Bumps

Bumps - Charli Kelemen (Timberland High School, Twelfth Grade)

Unce upon a time, there were three bears. First, there was the great and big Papa Bear. Then, there was Mama Bear and she was just the right size. Lastly, there was Baby Bear who was so tiny and naive. They all lived together in their brown, wooden house in the forest. One morning, they were about to eat breakfast when they realized that their porridge was way too hot to eat. They thought the perfect way to let it cool down was to take a walk, and when they come back they would eat it. Off they went to soak in the morning sun on their family walk.

Across the way was a young girl, Goldilocks. Her name was based off of her beautiful locks of golden hair. She was wearing a short pink dress with jean overalls on top. Her hair was pulled into two braids and tied with bows. She was on her own walk when she caught a whiff of the delicious smelling porridge. She continued walking and realized that the smell was coming from the bears’ home. She became curious and her stomach started to growl at her. Goldilocks made the decision to go knock on the front door of the house in hopes that they would invite her in to eat. *Knock, knock, knock*. After a minute went by with no response, she gently and quietly turned the door knob and welcomed herself in. Her face lit up when she realized that nobody was home. 

Knowing that she was alone, she had herself a nice, big, warm bowl of porridge. Whenever Goldilocks sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy her bowl, she accidently broke the chair. She shrugged her shoulders and moved to the next chair to enjoy her bowl of porridge. After finishing her first bowl, she went to have a second bowl but she stopped herself. She froze for a moment and began feeling guilty. 

“Oh no, if my mom found out about this she would be so disappointed,” She said out loud to herself, “I must do something to make it better.” 

A few minutes went by as she thought long and hard about what she could do to fix things. She started to pace through the home. Goldilocks ran from room to room panicking on what to do. 

The first room that she entered was the bedroom. She noticed that there was two beds, a big bed and a small bed. The big bed belonged to mama bear and papa bear. The small bed belonged to baby bear. Goldilocks sighed. 

“Those beds sure do look comfortable, and I am very tired after that delicious bowl of porridge.” She said to herself. 

Goldilocks was tempted to lay in the beds and go to sleep but she still felt so bad for welcoming herself in. The bears could be home any minute so instead, she decided to make the beds. She pulled the sheets up, fixed the pillows, and folded the blankets. After that, she cleaned the room. There was piles of clothes, shoes, and trash on the floor. Goldilocks put all of the clothes away, put the shoes in the closet, and threw away all of the trash. The bedroom was now officially cleaned and it was time for her to move to the next room.

The second room she entered was the bathroom. The bears could be home any minute but she saw their toothbrushes laying out on the counter, their toothpaste was empty, and they had no more toilet paper left. She picked up the toothbrushes and put them into their containers. She threw away the old toothpaste and replaced it with a full one from the cabinet underneath the sink. While she was in the cabinet she found plenty of toilet paper and filled the holder as well. She refolded their towels and wiped down the surfaces. The bathroom was now officially cleaned and it was time for her to move to the next room.

The third room she entered was the living room. The bears could be home any minute but she noticed that the lamp’s lightbulb was out, the blankets and pillows were dirty, and the couch cushions were messed up. She scrambled to find a lightbulb and replaced the bulb for the lamp. She got the stains out of the pillows, and put them back on the couch after fixing up the cushions. Lastly, she folded the blankets and put them into the bin they belong in. The living room was officially cleaned and it was time for her to move to the next room. 

The fourth and final room she entered was the kitchen. The bears could be home any minute but she remembered that she broke the chair, had dirty dishes, and they left the ingredients out. She scrambled to find super glue and fixed up the chair that she broke. She cleaned her bowl and spoon, and put them into the cabinets that they are assigned to. She then cleaned up after the bears and put all of their ingredients back into the fridge or pantry. Lastly, she wiped the counter top and kitchen table. The kitchen was officially cleaned and it was time for her to leave. 

The bears could be home any second but Goldilocks walked through the home one last time and double checked that everything was spotless before she left. She had cleaned the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. Goldilocks was finally at ease and didn’t feel so bad for welcoming herself in. The bears would certainly never suspect that she ate a bowl of their porridge right?

*****

The bears were finally on their way back from their walk and they knew they were getting closer when they started smelling their porridge. Their stomachs’ growled at them as they began approaching their home. 

They walked in and sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy their porridge at last. They all took a look around noticing that something was different and realizing that someone had been inside while they were gone.

Mama Bear asked Papa Bear and Baby Bear, “Did either one of you clean the house today? I know I didn’t but it looks perfect!”

Papa Bear and Baby Bear looked at each other discretely and debated on taking the credit but instead they both responded at the same time, “Nope, wasn’t me!”

“Well as long as I don’t have to do it, I don’t care who was here!” Mama Bear said happily. 

Knowing that their chores were all completed, they all joined together in a circle to do a happy dance. They were one happy bear family. They were too distracted by the clean home to even think that their porridge was touched by Goldilocks. They were just very thankful that someone came to clean their home. 

The end!