| Once upon a time there were three chicks. They lived in some quarters in the middle of a big forest. One of them was a sweet, elfin chick; one was a dark, half Klingon chick; and the other was a fair, red-haired chick.
The chicks each had a bowl for their leola root stew: a delicate, carved bowl; a dark, wavy-patterned bowl; and a pale, creamy-coloured bowl.
They each had a chair to relax in: a delicate, carved chair; a dark, wavy-patterened chair; and one very reminiscent of the captain’s chair on the Bridge.
And they each had a bed to sleep in: all regulation beds with blue sheets and blue pillows.
Now, every day the three chicks went for a walk to the Bridge and back while they were waiting for the sugar to soak into their leola root stew. One day when they were out on their walk, a certain tall pilot with short golden locks noticed how easily their door opened (after a certain amount of hacking into the computer access) and wandered in. From the scent of perfume in the air he deduced that someone female must live here, so he decided to wait for them.
After he’d waited a little while, he began to get hungry. Then he noticed the leola root stew sitting on the table. He wasn’t *that* hungry. His stomach growled. Well, maybe just a *little* stew, Goldilocks decided.
The stew in the delicate carved bowl was far too sweet, and he quickly set the bowl back down, accidently spilling some of its contents. The stew in the wavy-patterned bowl was still too spicy for his tastes, and he dropped it, accidently cracking the bowl. The stew in the third bowl, however, was just right - or as right as leola root stew could get - and before he realised it he’d eaten it all up.
After he’d waited a little while longer, Goldilocks’ legs began to tire. He glanced around and saw the three chairs, all lined up in welcome. Now, although he hesitated over eating leola root stew, Goldilocks had no such compunctions about taking some weight off his feet, so he sat down.
The delicate carved chair was just too soft, and no matter how much Goldilocks wriggled into the cushion, he just couldn’t find a comfortable position. The wave-patterned chair was too hard, even when he added one of the cushions from the first chair. The third chair, however, was just right, and Goldilocks was so comfortable he began to drift off to sleep.
Suddenly he heard a noise from the door. Goldilocks leaped up, knocking the chair over, and ran into the bedroom to find somewhere to hide. There was a closet past the three Starfleet-issue beds, so he slipped inside and closed the door.
The three chicks had returned from their walk, and were impatient to eat their breakfast. However, as soon as they walked in they noticed something was wrong.
"Someone’s been eating my leola root stew!" cried the elfin chick as soon as she saw the spill on the table.
"And someone’s been eating *my* leola root stew!" cried the half Klingon chick as soon as she saw the crack in her bowl.
"Someone’s been eating *my* leola root stew, and they’ve eaten it all up!" cried the red-haired chick as she regarded the empty bowl. Then she smiled. "On the other hand, now *I* won’t have to eat it."
They decided to skip breakfast and catch up on some reading. (Each of the chicks claimed they were going to be working, however, unbeknownst to the others, they were each reading the same Klingon romance novel.) But when they looked for their chairs…
"Somebody’s been sitting in my chair!" the elfin chick cried as soon as she saw the dent in the cushion.
"And somebody’s been sitting in *my* chair!" the half Klingon chick cried as soon as she saw the cushion on it.
"Somebody’s been sitting in *my* chair, and they’ve tipped it over!" the red-haired chick cried as she straightened it up. Then she smiled. "On the other hand, now it’s all warmed up for me."
Since it was their day off, the three chicks continued about their daily business with no idea that Goldilocks was hiding nervously in the closet. To him, it seemed like an eternity until the three chicks finally decided to turn in for the night.
His eye was pressed to the closet door so he’d know when it was safe to leave, and it was entirely coincidental that he also got to watch the three chicks change. They each had some sleepwear to wear to bed: a pair of pink, skin-tight, velour pyjamas; a pair of deep red battle-jammies; and an extremely flattering, low-cut, peach, satin nightgown. Goldilocks’ eyes widened.
At last they were asleep. Goldilocks came out of the closet. The door, unfortunately, was on the other side of the room, and before that he had to pass the red-haired chick’s bed. Before *that* was the half Klingon chick’s bed, and before *that* the elfin chick’s bed. He would have to be very very quiet.
As Goldilocks tiptoed past the elfin chick’s bed he couldn’t quite resist bending down to give her a kiss. It wasn’t as if she was awake to object, he reasoned, and it was only a *little* kiss, after all…
To his surprise, the elfin chick let out a contented sigh and drowsily pulled him in for another kiss. Goldilocks had a vague feeling that this wasn’t quite right, then smirked and tumbled into the bed.
=/\=
As soon as the elfin chick was asleep again, Goldilocks slipped out of the bed and picked up his clothes. He was about to get out of the room before another of the chicks woke up, then had a thought. He looked at the elfin chick’s bed. He looked at the other two beds. //Oh my,// Goldilocks thought as a slow smile spread across his face.
=/\=
The next morning, the elfin chick stretched lazily and grinned. Then she stopped. "Somebody’s been in my bed!" she cried as she realised it had been more than a wonderful dream.
"And somebody’s been in *my* bed!" the half Klingon chick cried, and stopped snickering.
"Somebody’s been in *my* bed, and he’s still there!" the red-haired chick exclaimed, staring at Goldilocks’ sleeping body. Then she smiled. "On the other hand…" |
