A/N: This piece is a little bit of nostalgia for me. I wrote it as a school assignment several years ago. (How many years? I'm not telling!) The prompt was "Retell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears using the style of a famous author." I was rereading RotK at the time, and when I saw Sam's family tree in the Appendices . . . well, I couldn't resist. I suppose you could consider this my first ever published work of fan fiction. Do keep in mind that it was written before I knew how to write. I'm not sure why I'm publishing this little bit of nonsense now, except that it's my birthday, precious, and in true hobbit style, I feel compelled to give something away.
Like most hobbit children born after the fall of Sauron, Goldilocks, the sixth child of Samwise and Rose, was a fair child with her mother's rosy complexion and her sister's golden hair. In her sixth year, it came to pass that her elder sister, Elanor, was honored above any other hobbit maiden in the history of the Shire. Elanor was to be a lady-in-waiting to Arwen Undomiel, queen of the kingdoms of men and wife to King Elessar. So it was that in that year, in early March, Elanor, with her father, her "uncles" Merry and Pippin, and all her family, went to Minas Tirith where a ceremony was to take place on the first day of Gondor's New Year.
Now Goldilocks, like most children would, refused to be left behind. Though the journey was long and the road dangerous, she pleaded with her father to let her follow the company north over the Misty Mountains and south again to Gondor. Sam loved his youngest daughter, so eventually he agreed.
Three weeks from journey's end, the strange company of hobbits and riders of King Elessar were traveling through the woods near the outskirts of Mirkwood Forest. They moved slowly to accommodate Goldilocks and her young siblings. Merry and Pippin, clad once again in the shining mail they had worn in the War of the Ring, were riding ahead, laughing and singing as was their custom. Sam had his hands full with Goldilocks' five older siblings. The riders of Gondor looked alertly into the trees as though truly expecting a company of orcs to set upon them at every turn. No one noticed when little Goldilocks stealthily slipped from the back of the wagon that bore their supplies.
Being the adventurous sort, young Goldilocks had thought to get a look around these strange woods. She wandered into the great forest, but, like most hobbits young and old, she didn't use good sense and was soon lost among the great trees and sweeping ferns. She walked. She was hungry and frightened, so it seemed to her that she walked a very long time. Finally, she came to a clearing where a great wooden house stood surrounded by bee hives. Being lost and very frightened, Goldilocks decided to go inside to see if the owner of the house could help her.
Being a hobbit, she was so small she could hardly reach the knob of the great oak door. She pushed the door inward and stepped into a great hall with a small table at one end. No one was in sight. Something steamed in three small bowls on the table. Porridge, Goldilocks thought. She was very hungry. She timidly walked over to the table. It was a very low table, but little Goldilocks could hardly reach over the edge of it. She felt a bowl with the tips of her fingers and pulled it down into her lap. It was porridge, and of a very rich and wholesome kind, laced with honey and nuts. Forgetting herself, Goldilocks ate every last bite.
Feeling refreshed, she wandered to the other end of the hall. One corner was set with three chairs made of cherry wood. Her little eyes widened. Though she barely reached halfway to the seat of two of the chairs, the third looked just her size! She raced over and leapt enthusiastically onto the tiny chair. It cracked and crumpled beneath her enthusiasm, dumping the child in a heap on the pine floorboards. Horrified beyond words, Goldilocks sprang to her feet and searched for a place to hide. She raced up a rope ladder on the wall, coming to an upstairs chamber containing three beds. She jumped into the smallest one and tried to hide under the covers.
Even pure terror cannot keep a well-fed hobbit child who has spent the day walking through woods awake once she has reached a warm bed. Before she knew it, the little girl was drifting off to sleep.
Suddenly, Goldilocks awoke to t he sound of a low, gruff voice. "I say, what is that?" She peeped out from under the covers and beheld a giant black bear, far taller than a man, gazing down on her. With a petrified scream, she sprang out of bed and raced for the door. It may have been the sleep tricking her eyes, but as she left, she thought she saw two more bears, one normal sized, the other a tiny cub, staring at her.
Night had fallen as Goldilocks ran back into the woods, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her father and the whole company had discovered her missing hours ago and were all searching the woods, calling her name. Fortunately, one of the riders, a certain Bergil, son of Beregond, happened to be searching that very stretch of woods. When he heard her cry, the young Man galloped up, swept the tiny girl onto his steed, and galloped back to the rest of the company.
Goldilocks told her story breathlessly. None knew what to make of it until Sam, her father, recalled a story he had once heard from old Bilbo Baggins when he was no older than Goldilocks. According to the story, old Bilbo had had supper in those very woods with a creature called Beorn who could transform into a great bear. Merry and Pippin, however, noted that Bilbo was prone to exaggeration.
The rest of the journey, and indeed the rest of Goldilocks' life passed uneventfully. No one could prove that it was Beorn she met and not some figment of her young imagination. To this day, however, the story of Goldilocks and the three bears is told as a warning to hobbit children.
A/N: Hope you had fun with this silly little piece. As always, reviews are appreciated. Just don't take it too seriously.