“Somebody has been lying in my bed!”
said the Great, Hugo Bear in his great, rough, gruff voice
And the little old Woman had pulled the bolster of the Middle Bear out of its place.
“Somebody has been lying in my bed!”
said the Middle Bear, in his middle voice.
And when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there was the bolster in its place; and the pillow in its place upon the bolster; and upon the pillow was the little old Woman’s ugly, dirty head - which was not in its place, for she had no business there.
“Somebody has been lying in my bed and here she is!”
said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.
The little old Woman had heard in her sleep the great, rough, gruff voice of the Great Huge Bear; but she was so fast asleep that it was no more to her than the roaring of wind or the rumbling of thunder. And she had heard the middle voice of the Middle Bear, but it was only as if she had heard some one speaking in a dream. But when she heard the little, small, wee voice of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, it was so sharp and so shrill that it awakened her at once. Up she started; and when she saw the Three Bears on one side of the bed, she tumbled herself out at the other, and ran to the window.
Now the window was open, because the Bears, like good, tidy Bears, as they were, always opened their bed-chamber window when they got up in the morning. Out the little old Woman jumped; and whether she broke her neck in the fall, or ran into the wood and was lost them, or found her way out of the wood and was taken up by the constable and sent to the House of Correction for a vagrant as she was, I can not tell. But the Three Bears never saw any thing more of her.
1837 Poem by George Nicol
DEDICATION.
Unknown Author of “The Doctor,”
Great, original Concotor
Of the rare story of the Bears,
Their porridge-pots, their beds and chairs,
Which you with condescending pen,
To please “Good little women and men,”
Have writ — I pray you to excuse
The freedom of my rhyming muse,
For having ventured to rehearse
This tale of your’s in jingling verse;
But fearing in your book it might
Escape some little people’s sight,
I did not like that one should lose
What will them all so much amuse.
“The robb’d that smiles” — so Shakspeare wrote —
“Steals something from the thief.” I quote
This line in hope that you will smile
Upon this little book, the while
You turn the leaves and pictures view,
Which a young skilful artist drew,
Who quite delighted with the story
Employ’d his pencil, con amore —
Thus hoping, Sir, I’ve but to state
That it, with admiration great
And much respect, I dedicate
To you, and am, — whate’er your name,
Which some day will be known to fame,
Though hidden now from public ken, —
Your humble copyist,
G. N.
July, 1837.
THE THREE BEARS.
Three Bears, once on a time, did dwell
Snug in a house together,
Which was their own, and suited well
By keeping out the weather.
’Twas seated in a shady wood,
In which they daily walk’d,
And afterwards, as in the mood,
They smok’d and read, or talk’d.
One of them was a great huge Bear,
And one of a middle size,
The other a little, small, wee Bear,
Withsmall red twinkling eyes.
These Bears, each had a porridge-pot,
From which they used to feed;
The great huge Bear’s own porridge-pot
Was very large indeed.
A pot of a middle-size the Bear
Of a middle-size had got,
And so the little, small, wee Bear,
A little, small, wee pot.
A chair there was for every Bear,
When they might choose to sit;
The huge Bear had a great huge chair,
And filled it every bit.
The middle Bear a chair had he
Of a middle-size and neat;
The Bear so little, small, and wee
A little, small, wee seat.
They, also, each one had a bed
To sleep upon at night:
The huge Bear’s was a great, huge bed,
In length, and width, and height.
The middle Bear laid down his head
On a bed of middle-size;
The wee Bear on a small, wee bed
Did nightly close his eyes.
One morn their porridge being made
And pour’d into each pot,
To taste it they were all afraid
It seem’d so boiling hot.
“A burnt child dreads the fire” — A Bear
Doth dread it just as much,
As these Bears proved, in taking care
Their porridge not to touch,
For they most cautious had become
From having once before
Their mouths severely burnt with some,
Which made them dance and roar!
They, therefore, let their breakfast be
Till it should cooler grow —
And meantime for a walk the three
Into the wood did go.
And now a little old woman there
Came, whilst the Bears were out;
Through window, keyhole, everywhere,
She peep’d and peer’d about:
And then she lifted up the latch
And through the door she went,
For hold of all she could to snatch
No doubt was her intent.
The bears had left the door undone
Whilst strolling in the wood,
For they suspected harm from none
They were, themselves, so good.
The little old Dame had entered in,
And was well pleased to find
The porridge-pots, and that within
They held food of such kind.
Now has she waited till home came
The bears, most likely they
To breakfast might have asked the Dame,
And begg’d of her to stay.
But she was impudent and bold,
And cared for none a pin;
So quickly of a spoon laid hold
The porridge to dip in.
And first out of the great Bear’s Pot
The porridge she did taste,
Which proving to be very hot
She spat it out in haste.
She burn’d her mouth, at which half mad
She said a naughty word;
A naughty word it was and bad,
As ever could be heard.
The middle Bear’s she tasted next,
Which being rather cold,
She disappointed was, and vext,
And with bad words did scold.
But now to where the small, wee Bear
Had left his small, wee cup
She came, and soon the porridge there
By her was eaten up.
A wicked word she spoke again
As wicked as before,
Because this pot did not contain
Many a spoonful more.
Then down the little old woman sat
Within the huge Bear’s chair,
But much too hard for her was that,
And so she staid not there.
Next she tried the middle-sized one
And that too soft she found;
Then sat the small, wee chair upon,
Which fitted her all round.
Now here for sometime
sat the Dame
Till half inclined to snore,
When out this wee chair’s bottom came
And her’s came to the floor
A wicked word about this too
She spoke — then went up-stairs,
And poked her ugly head into
The bed-room of the Bears.
And down upon the huge Bear’s bed
She lay, which was too high
To suit her little ugly head,
Which easy could not lie.
Then to the middle Bear’s she goes
And quick upon it got,
But at the foot too high it rose,
And so she liked it not.
Now down upon the small wee bed
She lay, and it was quite
The thing, both at the foot and head,
And fitted her just right.
Thus finding that it suited well
Within the clothes she crept;
Then into a slumber fell
And snug and soundly slept.
Although the morning sun shone bright
And birds did sweetly sing,
She slept, as if it had been night,
This sad, old, lazy thing.
The three Bears in their jackets rough
Now came in from the wood,
Thinking their porridge long enough
To cool itself had stood.
“Somebody has at my porridge been!”
The huge Bear’s gruff voice cried;
For there the spoon was sticking in,
Which he left at the side.
“Somebody has at my Porridge been!”
Then said the middle Bear,
For also in his pot was seen
The spoon, which made him stare.
These spoons were wooden spoons, not made
Of silver, else full soon
This wicked Dame would, I’m afraid,
Have pocketed each spoon.
The small Bear’s small voice said, as in
He peer’d to his wee cup,
“Somebody has at my porridge been,
And eaten it all up!”
On this the three Bears finding that
The while they had been out,
Some one the door had entered at
Began to look about.
“Somebody in my chair has sat!”
With voice so gruff and great
The huge Bear said, when he saw that
His cushion was not straight.
“Somebody in my chair has been!”
The middle Bear exclaim’d;
Seeing the cushion dinted in
By what may not be named.
Then said the little small wee Bear,
Looking his chair into,
“Some one’s been sitting in my chair,
And sat the bottom through!
Now having search’d the house below
Most Prudently these Bears,
Thought it just as well to go
And do the same up-stairs.
“Some one’s been lying in my bed!”
Cried out the great huge Bear,
Who left his pillow at the head
And now it was not there.
“Some one’s been lying in my bed!”
The middle Bear then cried,
For it was tumbled at the head
And at the foot and side.
And Now the little wee Bear said
With voice both small and shrill,
“Some one’s been lying in my bed —
And here she’s lying still !”
The other Bears look’d at the bed,
And on the pillow-case
They saw her little dirty head
And little ugly face.
The little old woman had the deep
Voice of the huge Bear heard,
But she was in so sound a sleep
She neither woke nor stirr’d:
For it appear’d to her no more
Than thunder rumbling by,
Or than the angry winds, which roar,
And sweep along the sky.
And she had heard the middle Bear,
Whose middle voice did seem
To her asleep, as though it were
The voice but of a dream.
But when the small, wee Bear did speak,
She started up in bed,
His voice it was so shrill, the squeak
Shot through her ugly head.
She rubb’d her eyes, and when she saw
The three bears at her side,
She sprang full quick upon the floor —
And then with hop and stride
She to the open window flew,
Which these good tidy Bears
Wide open every morning threw,
When shaved they went down stairs.
She lept out with a sudden bound,
And whether in her fall
She broke her neck upon the ground,
Or was not hurt at all,
Or whether to the wood she fled
And ‘mongst the trees was lost,
Or found a path which straightway led
To where the highways cross’d,
And there was by the Beadle caught
And taken into jail —
This sad old woman good for naught! —
Remains an untold tale.
THE END
1849 Silver-Hair Version
In a far-off country there was once a little girl who was called Silver-hair, because her curly hair shone brightly. She was a sad romp, and so restless that she could not be kept quiet at home, but must needs run out and away, without leave.
One day she started off into a wood to gather wild flowers, and into the fields to chase butterflies. She ran here and she ran there, and went so far, at last, that she found herself in a lonely place, where she saw a snug little house, in which three bears lived; but they were not then at home.
The door was ajar, and Silver-hair pushed it open and found the place to be quite empty, so she made up her mind to go in boldly, and look all about the place, little thinking what sort of people lived there.
Now the three bears had gone out to walk a little before this. They were the Big Bear, and the Middle-sized Bear, and the Little Bear; but they had left their porridge on the table to cool. So when Silver-hair came into the kitchen, she saw the three bowls of porridge. She tasted the largest bowl, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too cold; then she tasted the middle-sized bowl, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and found it too hot; then she tasted the smallest bowl, which belonged to the Little Bear, and it was just right, and she ate it all.
She went into the parlour, and there were three chairs. She tried the biggest chair, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too high; then she tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too broad; then she tried the little chair, which belonged to the Little Bear, and found it just right, but she sat in it so hard that she broke it.
Now Silver-hair was by this time very tired, and she went upstairs to the chamber, and there she found three beds. She tried the largest bed, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too soft; then she tried the middle-sized bed, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too hard; then she tried the smallest bed, which belonged to the Little Bear, and found it just right, so she lay down upon it, and fell fast asleep.
While Silver-hair was lying fast asleep, the three bears came home from their walk. They came into the kitchen, to get their porridge, but when the Big Bear went to his, he growled out:
“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY PORRIDGE!”
and the Middle-sized Bear looked into his bowl, and said:
“Somebody Has Been Tasting My Porridge!”
and the Little Bear piped:
“Somebody has tasted my porridge and eaten it all up!”
Then they went into the parlour, and the Big Bear growled:
&n
bsp; “SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!”
and the Middle-sized Bear said:
“Somebody Has Been Sitting In My Chair!”
and the Little Bear piped:
“Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and has broken it all to pieces!”
So they went upstairs into the chamber, and the Big Bear growled:
“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TUMBLING MY BED!”
and the Middle-sized Bear said:
“Somebody Has Been Tumbling My Bed!”
and the little Bear piped:
“Somebody has been tumbling my bed, and here she is!”
At that, Silver-hair woke in a fright, and jumped out of the window and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her, and never went near the Three Bears’ snug little house again.
1903 Golden Hair Version by W. W. Denslow
A LONG time ago in a cottage on the edge of a great forest there dwelt a little girl by the name of Golden Hair; she was an orphan and lived with her grandmother who loved her dearly. The grandmother was very old and so most of the house work was done by Golden Hair; but she was so young and strong she did not mind that a bit, for she had plenty of time to play and was merry the whole day long.
Although little Golden Hair lived far from other children she was never lonesome, for she had many friends and playmates in the wild creatures of the wood. The gentle, soft eyed deer would feed from her hand, and the wild birds would come at her musical call; for she knew their language and loved them well.
Golden Hair had never wandered far into the forest. But one day in the early autumn time, as she was gathering bright leaves and golden rod, she strayed farther than she knew and came upon a lonely, gray cabin under the mighty trees. A slab of wood beside the half open door told who lived within:
Complete Poetical Works of Robert Southey Page 276