![]() The story of the three bears was in circulation before the publication of Southey's tale. Cundall believed there were already too many tales with old women playing roles in the narrative. In 1849, Joseph Cundall introduced a pretty little girl to the story and dispensed with the old woman. The same year, British writer George Nicol published a version in rhyme based upon Southey's prose tale, with Southey approving Nicol's attempt to give the story more exposure. The story was first recorded in narrative form by British writer and poet Robert Southey, and first published anonymously in 1837 in a volume of his writings called The Doctor. Wee Bear finds the old woman in his bed and cries, "Somebody has been lying in my bed, – and here she is!" The old woman starts up, jumps from the window, and runs away never to be seen again. The climax of the tale is reached when the bears return. Prowling about, she finds the bears' beds and falls asleep in Wee Bear's bed. The old woman eats the Wee Bear's porridge, then settles into his chair and breaks it. Assured that no one is home, she walks in. She looks through a window, peeps through the keyhole, and lifts the latch. She is described at various points in the story as impudent, bad, foul-mouthed, ugly, dirty and a vagrant deserving of a stint in the House of Correction. An old woman approaches the bears' house. ![]() One day they take a walk in the woods while their porridge cools. Each of these "bachelor" bears has his own porridge bowl, chair, and bed. ![]() ![]() Southey describes them as very good-natured, trusting, harmless, tidy, and hospitable. In Southey's tale, three anthropomorphic bears – "a Little, Small, Wee Bear, a Middle-sized Bear, and a Great, Huge Bear" – live together in a house in the woods. ![]()
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