Little Red and the Three Gorillas

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What would you do if you were confronted by a tired and hungry gorilla? Well, you'll have to listen to find out...

This is the story of Little Red and the three gorillas. If you have never heard of Little Red then you need to listen to the story of Little Red and the Hungry Hyena. You see Little Red did not learn her lesson and not long after, she disobeyed her mother again and wandered into the meadows to gather flowers. She wandered on and on, and after a while she came to a forest, where she had never been before. It was rather enchanted and peaceful and she much liked it. She came to a little house, standing all alone in the forest, and as she was tired and thirsty she knocked at the door. She hoped the good people inside would give her a drink, and let her rest a little while. Now, though Little Red did not know it, this house belonged to three gorillas. There was a GREAT BIG FATHER gorilla, and a middle-sized mother gorilla, and a dear little baby gorilla, no bigger than Little Red herself. But the three gorillas had gone out to take a walk in the forest while their supper was cooling, so when Little Red knocked at the door no one answered her. She waited awhile and then she knocked again, and as still nobody answered her so, being the curious girl she was, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. There in a row stood three chairs. One was a GREAT BIG CHAIR, and it belonged to the father gorilla. And one was a middle-sized chair, and it belonged to the mother gorilla, and one was a dear little chair, and it belonged to the baby gorilla. And on the table stood three bowls of the most sweet smelling smoking hot porridge. “I suppose they won't be gone for long,” she thought out loud to herself. She thought she would sit down and rest until they came, so first she sat down in the GREAT BIG CHAIR, but the cushion was too soft. It seemed as though it would swallow her up. Then she sat down in the middle-sized chair, and the cushion was too hard, and it was not comfortable. Then she sat down in the dear little chair, and it was just right, and fitted her as though it had been made just for her. So there she sat, and she rocked and she rocked, and she sat and she sat, until with her rocking and her sitting she sat the bottom right out of it. And still nobody had come, and there stood the bowls of porridge on the table. “They can’t be very hungry people,” she thought to herself, “or they would have been home by now.” And she went over to the table just to see whether the bowls were full. The first bowl was a GREAT BIG BOWL with a GREAT BIG WOODEN SPOON in it, and that was the father gorilla’s bowl. The second bowl was a middle-sized bowl, with a middle-sized wooden spoon in it, and that was the mother gorilla’s bowl. And the third bowl was a dear little bowl, with a dear little silver spoon in it, and that was the baby gorilla’s bowl. The porridge that was in the bowls smelled so good that Little Red thought she would just have a taste to see if it was as good as it smelled. She took up the GREAT BIG SPOON, and tasted the porridge in the GREAT BIG BOWL, but it was too hot. Then she took up the middle-sized spoon and tasted the porridge in the middle-sized bowl, and it was too cold. Then she took up the little silver spoon and tasted the porridge in the dear little bowl, and it was just right, and it tasted so good that she tasted and tasted, and tasted and tasted until she tasted it all up. After that she felt very sleepy, so she went upstairs and looked about her, and there were three beds all in a row. The first bed was the GREAT BIG BED that belonged to the father gorilla. And the second bed was a middle-sized bed that belonged to the mother gorilla, and the third bed was a dear little bed that belonged to the dear little baby gorilla. Little Red lay down on the GREAT BIG BED to try it, but the pillow was too high, and she wasn’t comfortable at all. Then she lay down on the middle-sized bed, and the pillow was too low, and that wasn’t comfortable either. Then she lay down on the little baby gorilla’s bed and it was exactly right, and so very comfortable that she lay there and lay there until she went fast asleep. Now while Little Red was still asleep in the little bed the three gorillas came home again, and as soon as they stepped inside the door and looked about them they knew that somebody had been there. “SOMEBODY’S BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR AND LEFT THE CUSHION CROOKED,” growled the father gorilla in his great big voice as he thumbed his big hairy chest. “And somebody’s been sitting in my chair and left it standing crooked,” said the mother gorilla. And the little baby gorilla squealed in his shrill little voice, “And somebody’s been sitting in my chair and they’ve sat and sat till they’ve sat the bottom out.” And he felt very sad about it. The three gorillas were famished from their long walk so they shrugged their shoulders and decided to settle down at the table to sup. “WHAT’S THIS!” growled the father gorilla, in his great big voice, “SOMEBODY’S BEEN TASTING MY PORRIDGE, AND LEFT THE SPOON ON THE TABLE.” “And somebody’s been taking my porridge,” said the mother gorilla in her middle-sized voice, “and they’ve splashed it over the side.” “And somebody’s been tasting my porridge,” squealed the baby gorilla, “and they’ve tasted and tasted until they’ve tasted it all up.” And his face was all wrung up ready to cry. “If somebody’s been here they must be here still,” said the mother gorilla; so the three gorillas went upstairs to look. First the father gorilla looked at his bed. “SOMEBODY’S BEEN LYING ON MY BED AND PULLED THE COVERS DOWN,” he growled in his great big voice thumping his big chest like a Akan drum. Then the mother gorilla looked at her bed. “Somebody’s been lying on my bed and pulled the pillow off,” said she in her middle-sized voice. Then the baby gorilla looked at his bed, and there lay little Little Red with her hair in nice round buns and her red hair bow bobbing with her gentle snores. “Somebody’s been lying in my bed,” squeaked the baby gorilla joyfully, “and here she is still!” Now when Little Red in her dreams heard the great big father gorilla thumping his chest she dreamed it was the thunder rolling through the heavens. And when she heard the mother gorilla’s middle-sized voice she dreamed it was the wind blowing through the trees. But when she heard the baby gorilla’s voice it was so shrill and sharp that it woke her right up. She sat up in bed and there were the three gorillas standing around and looking at her. “Oh, my goodness me!” cried Little Red. She tumbled out of bed and ran to the window. It was open, and out she jumped. The gorillas were too shocked to stop her. Little Red ran as fast as she could, and this time she learned her lesson for good: she never went near the forest again. As for the little baby gorilla, he cried and cried, not only because he did not have any supper, but because he had wanted the pretty little girl to play with and she had unceremoniously run off.

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