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