Goldilocks 1 and the Three Bears
ONCE upon a time there were three bears. There was a great big father bear, a middle-sized 2 mother bear, and a little baby bear. They lived together in a house in a wood.
One morning Mother Bear made porridge for breakfast and filled three bowls with it. There was a great big bowl for Father Bear, a middle-sized bowl for herself, and a little bowl for Baby Bear. At first the porridge was too hot to eat. The bears did not want to burn their mouths, so they went for a little walk in the wood while their porridge cooled.
That day a little girl went for a walk in the same wood. She had golden curls and everybody called her Goldilocks. Sometimes she stopped to pick a flower or to listen to a bird. Soon she came to the house where the three bears lived.
"Oh, what a lovely little house!" said Goldilocks. "I wonder 3 who lives here?"
She knocked at the door, and as there was no answer, she knocked again and again. Then she peeped through the keyhole. But of course the three bears were out for a walk. There was no one to open the door.
"I'll just look inside," thought Goldilocks. "The door is not locked." So she lifted the latch, opened the door and went in.
The first thing she saw was the bears' three chairs. She climbed into Father Bear's great big chair.
"Oh, it's too hard!" she said.
Then she tried Mother Bear's middle-sized chair.
"Oh, it's too soft!"
Then she sat down in Baby Bear's little chair.
"Oh, it isn't too hard and it isn't too soft. It's just right!"
But Goldilocks was too heavy for the little chair and she broke the bottom out of it. 4
Then Goldilocks smelt porridge and she saw the three bowls of porridge on the table. She was very hungry as she had not had any breakfast. "I'll eat a little," she said.
First she tried the porridge in Father Bear's great big bowl. But it was too hot. Next she tried the porridge in Mother Bear's middle-sized bowl. But that was too cold. Then she tried the porridge in Baby Bear's little bowl. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. It was just right. And Goldilocks ate up all the porridge in Baby Bear's little bowl.
Then Goldilocks decided to go upstairs to see what was there. She saw three beds; Father Bear's great big bed, and Mother Bear's middle-sized bed, and Baby Bear's little bed. They were all neat and tidy.
First she lay on the great big bed.
"Oh, it's too hard!"
Then she lay on the middle-sized bed.
"Oh, it's too soft!"
Then she lay on the little bed.
"Oh, this bed isn't too hard and it isn't too soft, it's just right!"
Goldilocks was so comfortable that she soon fell fast asleep 5 with her head on Baby Bear's pillow.
After a while the three bears came back from their walk. They thought their porridge would now be cool enough to eat. As soon as they entered the house, Father Bear saw that his chair was not in its right place.
"Someone has been sitting on my chair!" 6 he said in a great big voice.
Mother Bear saw that her cushion was rumpled. 7
"Someone has been sitting on my chair!" she said in a middle-sized voice.
Then Baby Bear had a look at his chair.
"Someone had been sitting on my chair and has broken the bottom right out!" he said in his little baby voice.
Then they looked at their bowls of porridge on the table. Father Bear saw that his spoon was not in its place.
"Someone has been eating my porridge," he said in a great big voice.
Mother Bear noticed that her spoon was in the bowl.
"Someone has been eating my porridge," she said in a middle-sized voice.
Baby Bear looked at his bowl.
"Someone has been eating my porridge and has eaten it all up!" 8 he said in a little baby voice.
"Let's go upstairs and look at the bedroom," said Father Bear, and they all went upstairs. Father Bear saw that his blanket was rumpled.
"Someone has been lying on my bed!" he said in his great big voice.
Mother Bear saw that her pillow was not quite in its place.
"Someone has been lying on my bed!" she said in a middle-sized - voice.
Then Baby Bear looked at his bed.
"Someone has been lying on the bed and she's lying there still!" he cried in a little baby voice.
Now when Father Bear was speaking, his great voice sounded deep like thunder, 9 but Goldilocks did not wake up. When Mother Bear was speaking in her middle-sized voice, it sounded like the wind in the trees, but Goldilocks did not wake up. Only when Baby Bear cried in his shrill baby voice, Goldilocks woke and sat up in bed. She was very surprised and frightened to see three bears in the room with their little eyes on her.
She was out of bed in a moment, and down the stairs, and out of the door, and she never stopped running till she got back to her own home. She had got such a fright that she never went for a walk in the wood again to look for the little house.
1 Goldilocks — Златовласка
2 middle-sized — среднего размера
3 I wonder — Интересно знать
4 she broke the bottom out of it - она выломала его сиденье
5 she soon fell fast asleep — вскоре она крепко заснула
6 Someone has been sitting on my chair! — Кто-то сидел на моем стуле! (Здесь и далее в этой сказке используется грамматическое время Present Perfect Continuous Tense; оно обозначает действие, которое началось в прошлом и продолжалось в течение определенного времени до момента речи.)
7 that her cushion was rumpled — что ее подушка (на стуле) была смята
8 and has eaten it all up — и всю ее съел
9 his great voice sounded deep like thunder — его сильный голос звучал подобно грому
