The Story of the Three Bears: Report Extract

This slightly later version of the story is from Aunt Mavor’s Nursery Tales for Good Little People (1856). This is the first version in which the girl is called “Silverlocks,” a name later adapted into the now standard “Goldilocks.” This version of the story does not seem to derive from Southey’s.

A pretty little girl once lived in a country place and the village people called her

Silverlocks, because her curly hair was shining. She was a great romp1 and so full of play2

that no one could keep her quiet at home. One day she ran off into the wood … and she ran

here, and she ran there, and she ran everywhere, till at last she came to a lonely place, and

there she saw a pretty house which some Bears had made, and the door was a little way

open, and so was the parlour3 window, and into the window she peeped and could see

1 Romp = lively, playful girl. 2 Full of play = playful. 3 Parlour = sitting room, living room.

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nobody, and slyly she laughed to think what mischief she might do, and she made up her

mind to go boldly into the house: – that naughty little Puss1 had such a way of her own!2

I told you this was a Bear’s house: – Three Bears lived in it; – the first was the great Papa

Bear as rough as a holly bush, but very good natured for all that! The second was the

middling sized Mamma Bear, as smooth as a muff;3 – the third was a little funny Brown

Bear, their wee-wee4 darling. The house was empty then, because the Papa Bear told

Mamma to wash the tiny Bear’s face and put his fine things on, that all three might have a

healthy walk by the brook side,5 while the rich rabbit soup Mamma Bear had made for

dinner cooled upon the table in the parlour; – so they went out for a walk, and left both

door and window a little open. The Big Bear said, “I am as hungry as hunger can be, I shall

soon be at home again!”

1 Puss = a typical name for a girl. 2 Had such a way of her own! = always did any naughty thing that she thought of! 3 Muff = a hand warmer, cylindrical in shape and usually made of soft fur. 4 Wee-wee = very small. 5 The brook side = the side of the stream.

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In the Bears’ house there were only two rooms, and when Silverlocks went into the house,

there was a smell of something good, and she saw three crocks1 of soup upon the table –

the dinner for the three Bears: – there was a big black crock2 of soup for the Big Bear, – a

china crock of Soup for the Mamma Bear, and a tiny white crock for the least Bear of all,

and to3 every crock there was a deep wooden spoon. The little girl was hungry, and very

full of mischief … and stood looking at the crocks till she made up her mind to have a

meal and care for nobody, then she could run home again and have such a tale to tell old

Mike the Gardener,4 as would make him laugh till Christmas, for he liked mischief, and

taught her tricks I should be ashamed of, and laughed at all her naughty ways, which you

may be sure was not the plan5 to make a good child of her.

1 Crocks = pots (made of clay or metal). 2 A big black crock. The crocks in the picture are all brown and do not match the description in the text. The artist may have worked independently from the writer. 3 To = for. 4 Mike the Gardener = obviously a servant who works for Silverlocks’ parents. 5 Plan = right way.

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First she fell to work1 in a great hurry with the Big Bear’s Soup, but it was so hot it burned

her mouth and throat: then she tried Mamma Bear’s crock but the soup had gone cold and

there was no bread in it, she did not like it at all: then she tried the tiny Bear’s soup, and it

was just hot enough, and had lots of white bread in it, and such rings of sliced onion, and

such warm spicy peppercorns!

There is a cut here. Silver Locks sees three chairs in the room, and tries them all, before settling down on the Little Bear’s chair with his crock of soup. Just as she finishes eating the soup, the chair breaks. She then goes upstairs, finds three beds, tries them all, and finally falls asleep in the Little Bear’s bed.

The Bears came home very tired and went to their soup. “Oh! Oh!” cried the Big Bear,

“who has been to my soup?” “Mercy me!”2 cried the Mamma Bear, “who has meddled

with my soup, and spilled it all about?” But when the Little Bear saw his empty crock upon

the ground, he bit his very paws for grief,3 and said with his tiny voice, “who has been to

my soup, and eaten it all up?” Then the Big Bear with a voice like thunder, said, “who has 1 Fell to work = started (eating). 2 “Mercy me!” = a typical exclamation of surprise like “Goodness me!” or “Oh my God!”3 He bit his very paws for grief = he was so upset he even bit his paws.

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been in my chair and put it out of its place?”4 and the middling sized Bear cried, “Look!

who has been sitting in my chair and left the cushion all awry?”2 but the Little Bear was

very angry indeed, and he sobbed and cried, “who has been sitting in my little chair, and

broken it down to the ground?” “There’s someone in our house Papa; someone upstairs,

Mamma, and I’ll go see.” And upstairs they all went snuffing and grunting pretty loudly.

“Oh! Oh!” said the Great Bear, “someone has been on my bed and turned my pillow

away!”3 and “Dear me!” said the Mamma Bear, “someone has been in my bed, and turned

the coverlet4 all the way down!”

The Little Bear mounted5 a stool and jumped on to the foot6 of his own small bed. “Some

one has been to my bed,” he cried, “and here she is! and here she is!” And he opened his

mouth and looked as fierce and as wicked as could be: now if you7 went to Mamma’s

1 Put it out of its place = moved it. 2 All awry = messed up, not straight. 3 Away = the wrong way. 4 Coverlet = the top cover on a bed.5 Mounted = climbed onto.6 Foot = bottom end.7 You = the child reader.

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looking glass8 in the morning and instead of seeing yourself, you saw an old Bogie2

grinning at you with a mouth full of fire, you would feel as the little girl did when she

woke up from her dream and found herself nose to nose with the angry little Bear! And

was she not afraid when she saw two more Bears in the room? She thought, “Shall I lie still

and be eaten up to my very stays;3 Oh dear no: – I should think not!” The Great Bear had

opened the window, so she slided off the bed, took one jump at the window, and dropped

upon the turf4 below; she rolled over and over a good while, but up she got for she saw the

three Bears at the window, and they made a great noise. In a quarter of an hour she was

safe at home, but she had such a scolding for her pains.5 You see this little girl was nearly

eaten by Bears because she would touch things which did not belong to her.

1 Looking glass = mirror.2 Bogie = goblin. 3 Up to my very stays = completely, except for my corset (“stays” was an old word for a corset). 4 Turf = grass.5 She had such a scolding for her pains = after her efforts to get home quickly, she received a strong telling off.

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