porridge.

Mama Bear took Baby Bear upstairs. But when she opened the bedroom door, she called out to Papa Bear, "Come, quickly." Papa Bear ran up as fast as his legs could carry him. "Look at these shambles!" cried Mama Bear, as Baby Bear peeked around her skirt.

Hesitantly, all three bears walked into the bedroom. The covers on the two larger beds were rumpled, not neatly in place as they had been that morning.

Baby Bear went over to his bed, as both his parents exclaimed, "Someone has been sleeping in our beds!" "Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too!" cried Baby Bear excitedly. "And there she is!"

Mama and Papa Bear rushed over to see the intruder. At that very moment Goldilocks woke up. Once they saw it was a pretty little girl who had made a mess in their house, the bears' anger vanished. Baby Bear was delighted. But Goldilocks, as you can imagine, was very frightened to see three bears looking at her!

She jumped out of bed and raced down the stairs, almost falling over as she hurried away. "Wait!" shouted Baby Bear, sliding down the banister. "Stay and play!" "It's alright," called Mama and Papa Bear. "We won't harm you." But Goldilocks was too scared to listen. She ran out of the door and down the path towards home.

Mama and Papa Bear started to laugh when they thought how frightened they'd been by a little girl. But they stopped when they saw Baby Bear's expression. "Don't be sad. One day soon, we'll invite her back to play.

Goldilocks was nearly home. She was out of breath but relieved to be safe. "How angry Mother would be if she knew," she thought. "Next time I decide to pay a visit, I'll wait to be invited in," And she did.