Hashing and rehashing this tale of olde will do no good, unless this time, the truth is finally told regarding what happened after Goldilocks fled the scene of the home she invaded and trashed before being chased away by the then obscure Bears Three. Ah, yes, you have heard of them! Goldilocks takes credit, of course, as having “discovered” them when they were unknowns.

You see, Goldilocks came from a traveling circus family of carnies. She typically explored the hillsides and forests nearby of the towns and villages where the circus set up their amusement business. She was, as much of the historical folktale shows, a curious and careless child, who had no sense of boundaries (except around the old lion and shifty-eyed Master of Ceremonies). Most people do not know this last parenthetical detail, or much about the ringlet-headed, often self-entitled girl except what storytellers provide of the famous story of her letting herself into an empty house and causing mayhem before passing out in the most comfy, best-suited-for-her bed upstairs. What happened afterward is equally shocking and dismaying, however. Until now, it has been told in undertones and rumors, but never recorded; for good reason, suffice to say.

After her house invasion and subsequent discovery, Goldilocks ran all the way back to the circus wagons (except for a couple of breaks to catch her breath, eat wild berries and a walnut she found along the path). Her mother, a preoccupied and very flexible woman (her talent), thought Goldilocks was acting strangely from this odd tale she was telling and the redness about her cheeks and lips, and so took her to Doctor Mysteriosity, who was, in fact, not only a magician but also an erstwhile doctor's apprentice. He determined that the girl was telling the truth and also suspected she was allergic to either porridge or walnuts, and advised her to avoid both in the future. Together, they approached the emcee, a tall-hatted, enterprising gentleman who counted coins when he wasn’t mastering the ceremony.

“Bears, you said?” He held a large coin up to the light inside the covered wagon. “All dressed up? Mm, standing upright?"

"Yes! Like people! And they were talking—like people!" Goldilocks rushed the story again, carefully omitting the less-flattering parts of her involvement. "They were talking very loudly where I was napping about some house improvements they wanted to make. I knew it was only going to get louder, so I left." With that, a yawn escaped her, and her mother insisted they leave so Goldilocks might recover from her curious and terrible time.

The Master of Ceremonies and Doctor Mysteriosity traded looks. The circus leader nodded. "Ready the trappers." He thumbed a coin into the air and caught it swiftly in his palm. "This circus could use dancing bears. Oh, yes."

(What became of the bear family is the true tragedy. Bears Three, as they were known, traveled about the country on show. Dancing, dancing, dancing. Never resting, and never free again. Other circuses caught wind of the audience turnout the Bears Three brought, and so, they, too, trapped bears of all species–except the grolar and the polar–and forced them to dance for money as well. Truly, no bear deserves a kept, unnatural life such as these.)