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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Summary

Summary  Joseph Jacobs

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacob, but first written by Robert Southey. This is a story about a little, mischievous girl who broke into the three bears' house, ate their porridge, sat in their chairs, and slept in their beds.

Further study

  • Goldilocks Book
  • Goldilocks Analysis
  • Goldilocks Characters
  • Joseph Jacobs Biography

Once upon a time, there were three bears, who lived in a small house in a wood. One of them was a Great Big Bear, the other was a Middle-sized Bear and the small one was a Little, Wee Bear. They each had a pot for their porridge; a big pot for the Great Big Bear, a middle-sized pot for the Middle-sized Bear, and a small pot for the Little Wee Bear. They also each had a chair to sit in - a big chair for the Great Big Bear, a middle-sized chair for the Middle-sized Bear, and a little chair for the Little Wee Bear. As well as they each had a bed to sleep in - a big bed for the Great Big Bear, a middle-sized bed for the Middle-sized Bear, and a small bed for the Little Wee Bear.

One morning, after they made pots full of porridge for breakfast, they decided to walk out into the forest until their porridge cooled down so that they don't burn their mouths by eating too soon, as they were courteous and gallant bears.

A little girl named Goldilocks lived on the other side of the forest. Her mother asked her to run some errands, so she passed by the bears' house while they were away on a walk. She peeked through the window and peeped in at the keyhole, as she was a nosy little girl. After she saw that nobody was in the house, she entered the house. The door was not locked as the bears who lived there were good bears who didn't want any harm and never thought that anyone would harm them either.

So Goldilocks went into the house and was very happy when she saw the pots full of porridge on the table. If she was a mannered girl as the bears' were, she would have waited for the bears to come home, but she wasn't. She was a rude, impudent little girl who helped herself and tasted the porridge.

First, she tasted the porridge from the big pot that belonged to the Great Big Bear, but it was too hot for her so she left it. Then, she tasted the porridge from the middle-sized pot that belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, but it was a bit too cold for her, so she left that one too. In the end, she tasted the porridge from the little pot that belonged to the Little Wee Bear and it was just right for her, neither too cold nor too hot. She liked it so much that she ate every bit.

Soon, Goldilocks was tired, because she's been catching butterflies all morning instead of doing errands like her mother asked her to do, so she sat down on a big chair that belonged to the Great Big Bear, but it was not comfortable, it was too hard for her. Then, she tried to sit down on a middle-sized chair that belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, but that one was too soft for her. But when she sat on a small chair that belonged to the Little Wee Bear it was perfect! Neither too soft nor too hard. So Goldilocks was sitting there for a while until the base of the chair came out. Since she was not comfortable anymore, she plumped upon the ground and decided she could get some rest. She was a bad-tempered girl.

Goldilocks went upstairs into the room where the three bears slept. First, she tried to lay down on a big bed that belonged to the Great Big Bear, but the head of the bed was too high for her, so she decided to try the middle-sized bed that belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, but it was too high at the foot. So she lay down on a small bed where the Little Wee Bear slept and that one was just right for her. Neither too high at the foot nor too high at the head. She covered herself and soon she fell asleep as she was comfortable.

At that time, the three bears thought that their porridge would be cooled down enough for them to eat it, so they decided to go home for breakfast. Since Golidocks left the wooden spoon in the big pot, the Great Big Bear saw that someone's been tasting his porridge. Just to note that if it was a silver spoon, Goldilocks would've probably taken her and put it in her pocket, as she was a mischievous little girl.

"Somebody's been eating my porridge!" - said the Great Big Bear with his gruff, rough great voice.

The Middle-sized Bear looked at his pot and saw the same.

"Somebody's been eating my porridge!" - said the Middle-sized Bear with his middle-sized voice.

Then the Little Wee Bear looked at his pot, and saw that all porridge was gone!

"Somebody has eaten all my porridge!" - said the Little Wee Bear with his little voice.

Not the three bears knew that someone's been in their house, so they searched for that person. Since reckless Goldilocks forgot to put the hard chair cushion straight, the Great Big Bear noticed that someone's been sitting in his chair.

"Somebody's been sitting in my chair!" - said the Great Big Bear with his gruff, rough great voice.

The reckless Goldilocks also forgot to straighten up the soft cushion after she squatted it down, so the Middle-sized Bear also noticed that somebody's been sitting in his chair.

"Somebody's been sitting in my chair!" - said the Middle-sized Bear with his Middle-sized voice.

Since Goldilocks was so mischievous and sat in the base of the small chair, the Little Wee Bear noticed that somebody's been sitting in his chair also.

"Somebody's been sitting in my chair and sat in the base of the chair!" - said the Little Wee Bear with his little voice.

Then the bears decided to look further and went upstairs. Since Goldilocks pulled the great pillow out of its place, the Great Big Bear noticed that someone's been lying in his bed.

"Somebody's been lying in my bed!" - said the Great Big Bear with his gruff, rough, great voice.

Goldilocks also pulled the bolster on the middle-sized bed so the Middle-sized Bear noticed that someone's been lying on his bed.

"Somebody's been lying in my bed!" - said the Middle-sized Bear with his middle-sized voice.

But when the Little Wee Bear looked at his bed, he saw that the pillow was there, but placed upon the bolster. And upon the pillow, there was a little girl, a yellow, golden head sleeping in his bed.

"Somebody's been lying in my bed - and she's still here!" - said the Little, Wee Bear with this little voice.

Since Goldilocks was a hard sleeper, she didn't wake up when she heard the gruff, rough, great voice as she thought it was thunder or a roaring wind. And she also didn't wake up when she heard the middle-sized voice of the Middle-sized Bear as she thought that someone's been speaking to her in her dream. But when she heard the little, shrill and sharp voice of the Little Wee Bear she awakened immediately.

Seeing the three bears standing beside one side of the bed, she was so scared that she plunged herself to the other side of the bed and jumped through the window. The window was open, of course, as the bears open it every morning to freshen up the air. So frightened, naughty Golidocks jumped through the window and ran into the woods and the bear never saw her again.

Whether she got lost there or broke her neck, or maybe she managed to find her way out of the woods and got whipped by her mom for being a bad girl, nobody knows.

Further study

  • Goldilocks Book
  • Goldilocks Analysis
  • Goldilocks Characters
  • Joseph Jacobs Biography

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