Curlylocks and the Three Bears: NCERT Class 2 Story (Marigold Unit 6)

etmantra31 Jul 20217 min read

Children love this story because of its pattern of three: three bowls, three beds and three bears with three different voices. It is perfect for reading aloud, acting out and learning words like big, middle-sized and tiny.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 2, unit 6. NCERT’s newer Class 2 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Curlylocks and the Three Bears

Play the video three or four times. The first time, just listen. Then point at the pictures, and from the third time, say the lines along with the video. Short, repeated listening is how CALP builds a child’s English.

What your child learns

Comparing sizes: big, middle-sized, tiny
Opposites: hot and cold, hard and soft
Using different voices when reading aloud
Respecting other people's homes and things

What the story is about

Curlylocks is a girl with curly hair. One day she goes into the forest and finds a cottage. Nobody answers when she calls, because the bear family has gone for a walk. She goes inside and finds three bowls of porridge. Papa Bear’s porridge is too hot and Mama Bear’s is too cold, but Baby Bear’s is just right, so she eats it all up. Then she tries the three beds. The big bed is too hard, the middle-sized bed is too soft, and the tiny bed is just right. She falls asleep in it.

The three bears come home. Papa Bear speaks in his big gruff voice, Mama Bear speaks next, and Baby Bear speaks in his tiny little voice. They see that someone has eaten their porridge and slept in their beds. Then Baby Bear finds Curlylocks still sleeping in his bed. Curlylocks wakes up, sees the bears, jumps down and runs out of the cottage as fast as she can.

New words, with Hindi meanings

forest: a big place with many trees (हिंदी: जंगल)
cottage: a small house, often in a village or forest (हिंदी: छोटा घर, कुटिया)
porridge: a soft, hot food made by cooking oats or grain in milk or water (हिंदी: दलिया)
middle-sized: not big and not small, in between (हिंदी: बीच के आकार का)
tiny: very, very small (हिंदी: बहुत छोटा)
hungry: wanting to eat food (हिंदी: भूखा)
gruff: deep and rough, like a loud low voice (हिंदी: भारी, खुरदुरी)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

Why was nobody at home when Curlylocks reached the cottage?
Whose porridge was just right for Curlylocks? Why did she not eat from the other bowls?
What did Baby Bear find in his bed?
Is it right to go into someone’s house when they are not at home? What would you do?

Answers for parents

The bear family had gone for a walk.
Baby Bear's porridge was just right. Papa Bear's was too hot and Mama Bear's was too cold.
He found Curlylocks still sleeping in it.
For example: No, it is not right. I would wait outside or go home and tell my mother.

Grammar corner: Opposites

Opposites are pairs of words with very different meanings. Hot is the opposite of cold. Hard is the opposite of soft, and big is the opposite of small.

The porridge was hot in the morning but cold by lunchtime.
Papa Bear has a big spoon, and Baby Bear has a small one.
The floor felt hard, but the pillow felt soft.

Practice at home

Write the opposite: hot → ___
Choose the right words: The tiny bed was (just right / too hard).
Put these in order from biggest to smallest: middle-sized, tiny, big.

Answers: 1. cold · 2. just right · 3. big, middle-sized, tiny

Try this

Act out the story with three family members as the bears. Papa Bear speaks in a big deep voice, Mama Bear in a middle voice and Baby Bear in a tiny squeaky voice. Then find three things at home of different sizes, such as three spoons or three cups, and line them up as big, middle-sized and tiny.

Tip for parents

Tell the story in Hindi first with three voices: पापा भालू की मोटी आवाज़, मम्मी भालू की आवाज़ और बेबी भालू की पतली आवाज़. Then tell it again in English and let your child say the bears' lines. If your child says "बहुत गरम, too hot", that mix is a good step, so praise it.

Questions parents ask

Who are the characters in Curlylocks and the Three Bears?

Curlylocks, a girl with curly hair, and the bear family: Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear.

What is the moral of Curlylocks and the Three Bears?

Children can learn not to go into someone's home or use their things without asking. Curlylocks gets a fright when the bears come back and find her.

Which book and class is Curlylocks and the Three Bears from?

It is Unit 6 of Marigold, NCERT's older English book for Class 2. The newer NCERT English books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

Learn every Class 2 lesson with CALP

Every lesson of Mridang, NCERT’s new book, with read-along videos, new words with Hindi meanings, and listen-and-say practice with a score, made for young children with a parent nearby. ₹999 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →