Sorry for not getting this out sooner but life has been very busy this week. It's been jam packed with Shakespeare practices, graduations, and [school] end of the year celebrations 😁. This is a short story that I wrote last year for school. The class was tasked with writing a short story with a maximum number of pages being ten. After coming up with many different ideas I finally chose to do this after talking with my dad about how much is not said in the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
I look back now and there are a few things I would change or add to but overall, its pretty good. I did not change anything but the formatting. I regret that some of the parts aren't long enough but here it is!
If I ever published this, I would take out the end and add some things in between each event.
The forest trees, with their red, orange, and yellow leaves blowing in the Autumn breeze, dance in the wind as a girl with bright blue eyes and blonde locks speeds through the forest. Her heart pounds as she forces her legs to move as fast as they could possibly go, almost tripping on the tree roots, and small rocks on the forest floor. Why is she running, and where is she going? Those are some questions you may be asking yourself as you are reading this. If you have the patience to read a few more pages I will gladly tell you why…
Two days earlier… Twenty-four hours of constant running over hills, and in between trees was just too much for a thirteen-year-old to handle. The only time she could afford to rest were the moments she took when she felt like she couldn't move a limb. In addition to that, the small satchel with a few pieces of meat, two apples, and a half-empty canteen, weren't very much to go on, nutrition-wise. After all, running from the law was not easy. But that was the payment for escaping from the old, rusted town-jail the day before going on trial in the prestigious courthouse, for helping with a store robbery, and being an accomplice to an evil, crime-lord in a wolf form.
But despite all the things she forgot to think about when she had planned her jailbreak, Goldilocks was glad she had escaped to the forest east of town because the western forest always seemed so much more eerie, and ghastly. The rumors she heard about a witch residing in the north-western region of the woods did not make her want to travel there at all. But here in the eastern wood everything seemed so bright and happy. Wildflowers grew in little patches everywhere, squirrels chased one another up the massive trees, and a small river flowed through the middle of the wood.
After running a few hours Goldilocks was a mess. Her blonde hair was matted. Her black vest and pink blouse had mud clotted all over it, and her dark blue denim skirt was badly worn from the many times she had tripped. She decided to find a decent place to rest and maybe eat. Presently she came upon a large beige cottage with walnut accents. The huge door was in the shape of a bear and was undeniably the largest she had ever seen. Three bears opened the door and began walking towards a small worn path. One bear wore a blue dress with white polka dots and a cap to match. One wore a yellow plaid shirt, denim overalls, and a large brown hat, and the other wore a red shirt and denim pants. None of them wore shoes.
She had always heard of a family of bears that made their residence in a cottage in the woods, away from civilization, and people who would bother them. But she had never seen them with her own two blue eyes before.
Goldilocks figured that since she was already an outlaw, going into the Bears home if they never caught her, wouldn’t make much of a difference. They had scarcely walked out of sight when Goldilock ran up to their porch, and checked to see if the door was left unlocked. Fortunately, it was because the Bears had nothing to fear in the woods surrounding their home. Goldilocks opened the enormous door and stepped inside to a large room. To the right was a large kitchen with a red pump sink, and numerous jars of honey on the shelves above the counters. To the left was a square table with four placemats, three of them had bowls of porridge in bowls of different sizes. The table looked like it was set for an oversized tea party. A tall stone fireplace stood in the middle of the room just to the left, and a black cast-iron pot hung over a small crackling fire.
Goldilocks walked over to the table and sat in the chair behind a large blue flowered bowl of porridge. She lifted the enormous spoon from beside the bowl and dipped it into the steaming bowl. Goldilocks held the spoon up to her mouth and tasted the porridge. Almost immediately she spit it, out spraying porridge all over the flowers that were placed in the middle of the table. Goldilocks quickly stood up and sat down behind the medium sized bowl. Again, she took a spoonful of the porridge, but this time it was not extremely hot, but it was so much colder that Goldilocks almost gagged on it. Because she had attempted to eat two bowls of porridge, both of which were not to her liking, Goldilocks did not really want to taste the third bowl, but because she was hungry and had nothing else to eat, she forced herself to sit down in the third chair. She pushed herself to take a spoonful and surprisingly it was not too hot or cold. To her it was just right.
Goldilocks finished her bowl in record time, eating all the porridge faster than it took her to try the other two bowls. Standing up she walked through the house and into the sitting room with its pictures on the walls, and three different sized chairs. The first chair she walked over to be a large metal chair, Goldilocks sat down on it. The metal chair was very hard and uncomfortable, so she stood up and moved on to the next chair. Fortunately, she was a person who had patience, because if she didn’t, she would already be out of the cottage. Goldilocks sat down on the next largest chair, which was a medium sized plush recliner with a large green and blue quilt hanging over the back of it. The chair was too soft for Goldilocks so stood up and walked to the next chair which was considerably smaller than the other two chairs. Why does everything here have to be too much or not enough? She thought, hopping the next chair, which was a small, brown, wicker chair, would fit her because getting tired of walking. The next chair fit perfectly until a few moments after she sat down, and the chair collapsed on itself under her weight.
After getting unstuck, Goldilocks stood and walked upstairs to see if the bears had anything useful there. She found a large room which seemed to be the bedroom. Yet again she tried out the largest bed first, a huge four-poster bed with a pine green comforter. The bed, much to her disappointment, was too hard for her. Goldilocks stood up and walked over to the next bed, a wooden queen-sized bed with a purple comforter, which proved to be too soft. She then laid down on the last bed a small twin bed with a sunset orange throw. It was perfect. She even forgot why she came, that she was running from the law, and she fell asleep almost instantly.
The Bear family had gone on a short walk to let their porridge cool. Their walk through the forest didn’t take that long, and when they returned back to their home, they found that the door had been cracked. Their immediate thoughts were spoken by the small bear.
The Bear family had gone on a short walk to let their porridge cool. Their walk through the forest didn’t take that long, and when they returned back to their home, they found that the door had been cracked. Their immediate thoughts were spoken by the small bear.
“Who opened our door?!”
“The wind did it.” the largest bear said as the medium bear glared at him, but he did not want the small bear to be scared so he didn’t mind.
“Why is there porridge all over the flowers?” The medium bear exclaimed as she eyed the porridge that had somehow gotten on the flowers on the table.
“The wind must have blown the bowl over.” the largest bear said.
“But the window isn’t even open!” cried the medium bear as the other two bears moved on to the sitting room.
“The cushions on my chair are out of place!” she said, running over to the chair.
“My chair has been crushed!” then after a moment added “does the wind break chairs?”
“Yes, the wind can break chairs…like in a tornado…” he muttered. “But don’t worry about it, I can make you a better one.”
“All right. That one was getting too small anyway.” The Bears, all scared to some extent, headed upstairs to see if anything valuable could have been stolen.
“My bed wasn’t made like that was when we left.” the medium bear said after eyeing the messed-up comforter.
“The windows are open, the wind must have blown it like that.” the large bear said hesitantly because his bed was also like hers, and there were no windows near his bed.
“Ahhh! There’s a girl in my bed!” the small bear cried.
“Don’t worry, the wind did it… Wait a second did you say there was a girl in your bed?”
“Yes, and she’s still here!” All they could do was stare, for they were so shocked, nothing like this had ever happened to them before. Each of them considered what to do but eating her, or growling at her, but that didn’t seem like the right thing to do.
Goldilocks had fallen into a deep sleep when her dreams turned to dreams of bears. The bears began to stare at her, and then slowly crawled closer to her. Goldilocks opened her eyes, and there before her were three brown bears staring at her with startled expressions on their faces! Goldilocks jumped out of the bed and out the window that was right next to the bed.
Goldilocks had fallen into a deep sleep when her dreams turned to dreams of bears. The bears began to stare at her, and then slowly crawled closer to her. Goldilocks opened her eyes, and there before her were three brown bears staring at her with startled expressions on their faces! Goldilocks jumped out of the bed and out the window that was right next to the bed.
Fortunately for Goldilocks, the window was not far from the ground, and she was able to land on her feet. She quickly regained her composure and ran off into the forest. The sun was beginning to rise, and Goldilocks knew that if she wanted to escape, she would have to hurry. She sped off into the enchanting woodlands. Because she had a large breakfast (compliments to the Bears) and a short rest she was able to run faster and longer than she had previously. She had only run a few moments when she heard the leaves and bushes around her rustling, squirrels, and rabbits ran for cover. Goldilocks froze. Her first instinct was to run, but instead she crouched down behind a bush, she had always wondered what she would do if the police ever caught up to her. Now was the time, she would have to use all of her skills if she wanted to escape. She prepared to run.
Just as she was going to burst from her hiding spot, something totally unexpected happened. Goldilocks could barely believe what was happening. Here right in front of her was her old accomplice the Big Bad Wolf. After all he had done, after betraying her to the police, how could he of all people show his face to her, to anyone. The thing that Goldilocks couldn’t understand the most was that even though he was wanted by the police for numerous crimes, he was walking around the forest not even worrying that the police were after him.
“THE POLICE ARE AFTER YOU, GOLDILOCKS!” the Big Bad Wolf said with a raspy, wolfish voice. Paralyzed in fear, Goldilocks said nothing as she turned to flee for her life. The Big Bad Wolf began his maniacal laughter as he watched her run away.
“THERE’S NOWHERE YOU CAN RUN; THERE’S NOWHERE YOU CAN HIDE. THEY WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU!!!” he bellowed after her. Goldilocks ran through the forest, her fear of getting caught drove her faster than before. Finally, she collapsed exhausted; she sat down on a fallen tree to think. Should I keep running? Will they always look for me like he said, or will they eventually give up on searching? Should I stay in the woods, or should I just keep running my whole life? I guess it would be better to run than to get caught and spend my whole entire life in jail…
Goldilocks stood up after her break refreshed and ready to keep going. She only had to walk a few minutes before she reached the edge of the forest. The sun was rising, the hills that scattered around the land were green, and a small, narrow road wove its way through them. Small flecks of sunlight pecked through the horizon. On the road she saw a small little speck slowly moving away from the village. She ran to a hill close to where the speck, which turned out to be a pig, would walk. There she sat and waited until he came into view. She sprang at him, pushed him to the ground, (he was a fairly large pig and couldn’t get back up) and then sifted through his grocery bag until she found some fruits, some country ham (what pig eats ham?), and a loaf of bread. Goldilocks grabbed the food and ran off into the hills.
Her path led her over hills and around hills, until she spotted a well from a distance. It would be the perfect place to get a drink and rest. She hurried over to the lush, green hill it was on, and crept up the side. Unfortunately for her, there were two people at the top of the elevation. There was a girl who was brunette, slightly taller than Goldilocks, but her dress was similar to the pink dress and black vest Goldilocks wore. The boy was fairly taller than the girl, and blond. Goldilocks snuck up the foothill to the well and sat down behind it.
The two teenagers on the other side of the hill turned their backs to the well and began to walk down the slope. Goldilocks, being very sneaky and cunning, crept to the girl and wickedly placed some of the stolen food in her pocket. She then waited until the girl had walked past the boy, then she slowly walked up behind him and pushed him down the hill with all her might. Goldilocks ran back to hide behind the well. The boy fell to the ground with a thud and rolled his way to the bottom of the hill, picking up momentum as he went. He crashed into the girl she tumbled down with him. The only difference was that when they reached the bottom of the hill, the girl stood up, but the boy stayed motionless on the ground.
Goldilocks hoped that this diversion would be enough to distract the police. There was no one else who could testify to say that the girl was not guilty, so the police would get distracted on her and their attention would be divided, giving Goldilocks enough time to escape.
Sirens screamed and dogs barked, the police had arrived on the crime scene of the pig’s stolen food. The pig had finally been able to stand up not long after Goldilocks left him lying on the ground. He had run back to his home and called the police on his landline. The police had just now arrived and were investigating the scene. Goldilocks knew it would not be long before someone found out about the accident that had happened on the hill. Briefly she felt bad about blaming an innocent girl for murder, but she had to escape, so she dismissed the thought. Goldilocks ran out from behind the well and sped off toward the forest on the west side of town. This forest was darker, larger, and creepier than the forest on the eastern side. She had never liked to travel to or through here. Comparing the eastern and the western forests was like a golf cart compared to a limousine.
As Goldilocks ran towards the forest, she remembered that separating the woodlands and the village was an enormous, dilapidated, stone wall. She also knew that stationed on the wall was a guard, who was posted there to keep lookout for any criminals, and anything suspicious. Goldilocks noticed that the guard had a large, round, head somewhat like an egg. There was only one guard so if she were to get rid of him, she shouldn’t have a problem getting past the wall. Fortunately for Goldilocks, his back was turned, so she had no problem sneaking up to the wall. She swiftly climbed up the stony side, using the vines and foliage growing into the wall. Goldilocks quietly walked along the top of the wall until she was right behind him. After making sure there was no one around she quickly kicked his legs out from underneath him and pushed. The guard met an unfortunate fate when he landed in a deformed shape on the grassy turf. Goldilocks turned around to see if anyone was watching, and since no one was she jumped to the ground. She looked down at the guard. He won't be getting up ANYTIME soon. She thought, and with that she sped off into the forest as horsemen and guards were already rushing to the wall. Unfortunately, he was dead before they ever reached him.
Goldilocks was much more cautious in the forest she was headed to, than the one she was previously in. She slowly walked through the dark forest. She wished she had a lantern, but she did not want to draw attention to herself. All was quiet, except for an occasional fox or squirrel that would run by. Goldilocks wondered where she would go when she was out of the forest. She knew the police couldn't follow her out because the land on the other side was out of their region. They could warn the police of that region that she was on the run, but it would take some time, and by then she would be long gone. Goldilocks stopped for a moment and glanced around. She thought something around her had moved, but in the moments of silence nothing did.
She continued walking when she heard it again. But it was closer this time. Goldilocks rushed to a bush and sat down behind it, exhausted. Her mind raced. The police must have found her again, but that couldn’t happen. She had made sure no one was following. Then suddenly she realized what the rustling was. Crossing through the woods was a young girl about eight years old in a bright red hood and basket. What is she thinking? There are numerous things in this forest that could eat her, not to mention dangerous criminals like me or the Big Bad Wolf. Well, her prey would be easy enough to catch. The hood she wore would make her stand out in a crowd or in the forest, but the police weren't looking for a girl in a red hood, so that might be to her advantage. Goldilocks stepped onto the clearing where the girl in the hood would walk.
“What are you doing in the middle of the forest all alone?” Goldilocks asked.
“I could ask you the same.”
“But you didn’t.”
“True. I am going to my grandmother’s house to give her some cookies.”
“Why didn’t you use the path? It's safer.”
“This way is faster.”
“But it's more dangerous.”
“What are the dangers someone may encounter?” the hooded girl asked with a concerned look on her face.
“Bears, witches, wolves, and dangerous criminals!” Goldilocks said, raising her tone to frighten the poor girl.
“Dangerous criminals?”
“You know Big Bad Wolf can be seen walking around here, and a girl with blonde hair that’s wanted for theft.”
“A girl with blonde hair?”
“Yes. Why are you repeating everything I say?”
“I don’t know, I was just curious, I guess.” With that, Goldilocks jumped at the girl, ripped her scarlet hood from around her neck and ran off deeper into the misty forest. The girl screamed in fright and tried with all her might to retrive the hood, but Goldilocks was just too fast for her. She hopped over small moss-covered rocks and twisting tree roots. Leaves blew in the wind and animals chased each other about. Immediately she ran into the Big Bad Wolf.
“What do you want this time?” Goldilocks sighed.
“I THOUGHT I SHOULD TELL YOU THAT THE POLICE ARE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO CATCHING YOU!” the Big Bad Wolf roared with a maniacal laugh.
Goldilocks rolled her eyes. “I don’t really care about anything you have to say to me.”
“WELL, IF YOU GET CAUGHT, AND YOU WILL, DON’T BLAME ME.”
With that he sped off to follow the now un-hooded girl. Goldilocks hadn’t actually meant what she said about not caring because she didn’t want to get caught. There was nothing she could do except keep walking, so she kept walking. To where, she didn’t know. The only thing that mattered to her now was to not get caught. She headed north because she would be out of the forest faster that way. Hours had passed. She heard panting dogs barking and enraged people shouting.
The police had found her! Goldilocks did the only thing she knew how to do: run. The police had never been closer to catching her on this run. She sprinted through the forest, jumping over broken sticks, under overhanging branches, and through green bushes. Goldilocks paused. She had heard something. It couldn’t be the Big Bad Wolf; he didn’t make sounds like the ones she had just heard. It couldn’t have been the police, could it? Surely, she would have heard other sounds along with the ones she heard.
Something stepped out next to her. Someone actually. It was an old woman. She wore an old faded brown dress and worn shoes. Her hair was gray, and she looked older than anyone Goldilocks had ever seen before. She looked nice enough to be trusted, and besides, who walks right up to a wanted criminal without calling the police first?
“What are you doing in the middle of the forest all alone?” the lady asked in her old, shaky voice.
“It doesn’t matter to you.” was the reply. Goldilocks had decided a while ago not to trust anyone.
“I can hide you from the police if you wish”
“I’m all right.”
“No really, it's no problem at all.” the woman replied, taking her arm and leading Goldilocks into the forest. The woman appeared old in every way except that she had an incredibly good grip. There was nothing she could do to escape even if she had wanted to. The woman didn’t seem mean or evil, just kind of pushy, but that happens sometimes with older people. It was not long before they came upon a small wooden cottage that had a broken-down porch. It seemed that if you stood on it the whole thing would collapse. The woman led her up the steps and into the small house just before the sounds of hound dogs and policemen grew even closer. Goldilocks found herself being led through the tiny rooms of the small house. They passed the hallway, then the sitting room, then the dining room, then the kitchen, and then into a room Goldilocks couldn’t figure out what it was used for. The room had beige tile floors, peeling flowered wallpaper, a few wooden cabinets, two red velvet chairs, and a cast iron cauldron.
“Hide in here, I will be right back.” the woman said, indicating a small box with a dial, switches, and dirty old door. The cabinet-looking thing was just large enough for Goldilocks to fit in. The box was made of metal and looked old and well used.
Goldilocks bent down and shoved herself into the small metal box. The door shut with a thud and the woman walked away. As Goldilocks sat in the darkness, she could hear the muffled sound of the police getting closer. She wondered when the woman would come back. She thought it would probably be after the police had left, but that didn’t really matter at the moment. Her thoughts were interrupted by a light, which had just come on inside the box. The light gave an eerie yellow tint to the box. It was then that she noticed a tiny window covered by dirt and soot. Her first idea was to scrape the dirt off, but she then presumed that if the police came in and searched the house, they would find her. Goldilocks heard a ding from the outside, she wondered what it could be, it didn’t seem like it affected the box, she thought that it was probably the woman living her life.
Goldilocks had always been claustrophobic, and it always made her hot worrying about enclosed spaces. The only thing was that she soon realized that it wasn’t her making herself hot, the box seemed to be heating up, and rather rapidly. She had never heard of a box that heated up all by itself. Then she knew, she remembered why she didn’t like going into the western forest, and what made it always seem so eerie. She also remembered what happened to unfortunate people in these woods, it was the reason why no one had been seen to go within a few miles of the northern section of the forest.
The heat in the box increased hastily. There was nothing Goldilocks could do, she knew what was happening, all she could do was sit and rethink her entire life. She knew that she hadn’t been the nicest or the kindest, and she also knew that she could have stopped stealing things, but she hadn’t because of the thrill of it.
Goldilocks heard loud laughter cackling outside of the box, and she knew what her mistake was. There was nothing she could do to change it. The heat became unbearable, and Goldilocks was beginning to be nauseated, and she knew it would be over soon and the worries she had now would be gone. The heat was excruciating, she could barely keep her eyes open, and then the heat overtook her, and everything went black.
Allison Jenkins woke up in her New York apartment drenched in sweat. She knew her horrific dream was a combination of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears she had read to the preschoolers she had babysat earlier that day and would happen if she were to help rob the store the following day, she decided that being a thief was not the path she wanted to take. Allison stretched and stood up, she then walked over to her desk. She picked up her phone and called the police to warn them of the robbery that would happen the next day.
I hoped you enjoyed that. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts!
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