Once upon a time, in a snug little cottage at the edge of the woods, lived an old grandpa and grandma.
One day, grandma found the last little bit of flour in the cupboard. She mixed it up, kneaded the dough, and baked a round, golden little bun. It had a crispy crust and smelled like the best fresh bread.
She set the bun on the windowsill to cool. But the bun lay there, and then—pop!—he rolled right off and onto the path. He rolled along the lane toward the forest, because he wanted so badly to see the world.
Down the path he rolled, through the trees, when along came a big gray wolf. The wolf stopped, sniffed, and said, "Oh my, you look so sweet and tasty! I think I'll eat you up!"
But the little bun sang out: "No, no, dear wolf! I'm too small to fill you up. Let me sing you a song instead!" And he sang: "I'm a little golden bun, baked in the oven until I was done! I rolled into the woods to see, all the trees and who lives there with me!"
The wolf listened, smiled, and said, "You sing so nicely. Roll on, little bun, and let others hear you too." And off he went.
The bun rolled on, and soon a big brown bear came out from the bushes. "Oh, you look golden!" said the bear. "I'm so hungry, I could eat you!"
But the bun sang his song fast: "Little golden bun I be, baked till I was nice and wee! I rolled into the woods to see, what a lovely world there'll be!"
The bear scratched his ear. "Hmm, what a cheerful song. I'll leave you be. Roll along where you please." And he went back to his den.
The bun rolled on and on. Then from behind a tree came a red fox with a fluffy tail. The fox stopped soft and said, "Oh, little bun, I love your song! Sing it for me, please!" And the bun sang proudly, louder than before.
Then the fox said, "How lovely! But you know, I'm old and can't hear well. Roll a little closer, won't you?"
The bun started to roll closer, but then he remembered what grandma had told grandpa: "You have to be careful with strangers." And he thought, "Maybe the fox is trying to trick me."
"No, no, dear fox," said the bun. "I need to go home now. Grandma and Grandpa must be worried." And he quickly rolled back the same path, all the way to the cottage.
Oh, how happy grandma and grandpa were to see him! They picked him up, put him on the table, and had tea with him.
From then on, the little bun lived in the cozy cottage. And whenever he felt like an adventure, he would look out the window at the woods and remember his friends: the wolf, the bear, and the clever fox.