Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a fairy tale first published by Robert Southey in 1837 in England, London. The tale written by Southey was named "The Story of the Three Bears":

### Plot

Three anthropomorphic bachelor bears ("a Little, Small, Wee Bear, a Middle-sized Bear, and a Great, Huge Bear") live in a cottage in the woods and eat porridge everyday after walking outside while it cools.

One day, an old ugly hag breaks into their house, and begins testing each of the bears' porridge while they are out walking: she decides the smallest bear's porridge is the right temperature, and eats it all. She then decides that the smallest bear's armchair is the most comfy, ultimately breaking it as she rests on it, and sleeps on the most comfy bed –the smallest bear's.

When the bears return, they discover the destruction the hag caused, and find her sleeping in a bed. The hag is startled and jumps out of the window never to be seen again.

In the version written by Eleanor Mure, the bears have milk instead of porridge, the hag enters because her courtesy visit is rebuffed instead of because she smelt the porridge, and at the end the hag is impaled by a steeple on St-Paul's Cathedral.

In 1849, Joseph Cundall changed the old hag into a pretty young girl in his book *Treasury of Pleasure Books for Young Children;* his reasonings werethat the tale had grown more familiar with a young girl as the antagonist, and there were many tales about old women circulating.

From then on, the young girl was present in the tale instead of the old hag, and was given a variety of names over the years, all referring to her hair:

* Silver Hair; *Harlequin and The Three Bears/Little Silver Hair and the Fairies;* J.B. Buckstone; **1853**
* Silver-locks; *Aunt Mavor's Nursery Tales;* **1858**
* Silverhair; *The Golden Key;* George MacDonald; **1867**
* Golden Hair; *Aunt Friendly's Nursery Book;* **1868**
* Goldenlocks; *Little Golden-Hair;* **1889**
* Goldilocks; *Old Nursery Stories and Rhymes;* **1904**

In some versions, she simply jumps out the window in shock, but in some she is almost eaten by the bears, or her mother comes to rescue her and she vows to behave appropriately.

In addition, the three bachelor bears are changed into siblings and a small friend in Dulcken's 1958 version, and then into father, mother and son in 1878 *Mother Goose's Fairy Tales* by Routledge, named Rough Bruin, Mammy Muff and Tiny respectively, then later, simply Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Little Boy Bear. This gradual change most likely occurred because young children could empathise more with a family and a little girl compared to a couple of males and an old hag worthy of the House of Correction.

The original tale has been slightly changed over the years, such as after 1852, the mention of the bottom hitting the floor as the chair broke was removed due to the prudish Victorian society. However, most changes were done to make the story more friendly overall, with only a hint of menace.

### Similar Tales

A similar tale named *Scrapefoot* is extremely similar in content – the only difference is that the antagonist is a vixen and the bears live in a castle! It is possible that Southey believed that the vixen described an old woman instead of a fox, so unintentionally created his own tale.

in 1865, Charles Dickens references a tale in *Our Mutural Friend* wherein the content is similar, only that the bear roles are played by hobgoblins.

Folklorists Lona and Peter Opie pointed out that there is a similar Norweigan tale about a princess who takes refuge in a cave inhabited by three Russian princes dressed in bearskins. She eats their food and hides under a bed.