The Story of the Three Bears was originally written in 1831 by Eleanor Mure for her nephew’s fourth birthday. In her version, a pushy old lady with silver hair breaks in to the home of three bears, hoping to dominate them. She won’t leave so the bears try to burn her and drown her but are unsuccessful. Finally, they impale her on a church steeple. This suggests she was a witch! Praise be that this version didn’t come down to us. Through the decades, the story kept the bears, but changed the intruder into a little girl with golden hair. Early on she brought the bears to her grandmother’s house, to try to civilize them. But, this is the tale as it exists today.

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Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed. So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

"This porridge is too cold," she said. So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.

After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts, she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest.

"This chair is too big!" she exclaimed. So she sat in the second chair.

"This chair is too big, too!" she whined. So she tried the last and smallest chair.

"Ahhh, this chair is just right," she sighed. But just as she settled down into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!

Goldilocks was very tired by this time and she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right. Goldilocks fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," growled the Papa bear.
"Someone's been eating my porridge," said the Mama bear.
"Someone's been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!" cried the Baby bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," growled the Papa bear.
"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said the Mama bear.
"Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken it to pieces," cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom.
Papa bear growled, "Someone's been sleeping in my bed.”
"Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too" said the Mama bear.
"Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there!" exclaimed the Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up. She saw the three bears and screamed, "Help!" Then she jumped up and ran out of the room and down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest. She never returned to the home of the three bears.