Goldilocks and the Three Bears

From our childhood memories "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"  is a story that captured our curiosity, and sometimes reminded us of unintended results.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a 19th-century English fairy tale which has three versions.

The original version of the tale tells of an ugly old woman that enters the home of three bachelor bears while they are away. She eats some of their porridge, sits down on one of their chairs, breaks it, and sleeps in one of their beds.

When the bears return and discover her, she wakes up, jumps out of the window, and is never seen again.

The second version replaces the old woman with a young, naive, blonde-haired girl named Goldilocks. The rest of this story is the same as the first.

The third and by far best-known version replaces the bachelor trio with a family of three.

The story has many interpretations and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language.

Different Versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears

"The Story of the Three Bears" was written by English writer Robert Southey and published in 1837. Southey probably heard a version of the story as a boy from his uncle William Tyler. It was this version that was probably the basis for his story. 

A very similar version of the story predates Southey's published version. In 1831, a lady named Eleanor Mure wrote the story in rhyming verse for her nephew's fourth birthday. 

In both Southey's and Mure's versions, the character who enters the bears' house is an ugly old woman. The two versions differ only in some small details.

The story of the three bears resembles parts of "Snow White", or a story from Norway about a princess and three princes dressed in bear skins.

Charles Dickens included a story about goblins in his 1865 novel named "Our Mutual Friend" that resembles "The Three Bears". 

A story called "Scrapefoot" may be the original for "The Three Bears". This story has a fox (not a human) as the intruder in the bears' house.

Scapefoot

In this magical forest, where animals conversed and ancient tales unfolded, the paths of the Three Bears and Scrapefoot would have to cross. When their paths meet, they lead to adventures, lessons, and unexpected twists.

Scrapefoot by Joseph Jacobs 1894 - A story called "Scrapefoot" may be the source of the original fairy tale "The Three Bears". This story has a fox (not a human) as the intruder.

In this version, there were three Bears that lived in a castle in the woods. One of them was a great big Bear, and one was a middling Bear, and one was a little Bear. And in the same wood there was a Fox who lived all alone, his name was Scrapefoot.

Scrapefoot was very much afraid of the Bears. In spite  of this, he wanted very much to know all about them. One day while wondering through the wood he found himself near the Bears' Castle, and he wondered whether he could get into the castle.

And then.....................

An illustration from More English Fairy Tales (1894) shows Scrapefoot (a fox) falling from a window.

And Finally the actual story
Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks, a name as beautiful as the golden locks that fell down her shoulders, found herself wandering deep into the woods one sunny morning. The smell of wildflowers and the whispers of the wind in the trees made her drift away from the paths she normally used.

As she ventured further, she saw something that caught her eye. It was a pretty little cottage with smoke curling up from its chimney. The scene painted a picture of warmth and invitation against the serene backdrop of the forest.

Goldilocks, seeing this charming little house, decided to take a look.

She did not know that this was a place where three bears lived. They had just left for a walk while their breakfast cooled.

She was egged on by the blend of her curiosity and the smell of something sweet. Goldilocks approached the cottage door, which was slightly ajar. She called out as her mother had taught her , but received no reply. Stepping inside, she found herself surrounded by the coziness of the bear family’s home.

She saw three bowls of porridge set on a table. Goldilocks, hungry from her wandering through the woods, decided to taste the porridge. She started with the largest bowl, finding it too hot, she then tried the smallest bowl, which was too cold, and finally settled on the middle one, which was just right and she ate it all up.

After eating, Goldilocks noticed three chairs by the hearth. She tested each one. The first was too big, the second was also too big, and the third, apparently just right. Her weight was too much for the little chair and it broke under her.

Even so Goldilocks, feeling drowsy, wandered upstairs where she found three beds. After trials similar to her chair experiments, she dozed off in the smallest bed, which was just right for her.

Meanwhile, the bear family returned from their walk, eager to enjoy their porridge, only to find that someone had disrupted their home. The discovery of the eaten porridge, the broken chair, and finally the sleeping girl in the tiny bed made them angry.

Goldilocks awoke to three pairs of bewildered bear eyes staring down at her. Realizing her mistake, she jumped out of bed, apologized to the bears, and fled back to the safety and rules of her own home, vowing to never let her curiosity lead her into such a predicament again.

"Thats All Folks"

This ends our story about " Goldilocks and the Three Bears", the history and the origin.