Goldilocks and the Three Bears
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while they are away. She eats some of their porridge, sits down on one of their chairs, breaks it, and sleeps in one of their beds. When the bears return and discover her, she wakes up, jumps out of the window, and is never seen again. The second version replaces the old woman with a young girl named Goldilocks, and the third and by far best-known version replaces the bachelor trio with a family of three.
| "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Robert Southey | |
Illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1918, in English Fairy Tales by Flora Annie Steel | |
| Original title | "The Story of the Three Bears" |
| Country | England |
| Genre(s) | Fairy tale |
| Publication | |
| Published in | The Doctor |
| Publication type | Essay and story collection |
| Publisher | Longman, Rees, etc. |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 1837 |
The story has elicited various interpretations and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language.