Once upon a time there were three bears, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear. They lived in a very small, quaint cottage in the woods. Mama Bear worked hard keeping the cottage clean, scrubbing the floors, making the beds, cooking, and washing their clothes. Papa Bear was responsible for washing the dishes and doing the yard work. Baby Bear always helped Mama Bear by vacuuming the rugs in the house and folding the laundry. All the bears knew their roles and responsibilities. They lived happily in their daily routine. Every Sunday the bears would wake up late in the morning, and instead of Mama Bear cooking, Papa Bear would bake cinnamon buns after Baby Bear helped him roll the cinnamon into the dough. While they waited for the buns to cook in the oven all three would go for a stroll in the woods and when they returned Baby Bear would help Daddy Bear ice the cinnamon buns with cheesecake frosting.
However, on this particular Sunday while the bears were taking their stroll, a little girl named Goldilocks from the nearby village was out walking in the forest and stumbled across the Bear’s cottage. The door was ajar, and the place was eerily quiet. Goldilocks caught a trace of something that smelled so delicious it made her mouth water and her tummy rumble. Her curiosity got the better of her and she just had to see what smelled so good.
She quietly tiptoed up the steps, peeked into the cottage through the front door, and looked around to make sure no one could see her. When she was sure it was safe, she slipped in. The cottage was tiny and clean, everything had its place. She was impressed. “Why” she thought “everyone who lives here works hard to make sure their home is a nice to live in, not like my house.”
Goldilocks followed the scent into the kitchen where she could see the buns baking in the oven. “OOOH”, she thought, “I just have to try one of those. But whoever lives here will be back soon to take them out of the oven. Maybe if I can find a hiding place I can stay there until after they have eaten some of the buns and then I can sneak into the kitchen and take the rest back to my house. But what if there is none left after they have eaten them?”. As she was trying to decide what to do, she heard someone talking in the distance and realized they were coming closer to the cottage. She had to hide, or she would be caught standing in the middle of their kitchen. Goldilocks panicked looking for a place to hide. She opened the kitchen cupboards but there was no room amongst the tidy stacks of dishes, pots, and pans. She ran to the main area and saw the coat closet. “Here” she thought to herself and jumped into the closet and closed the door just as the bears were coming in the front door. She shuffled back to the far corner, tucked her knees to her chest, and tried to calm her breathing.
She heard a small young voice say, “do you think the buns will be ready now?” “I think so,” replied a deeper voice. Then she heard a higher pitched voice say, “I will be in the living room reading my book so please let me know when breakfast is ready.” The floorboards creaked as they came closer to the closet. Goldilocks held her breath hoping they would walk past her. “Please, please, please, walk past me,” she prayed. The scuffling stopped in front of the closet door. She heard a rustling sound and realized they were taking their jackets off. “It was a fresh walk this morning,” said the small voice. That was when Goldilocks realized she was at one of her classmates’ houses. “Oh dear,” Goldilocks thought “they really cannot find me here. The whole school would know I was here, and I will never hear the end of it.” The closet door opened, and she saw a huge bear claw reach for the hangers above her. The claw grabbed three hangers. With the door open Goldilocks could see the bears taking off their coats and putting them on the hangers. Mama Bear took off Baby Bear’s coat and hung it above Goldilocks. She did not see her sitting in the corner. Then Papa Bear took off his coat and hung it up. Then the Mama Bear took hers off and hung that one next to Baby Bear’s. “They did not see me” Goldilocks thought, as they closed the door and moved away from the closet talking about icing the buns. She let out a huge sigh of relief because she had been holding her breath. Goldilocks thought about what she should do next.
So, Reader, what do you think Goldilocks should do next? Should she:
- Sneak out of the closet and out the front door and run for home?
- Let herself out of the closet, sneak out the front door then knock on the front door acting like she had just arrived and hope they will invite her in for breakfast?
- Open the door to the closet and let them know what she was up to?
What do you think would happen in each scenario? How do you think the bears would react?
Well, Goldilocks did none of those things. She stayed in the closet and waited. She waited and waited. She heard the plates being put on the table, she heard the conversation while the bears were eating, and she heard the dishes being washed, dried, and put away. Goldilocks waited so long she fell asleep.
What Goldilocks didn’t know was that when she sleeps, she snores, and SHE SNORES LOUDLY!!!
Mama Bear was the first to hear a weird noise coming from the coat closet. “What is that noise” she asked. “I don’t know” said Papa Bear. Baby Bear who was about ready for his nap, said “it sounds like snoring, Papa Bear.” Papa Bear went to the coat closet and put his ear to the door. “Yep,” he said “it is snoring”.
Papa Bear opened the door, and there in the corner, head on her knees, was Goldilocks, sound asleep. Papa Bear looked at Mama Bear confused. “Who is this child?” Papa Bear asked. Mama Bear shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know.” “I know,” said Baby Bear peeking between Mama and Papa Bear. “It’s a girl from my class. Why is she sleeping in our closet?” “I don’t know,” said Mama Bear. “We should wake her,” said Papa Bear. “Yes, we should,” said Mama Bear.
Baby Bear slipped passed Mama and Papa Bear and nudged gently on Goldilocks’ shoulder with his paw. “Wake up Goldilocks, you fell asleep in our closet.” Goldilocks startled awake and saw three pairs of eyes staring at her. She jumped up and hit her head on the coat rack. “Ouch!” she said, as she put her hand on her head. “That hurt!”
“Why are you sleeping in our coat closet?” asked Mama Bear, looking at her curiously. Goldilocks turned bright red trying to think of an excuse.
Well reader, what do you think she said. Did she say:
- I was in the coat closet waiting to steal your cinnamon buns because they smelled so good and I fell asleep?
- I wanted to play with Baby Bear, but no one was home. So, I waited and fell asleep?
Again, Goldilocks said none of those things. She just started to cry. She was so embarrassed that she had been caught out. She pushed past Baby Bear and ran out the front door, all the way home. The Bear family looked at each other wondering what had just happened.
WELL READER, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
