Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s familiar and patterned (three tries), which feels soothing. The bedtime takeaway is simple: curiosity is natural, but we practice kindness by asking and respecting ‘not yours.’

Story Synopsis

Goldilocks wanders near the woods and discovers a tidy little house. The door is unlocked, and no one answers when she knocks. Curious, she steps inside. On the table are three bowls of porridge: one large, one medium, one small. She tastes the first—too hot. The second—too cold. The third is just right, so she eats it all. Next she finds three chairs. The big chair is too hard. The middle chair is too soft. The small chair is just right… until it cracks and breaks beneath her. Still not thinking about whose home this is, she climbs the stairs to the bedroom, where she finds three beds. The first is too hard, the second too soft, and the third—Baby Bear’s bed—is just right. She curls up and falls asleep. Meanwhile, the owners return: a family of three bears who went for a walk while their porridge cooled. They notice the door, the empty bowl, the broken chair, and then, upstairs, a stranger sleeping in their bed. Goldilocks wakes with a start, sees the bears, and runs out of the house as fast as she can. Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a familiar “rule of threes” story that many children love. It also offers a simple bedtime takeaway: curiosity is natural, but kindness means respecting other people’s space and asking before touching what isn’t yours.

Story Excerpt

Once upon a time, in a quiet wood, there lived Three Bears in a snug house all their own. One was a Great, Huge Bear, with a big, rough, gruff voice. One was a Middle - sized Bear, with a middle voice. And one was a Little, Small, Wee Bear, with a little, small, wee voice. Everything in their house was in threes. They had three porridge - pots : a great pot, a middle - sized pot, and a little pot. They had three chairs : a great chair, a middle - sized chair, and a little chair. And upstairs they had three beds : a great bed, a middle - sized bed, and a little bed. One morning, the Three Bears made porridge for breakfast and poured it into their pots. But the porridge was too hot to eat right away. “ Let it cool, ” said the Great, Huge Bear in his great, rough, gruff voice. So the Three Bears walked out into the wood for a little while, as the porridge cooled on the table. Not long after, someone came along the path to their house. She was a little old woman. Instead of knocking politely, she first looked in through the window. Then she peeped through the keyhole. And when she saw nobody inside, she lifted the latch. The door was not fastened, because the Bears were good Bears. They never expected anyone to come and bother them. The…

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