Three Bears
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Goldypadlocks. She was very unlike the character we know today; cruel and unkind, Goldypadlocks, or Lockpic as she preferred to be called, was a thief.
Lockpic loved to collect shiny things. She would frequently steal from her neighbors, and she was skilled enough to know how to do it without being caught. Everyone knew she was behind it, but they could never prove it, and so she walked away free every time. Experience taught the villagers to keep their valuables locked up, but there was always the occasion where someone would forget to double lock their doors or to put something away, and in these cases Lockpic would be there.
So it would happen that one fine summer's day she was finally caught. A merchant was in town, and, foreign to the area, he didn't know to protect against scavengers. Lockpic couldn't help herself - she snuck into his storage shack in broad daylight, and was caught on the spot. At this, she ran into the woods to hide.
She decided wait here a while. Maybe, thought Lockpic, if she stayed away long enough, the man would forget all about the incident, or else move on to another village.
After days of wandering through the forest, Lockpic was getting tired. Her feet were sore, her hands were sore, her head hurt, and she had many small cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. She was hungry, too, but she was lucky enough to know how to hunt, and could shoot the occasional small animal with her makeshift bow.
She currently had three freshly caught rabbits hanging from her belt, and she was looking for a place clear of underbrush in which she could eat. She already had it all planned out: she could get some wood for a fire easily enough - there was plenty around - and then she could somehow get the rabbits on the sticks and roast them until they were a crispy brown, with juice dripping over the fire and making it sizzle. . . .
Lockpic was so caught up in her fantasies that she almost walked right by the cabin.
Forgetting all of her plans immediately, Lockpic stared, intrigued. The place didn't look unoccupied, but there was no smoke rising from the chimney, and the farm looked rather untended. There were many strange footprints about but they looked fairly old. By the looks of it, no one was home. After little deliberation, Lockpic decided to break in.
She went to a window and thought. It certainly didn't seem difficult to get inside, but the windows were very high. She attempted to jump at one but didn't even come close. Lockpic looked around and saw a few small logs piled neatly against a tree. She brought them to the window and tried again.
That did it. She easily climbed to the top and was now at a perfect height. She pulled on the window, which swung open easily, and jumped in.
Lockpic looked around. Everything was huge! All of the furniture seemed to be twice its normal size, and the roof was high above her head. It certainly didn't seem this big from the outside. But Lockpic's first thought was not of how big and menacing everything around her was; no, she was in a kitchen, and the first thing she noticed was how large the cupboard was. How much food could be kept in there! After her diet of road kill, this would be heaven.
She began to walk towards it but was distracted yet again, this time by what was on the table: three bowls lined neatly in a row, full of what Lockpic could only describe as a stew or soup. She stood over the table and was surrounded by the rich aroma of food.
Without a thought, Lockpic went to the largest bowl and began to eat, but she dropped her spoon when she lifted it to her mouth. It was blazing hot! She turned to the second bowl and tried again.
This time the spoon successfully made it all the way into her mouth, but then Lockpic spit out the contents. This wasn't hot at all; on the contrary, it was freezing cold, and disgusting.
Lockpic, determined not to be denied a meal, turned to the last bowl. This one wasn't steaming from heat, but it felt warm enough when she touched it. It was also of a normal size; it looked promising. And very tasty. She took a big gulp and was delighted to find it to be delicious. Without regard for her manners she downed the rest at once, making a huge mess as she did so.
Finished, Lockpic wiped her mouth and realized she had to go to the bathroom. She went to a room leading off the kitchen, and it didn't take her long before she was ready to explore more of the bizarre house. But she was a bit curious as to why there were three toilets in the room, two of which were ridiculous sizes. The thought left her mind as she entered the third room and saw, to her pleasant surprise, a collection of instruments.
Back in the village, Lockpic had always been proud of her talents in playing the drum, even though everyone else around her just called it noise. There were no drums here, but there were a few other instruments. Lockpic wanted to try them all, and her first stop was the large piano on the far side of the room.
Playing the piano was a hugely appreciated skill in the village, and Lockpic realized that if she could learn to play it well, maybe she could escape punishment that way. There was an array of keys in front of her, and Lockpic didn't know where to begin, so she just played random ones at once. After a minute she'd had enough. Instead of music, she heard many notes which combined together unpleasantly and made her head hurt. She hopped down from her stool and decided what she would try next.
Lockpic chose the trombone, because it was long and shiny. Surely something that beautiful must provide a beautiful, high-pitched melody that would sound delightful. She picked up the horn and blew into the mouthpiece. Then she blew again, but no sound came out. Frustrated, she threw the trombone down and strode over to the guitar.
Now this was the instrument for her! Every year, storytellers came to the village and told tales of men who drove away magnificent beast with these great instruments. Plus, it was the perfect size for her. As she strummed the strings, she heard a peaceful sound, and she hummed to herself as she went. For a while she played like so, lulling herself into a peaceful doze, until--
SNAP!!
A string broke.
Lockpic set the guitar down, stretched, and yawned. She still hadn't found anything of great value in the house, but she was enjoying herself immensely. As she sauntered back into the kitchen, she wondered whether there was any place left to explore. There seemed to be only three rooms on this floor, but she saw stairs that led downward on the wall next to her. She smiled, but it was only a half-smile.
She was ever so tired.
What luck it was for her to find three beds downstairs. Two were very large, and one was very small. Taking her pick, Lockpic threw herself on the largest bed first, but yelped when she landed. This bed was hard as cement! Rubbing her back, Lockpic walked over to the next bed, which was much more frilly and colorful, and carefully sat. This time she sank right to the floor, and it took her almost a full five minutes to struggle her way out of the fold of soft mattresses and blankets.
When she finally managed to drag herself over to the last bed, Lockpic was exhausted, and didn't even care that it was tiny. It was comfortable beyond belief and she fell asleep almost instantly when she settled herself into it. The last thing to cross her mind before she fell into a deep doze was that maybe no one did live here, after all. . . .
"Marvin!" exclaimed a shrill-voiced female bear. "I told you little Johnny wasn't ready! Animals that quick - he could have gotten hurt! Or worse! Now, if you would have just listened to me - but wait. No, you never listen to me."
Quite a ways from the cottage, three bears were travelling together, arguing heatedly. They had been chasing a herd of deer that was just too fast for them, and they were now doggedly tired. They were headed home.
"Mommy . . ." Johnny, the cub, started pleadingly.
The father bear named Marvin growled noisily, cutting off his son. "Now how could you say that! We need to teach him how to hunt, Emma, and the only way to do that is by experience!"
"Now listen to you!" she countered. "He's too young!"
"It's never too early to learn how to survive! If you would only see it my way -"
Johnny tried again. "Daddy, I'm really -"
"Never too early? What nonsense! We aren't even a predatory family! We get all our food from the local shop! Now if you would only just admit -"
"Daddy! Can I -?"
"Admit! Admit what, exactly? That he can't learn to be a real bear, instead of this furry nonsense?"
"But we are omnivores, Marvin! Don't you understand that? We don't need to hunt! And we would have gotten by just fine without! But now you've taken us so far from home!"
"You know, if we didn't have you dragging us behind, maybe we could have ambushed them like normal bears."
"Now don't you blame this on me, Marvin Bernard!" Emma thundered, and Marvin quivered. "I've had it up to here with you and your hunting! At any rate, it was your noises that drove those deer away, and I will not have you blaming me for your mistakes. "Do you hear me?"
"Yes, dear . . ."
"Good. Now I want you to turn around, and -"
"Mommy!"
"What is it, Johnny?"
"Mommy, I'm hungry. . . . Can we go home now?" Johnny stared up at his mother with doleful eyes.
Emma threw an angry look at Marvin before saying, "Yes, dear. And I promise - your father will not play his silly hunting games anymore." Marvin started to interject. "I said never again! If you want to teach our boy how to hunt, do it on your own time - though for heaven's sake, I don't know why you would need to - and not when we are all famished from hunger!"
Marvin hung his head. "Yes, honey. . . ." She was right, of course. She always was. But what was the point of being a bear if all you ever did was become friends with your prey? At least he could eat the ones that didn't talk. . . . It was for the best, really.
"We still have those leftovers on the table back home," Emma continued. "Those should be enough to hold us over for the night, and tomorrow we can go to shop."
Marvin's stomach growled again.
"Look who's hungry now?" teased Emma. They had made up on the walk home, and Marvin leaved over to kiss her.
"Turns out this was a much better idea, honey," Marvin said, and grinned. "I can just taste that hot pepper soup. Oh, I can't wait to eat!"
The three bears walked around a large boulder, chatting happily. After a few minutes they cut through some more trees, and their house came into view.
"I just want to play my guitar again," Johnny said excitedly.
"And you're doing great at it too, son!" Marvin clapped his boy on the shoulder. "Ha, and those humans think we can't play. Once we get good enough we can perform for all your friends in town! And then, we can . . ." Marvin trailed off as they walked past the garden and saw the pile of logs under the open window.
"Didn't we stack the firewood over there?" inquired Emma. She walked over to the pile and observed it before looking up and continuing, "And the window - wasn't it closed? Oh, you boys! How many times do I have to tell you to close the windows! We'll catch our deaths in the cold of night!"
Marvin shrugged. "It looks to me like someone tried to get inside the house, as strange as that may seem."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," said Emma as she opened the front door and walked inside. "The door was unlocked, after all. Why would anyone break in a window? I won't have your excuses. Just don't do it again."
"Sorry, Mommy," Johnny piped up.
"Hey, why don't we forget about that and eat? I'm starving, like - like - like a bear!" Marvin exclaimed. He looked innocently at Emma until she smiled, and everyone laughed.
Now that they were all inside, Marvin closed the door and joined the other two at the table, where they were getting ready to eat. But there was a bit of a commotion going on.
Johnny yelled, "Hey! I think someone ate all my porridge!"
"It's soup, dear, not porridge," said Emma critically. She looked closer at Johnny's bowl and sighed. "Not again! How many times have I told you to eat slower? We just got home, and look at the mess you've made already. Clean this up."
"But it wasn't me - I didn't do it! And I'm still hungry. . . ."
Marvin let out a booming laugh. "That's my boy! Always hungry for more, just like his old man!" Emma glared at him. ". . . But we do need to act somewhat civilized about it." He whispered into Johnny's ear, "At least when you're mother's around we do. Grab a mob before she has a fit."
After dinner, everyone stood from the table and sighed contentedly. Except for Johnny, of course, who just whimpered sadly. Marvin grabbed some wood and went to light a fire and Johnny, defeated, went to play his guitar.
Emma, meanwhile, had to use the restroom. But when she walked in, she shrieked.
"Johnny! You get over here! How many times must I tell you to pick the toilet seat up!"
But Mamma," Johnny whined, walking inside. "I didn't do it! And look!" He held up his instrument. "Someone broke a string on my guitar!"
Marvin walked into the room and sighed. "Johnny," he said, taking his boy aside. "I told you. When there's a girl in the house, you have to do certain things regarding 'cleanliness.' I know how you feel. When I was younger, I was just the same!"
"But Daddy!" Johnny pleaded. "It wasn't me!"
Marvin looked at his son skeptically. "And do you think I did it? Come now, you're going to have to clean this up whether you like it or not, so there's no use arguing about it. I'll be in the den playing the piano, and you can join me when you're done. You can still play a guitar with five strings, right? Oh, and just a heads up, your mother will probably make me take from your allowance to cover that. Well, good luck!"
At that Marvin left the room, leaving the bewildered Johnny alone. His mother had already left with disgust. He slowly got on his hands and knees and began scrubbing the mess unhappily.
After playing a fantastic collection of songs with their instruments (they really were quite good at performing), it was getting late and the bears decided it was time for bed. Marvin went to put out the fire, and Emma, with the help of Johnny, put the instruments neatly in the corner so that they would not get damaged. They met back in the kitchen and set down the stairs together for their bedroom.
But, when they got to the bottom, something wasn't right. "Hey!" exclaimed Marvin. "It looks like someone's been sleeping in my bed!"
Emma, who was right behind him, responded, "I think someone's been sleeping in my bed too! It's all messed up!" They both looked at Johnny.
Without hesitating, Johnny cut right to the chase. "But look! There's a human girl lying right under my covers!"
At this, Lockpic woke up and scowled; her first reaction was anger. She had been having such a nice dream about little zombie rabbits roasting over an open fire . . . and then she saw the bears.
She covered her mouth to stifle a scream.
"I told you! I told you!" cried Johnny gleefully. "There was someone in the house!"
"Why, I'll be," marveled Emma. Marvin just stared.
"I'm still hungry, Daddy . . ." Johnny trailed away, glancing at the fresh meat hopefully and then back at his father.
"Of course, of course . . ." said Marvin, distracted and somewhat abashed. Then he switched his focus to the young girl in front of them. "Now listen here, Girlie. We've been blaming our son all night for the things that you did! And here you are, sleeping in his bed! What do you have to say for yourself? Don't answer that." He eyed the girl curiously.
She just stood frozen in silence.
"You know what?" continued Marvin. "He missed out on dinner because of you, and you have just enough meat to fix that. So you're going to help us out - it's only right." When she said nothing, he gestured, "Well, go ahead, son. It's all yours."
Johnny moved slowly toward the frightened girl, his mouth watering. Still Lockpic stood there, unable to move. All she could think about was what a bad girl she had been. She had never realized it, but she had really hated herself. But now, being here, at this time, at this place . . . a tear of remorse ran down her face.
As he stood in front of the human, the little bear grabbed his food excitedly, without a struggle, and opened his mouth wide. He'd had nothing to eat that whole day, and he was starving. Teeth gleaming, he observed the food for a second before shoveling it into his mouth. He savored the taste for a few seconds before biting down and tearing a piece off. He chewed the meat gleefully, and then swallowed noisily.
If you were to ask Goldypadlocks what the most shocking part of her life was, she would tell you that it was the moment she woke to find a bear staring hungrily at her, with two more behind it. But if you were to ask what the best part of her life was, Goldypadlocks would tell you it was everything that followed.
From that night onward, she stayed with the bears, as a friend and a family member. She enjoyed their company and they enjoyed hers. Being with the bears changed her, and made her an altogether better person. She didn't want to go back to her old life and begged them to let her stay with them, and they were happy to accept her.
Every day Goldypadlocks would help out around the house by providing food for the table. She would tend the farm (something the bears didn't do very well on their own), and she would use her remarkable hunting skills to provide meat just like that which Johnny ate that fateful night. Instead of rabbits, though, she was able to track much bigger game by using the tools she got at shop.
Goldypadlocks would go to shop with the bears every week, and there they would get extra food and supplies. Even more than that, though, they were able to interact with everyone else from the area, and Goldypadlocks met someone new almost every time she went, as well as furry friends she'd already made. The best part was, she never even felt the slightest inclination to steal from any of them.
The family was strengthened considerably by the presence of Goldypadlocks; she was not the only one to benefit from the relationship. Johnny grew tougher and more able to fend for himself, to prove he wasn't weaker than a girl. Emma and Marvin were influenced by the pure happiness of someone with no one to fight: Marvin learned that spending time with his family was more important than hunting, and Emma grew less controlling.
And for the rest of her life, Goldypadlocks lived in happiness. When she grew to be an old woman, she told her story countless times to young children. A tale about a lost girl, who stumbled upon a cottage in the middle of the forest, ate soup, slept in a bed, and was discovered by the three bears who lived there, who were really quite nice about it.
As the decades went on, the details were gradually altered, bit by bit, as will happen to any tale told over time. And it changed, and matured, even as the characters inside of it did themselves. However, the story of Goldypadlocks, or "Goldilocks," will always remain an important addition to our history.