Hey Jenny,
Thanks for reaching out.
One thing to clarify here is that Events Calendar Pro is not the pro version of The Events Calendar. It is a premium add-on to it.
So, if you buy Events Calendar Pro, you do not remove The Events Calendar from your site, for example — you have both plugins running side-by-side, with The Events Calendar providing the core features and with Events Calendar Pro providing some extra pro features.
With this in mind, then, the only way to list three events like you mention would be to use the [tribe_events_list] shortcode. This is indeed only available with Events Calendar Pro.
To learn how to use that shortcode, check out the documentation for it here → https://theeventscalendar.com/knowledgebase/pro-widget-shortcodes/#event-list-shortcode
You can see screenshots of various widget shortcodes like [tribe_events_list] here, so that you can get a sense of the output they make → http://wpshindig.com/event-widgets/
And remember — if you try out Events Calendar Pro but don’t like it, request a refund within thirty days of your date of purchase and we will issue a refund in full.
I hope this information helps!
George