The Three Bears
an English folk tale
Once upon a time there were three Bears who lived in a little house in
the woods. There was a Great Big Father Bear with a great big voice, and
a Middle-Sized Mother Bear with a middle-sized voice, and a Little Wee
Baby Bear with a little wee voice.
One morning the three Bears had porridge for breakfast. The Mother Bear
said, “This porridge is too hot to eat. Let us go for a walk until it
cools.”
So the three Bears went for a walk in the woods.
While they were gone, along came a little girl named Goldilocks. Seeing
the little house, she wondered who lived there, so she knocked at the
door. No one answered, so she knocked again. Still no one answered, so
Goldilocks opened the door and walked in.
There before her, in the little room, she saw a table set for three.
There was a great big bowl of porridge, a middle-sized bowl of porridge,
and a little wee bowl of porridge. She tasted the great big bowl of
porridge. “Oh, this is too hot!” she said.
Then she tasted the middle-sized bowl of porridge.
“Oh, this is too cold!”
Then she tasted the little wee bowl of porridge. “Oh, this is just
right!” she said, and ate it all up.
She went into another room. There she saw three chairs. There was a
great big chair, a middle-sized chair,
and a little wee chair. Goldilocks sat down in the great big chair. “Oh,
this is too hard!” she said.
Then she sat down in the middle-sized chair. “Oh, this is too soft!”
Then she sat in the little wee chair. “Oh, this is just right!” But even
as she said this, the chair broke.
Then she went into another room. There she saw three beds. There was a
great big bed, and a middle-sized bed,
and a little wee bed. Goldilocks lay down on the great big bed. “Oh,
this is too hard!” she said.
Then she tried the middle-sized bed. “Oh, this is too soft!”
Then she tried the little wee bed. “Oh, this is just right!” she sighed.
And pulling up the covers, she fell fast asleep.
By this time, the three Bears thought their porridge would be cool
enough, so they returned from their walk in the woods.
When the Great Big Father Bear saw a spoon in his porridge bowl, he said
in his great big voice:
“Someone has been eating my porridge!”
When the Middle-Sized Mother Bear saw a spoon in her porridge bowl, she
said in her middle-sized voice:
“Someone has been eating my porridge!”
And the Little Wee Baby Bear, seeing a spoon in his porridge bowl, said
in his little wee voice:
“Someone has been eating my porridge and has eaten it all up!”
Then the three Bears went into the next room. When the Great Big Father
Bear saw that the cushion on his chair was out of place, he said in his
great big voice:
“Someone has been sitting in my chair!”
When the Middle-Sized Mother Bear saw that the cushion on her chair was
all pushed in, she said in her middle-sized voice:
“Someone has been sitting in my chair!”
And the Little Wee Baby Bear took one look at his chair and cried in his
little wee voice:
“Someone has been sitting in my chair and broken the seat!”
Then the three Bears went into their bedroom. As soon as the Great Big
Father Bear saw the wrinkled blankets on his bed, he said in his great
big voice:
“Someone has been lying on my bed!”
When the Middle-Sized Mother Bear saw that the spread on her bed was
pulled back, she said in her middle-sized voice:
“Someone has been lying on my bed!”
And when the Little Wee Baby Bear looked at his bed, he cried in his
little wee voice:
“Someone has been lying on my bed—and there she is!”
Now Goldilocks was sleeping so soundly, the great big voice of the Great
Big Father Bear was only like the roaring of the wind. And the
middle-sized voice of the Middle-Sized Mother Bear was like someone
speaking in a dream. But the little wee voice of the Little Wee Baby
Bear was so sharp and shrill it woke her up at once.
When she saw the three Bears looking at her, she leaped from the bed,
ran across the room, and jumped out of the low window. Then she ran
through the woods as fast as ever her legs could carry her. Whatever
happened to her, I do not know, but the three Bears never saw her again.
