3 bears and porridge

Goldilocks & the Three Bears

There was once a family of bears who lived in a cosy cottage in the woods. There was a great big Papa Bear, a medium-size Momma Bear, and a little tiny baby bear.

One morning Mama Bear cooked them some porridge for breakfast. As the porridge was too hot to eat, the three bears decided to take a walk in the woods while it cooled.

They had not been gone long when a little girl named Goldilocks came along. She had been picking flowers and had wandered into the woods. When she saw the three bears cottage, she smiled and clapped her hands. “How pretty!” she cried. “I wonder who lives there?” She stood on her toes and peaked in the window. There didn’t seem to be anyone home, so Goldilocks opened the door and went right inside!

The first thing she saw was the table set with three bowls of porridge; a great big bowl for Papa Bear, a medium-size bowl for Momma Bear, and a tiny little bowl for baby bear. “Oh, that porridge smells good!” Goldilocks said. Then, as she was feeling a little hungry, she picked up a spoon and tasted the porridge in the Great Big Bowl.

“OUCH!” she cried, dropping the spoon. “That porridge is MUCH too hot!”

She tasted the porridge in the medium-size bowl. But that porridge was MUCH too cold.

Then she tasted the porridge in the tiny little bowl. “Mmmmmm,” she said. “This porridge is JUST right!” so she ate it all up!

Then Goldilocks saw the three chairs set before the fire; a great big chair for Papa Bear, a medium-size chair for Mamma Bear, and a tiny little chair for Baby Bear. “Oh, it would be nice to sit down for a while!” Goldilocks thought.

So she climbed into the great big chair that belonged to Papa Bear. “Oh, no!” she said. “That chair is MUCH too hard.”

Then she sat in Mamma Bears medium size Chair “Oh, no,” she said. “That chair is MUCH too soft!”

Next, she sat in Baby Bears tiny little chair. “Ahhhh,” she said with a smile. “This chair is JUST right!”

Just then there was a loud CRAAACK! and the little chair broke right through!

Goldilocks stood up and dusted herself off. Then she climbed upstairs to the bedroom. There she saw three beds all in a row. “Oh,” she said, yawning, “I am feeling sleepy.”

So she pulled down the covers and climbed into Papa Bears great big bed. But she quickly jumped down. “That bed is MUCH too hard!” she said.

Then she tried Mamma Bears medium size bed. But it was too soft.

So she climbed into Baby Bears tiny little bed. It was JUST right. Soon Goldilocks was fast asleep!

A little while later the Three Bears returned from their walk. They were feeling very hungry and were looking forward to eating the nice bowls of tasty porridge.

Suddenly Papa cried out in his great big voice, “Someone has been eating my porridge!”

Then Mamma cried out in her medium size voice, “Someone has been eating MY porridge!”

And Baby Bear cried out in his tiny little voice, “Some has been eating my porridge. And they’ve eaten it ALL UP!”

Then the Three Bears saw their chairs near the fireplace.

“Someone has been sitting in my chair!” Papa Bear said in his great big voice.

“Someone has been sitting in MY chair!” Mamma Bear said in her medium size voice.

“Someone has been sitting in MY chair,” Baby Bear cried in his tiny little voice. “And now it’s BROKEN!”

Then the Three Bears went upstairs to the bedroom.

“Someone has been sleeping in my bed!” Papa Bear shouted in his great big voice.

“And someone has been sleeping in MY bed!” Mamma Bear exclaimed in her medium size voice.

“Someone has been sleeping in MY bed,” Baby Bear squeaked in his tiny little voice. “AND HERE SHE IS!”

Just then Goldilocks woke up! When she saw the three bears standing around her, she leaped off the bed and ran down the stairs and out the door.

She didn’t stop until she was all the way back home.

And the Three Bears never saw Goldilocks again!

Goldilocks (and the three bears) is an English fairy tale. It was first published in 1837 by British author and poet Robert Southey . The story was before that time already part of English folklore. The story is about three bears and an intrusive old woman. The moral of the story is about egoism, respecting others’ property and the abuse of someone’s hospitality.

Goldilocks was originally an old woman. In a publication from 1849 she was replaced by a young girl. In the course of the twentieth century, she was named Goldilocks. Also, the three bachelor bears by Southey evolved in a family of three bears. What was originally a terrifying story, gradually changing into a charming tale for the whole family.

The Three Bears Porridge Experiment & Size Sorting

Trisha February 10, 2014 Reading, Science

Paul Galdone is February’s featured author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids. Paul Galdone is known for illustrating and adapting classic folk tales and fairy tales. We enjoyed reading his versions of the classics. This month we’re highlighting The Three Bears with a porridge experiment and size sorting activity. Amazon affiliate links are included below.

The Three Bears by Paul Galdone

The Three Bears by Paul Galdone is the familiar story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The bears go off on a walk while their porridge cools. Goldilocks intrudes upon their house and makes herself right at home eating the porridge, breaking baby bear’s {or the Little Wee Bear in Galdone’s version} chair, and sleeping in their beds. The bears come back and realize someone has been in their house. They catch Goldilocks sleeping in baby bear’s bed. Goldilocks jumps out the window and is never seen by the bears again.

The Three Bears Porridge Experiment

At the beginning of the story, Goldilocks tastes each bear’s porridge. She determines that the Great Big Bear’s bowl is too hot, the Middle-sized Bear’s bowl is too cold, and the Little Wee Bear’s bowl is just right. Have you ever thought about if this makes sense? Should the larger bowl have the hottest porridge? Should the middle-sized bowl have the coldest porridge? Why does the smallest bowl have porridge that is just right? We set up an experiment to test the results.

I made some oatmeal and scooped it into three different sized bowls. I placed 1/3 cup of oatmeal in the smallest bowl, 1/3 cup of oatmeal in the middle-sized bowl, and 2/3 cup of oatmeal in the largest bowl. {We figured the daddy bear would eat more than the others.} We didn’t add anything else to the oatmeal.

We measured the temperature of the center of the oatmeal with a digital probe thermometer. The small bowl was 170.6°F, the middle-sized bowl was 174.2°F, and the large bowl was 181.4°F.

We measured the temperatures again every 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the small bowl was 150.6°F, the middle-sized bowl was 143.9°F, and the large bowl was 162.5°F. The middle bowl is the coolest? Maybe Goldilocks was right…

After 10 minutes, the small bowl was 121.6°F, the middle-sized bowl was 128.7°F, and the large bowl was 141.8°F.

After 15 minutes, the small bowl was 101.5°F, the middle-sized bowl was 110.5°F, and the large bowl was 122.2°F.

Our results show that the smallest bowl had the lowest temperature {except for after 5 minutes}. Why would Goldilocks have different results? Maybe the middle-sized bowl’s porridge was more spread out in the bowl – more surface area should cool the porridge faster. Maybe Mama Bear was the only one to add milk to her porridge. This would cool down the porridge for sure. What other explanations can you think of? As long as the bears were gone, all of their porridge would have been cold. What were they thinking??

If you repeat this experiment, do let us know your results! The more data we have, the more reliable our results can be.

The Three Bears Size Sorting

Sorting is a great activity for practicing classification skills. In this activity, I asked Aiden to sort the bears’ bowls, chairs, and beds by size. Aiden requested to sort the books the bears were reading as well. I just used clipart for the bowls, chairs, books, and beds. I drew the bear on the computer myself. You are welcome to download the Three Bears for personal or classroom use. Then, just grab some clipart to create your own size sorting activity.

Aiden cut apart the objects. Then, he sorted them by size onto the different bears.

He also recreated a scene from the book. He chose 3 different sized bears from his room and placed them in three different sized chairs. He added 3 different sized books for the bears to read.

Virtual Book Club for Kids Co-Hosts

Here are the blogs co-hosting the Virtual Book Club for Kids. Be sure to see what Paul Galdone books and activities they chose.

Toddler Approved– The Educators’ Spin On It– Rainy Day Mum– 3 Dinosaurs– Learn~Play~Imagine – Crafty Moms Share – Reading Confetti– Inspiration Laboratories – Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas – Kids Yoga Stories – Enchanted Homeschooling Mom– Ready-Set-Read – Boy Mama Teacher Mama – PlayDrMom – Fantastic Fun and Learning – Growing Book by Book– Royal Baloo – The Outlaw Mom® Blog – Kitchen Counter Chronicles – Teach Preschool – Mama Smiles – Coffe Cups and Crayons – Juggling With Kids – Here Come the Girls

Now it’s your turn! Link up your posts about a Paul Galdone book you read and your related activity {project, craft, recipe, etc. }.

Disclosure: Amazon links are affiliate links. See disclosure policy for more info.

Fairy tale "Three Bears". Read online.

Once upon a time there were three bears. They all lived together in the forest, in their own house. One of them was a small, tiny baby bear, the other was a medium-sized bear, and the third was a big, hefty bear. Each had his own pot for oatmeal: the tiny little bear cub had a small pot, the average bear had a medium pot, the big, hefty bear had a huge pot. Each bear sat in its own chair: a tiny little baby bear in a small chair, a medium bear in a medium chair, and a big, hefty bear in a huge chair. And they each slept on their own bed: a tiny little baby bear on a small bed, a medium-sized bear on a medium bed, a big, hefty bear on a huge bed.

Once the bears cooked oatmeal porridge for breakfast, put it in pots, and went for a walk in the forest: the porridge had to be chilled; otherwise they would eat it hot, it would burn their whole mouth.

While they were walking in the forest, a little old woman came up to the house. She was not very good, this old woman: first she looked through the window, then through the keyhole: she saw that there was no one in the house, and lifted the latch. The door was not locked. Yes, the bears never locked it up - they were kind bears: they themselves did not offend anyone and did not expect resentment for themselves.

The little old woman opened the door and entered. And how happy she was when she saw porridge on the table! If she were a good old woman, she would, of course, wait for the bears, and they would probably treat her to breakfast. After all, they were good bears, rude, though, like all bears, but good-natured and hospitable. But the old woman was not good, unscrupulous, and without asking she began to eat.

At first she tried porridge from a pot of a large, hefty bear, but the porridge seemed too hot to her, and the old woman said: “Rubbish!” Then she tasted porridge from the pot of the middle bear, but his porridge seemed to her to be completely cold, and the old woman again said: “Rubbish!” Then she set to work on the porridge of a tiny, tiny baby bear cub. This porridge turned out to be not hot, not cold, but just right, and the little old woman liked it so much that she began to gobble it up on both cheeks and cleaned the whole pot to the bottom. However, the nasty old woman called this porridge a bad word: the pot was too small, the old woman did not have enough porridge.

Then the old woman sat down in the chair of a big, hefty bear, but it seemed to her too hard. She moved into the chair of the middle bear, but it seemed to her too soft. Finally, she plopped down in the armchair of a tiny, tiny baby bear cub, and it seemed to her not hard, not soft, but just right. So she sat down in this armchair - she sat, she sat until she pushed the seats and - slap! - straight to the floor. The nasty old woman got up and called the armchair a swear word.

Then the old woman ran upstairs to the bedroom where all three bears were sleeping. At first she lay down on the bed of a big, hefty bear, but it seemed to her too high in her heads. Then she lay down on the bed of the middle bear, but this one seemed too high in her legs. Finally, she lay down on the bed of a tiny, tiny baby bear cub, and the bed was not too high either in the head or in the legs, but just right. Here the old woman took refuge warmer and fell asleep soundly.

By that time, the bears decided that the porridge had already cooled down and returned home for breakfast. The big, hefty bear looked at his pot, sees a spoon in the porridge: the old woman left it there. And the bear roared with his loud, rough, terrible voice:

SOMEONE ate my porridge!

The average bear also looked at his pot, sees, and there is a spoon in his porridge.

The bears had wooden spoons, and if they were silver, the nasty old woman would certainly have pocketed them.

And the average bear said in his middle voice, not loud, not quiet:

SOMEONE ate my porridge!

And the tiny little baby bear looked at his pot and saw that there was a spoon in the pot, and the porridge was gone. And he squeaked in a thin, thin, quiet voice:

Someone ate my porridge and ate it all!

Then the bears guessed that someone had climbed into their house and eaten all the porridge of a tiny, tiny baby bear cub. And they began to look for the thief in all corners. Here is a big, hefty bear noticed that a hard pillow lies crookedly in his chair - her old woman moved when she jumped up. And a big, hefty bear roared in his loud, rough, scary voice:

SOMEONE IS IN MY ARMCHAIR!

The old woman crushed the soft pillow of the average bear. And the average bear said with his not loud, not quiet, but medium voice:

SOMEONE IS IN MY CHAIR!

You already know what the old woman did with the armchair. And the little, tiny baby bear cub squeaked with his thin, thin, quiet voice:

Someone was sitting in my chair and pushed the seat!

We must look further, the bears decided and went upstairs to the bedroom. He saw a big, hefty bear that his pillow was out of place - her old woman moved - and roared in his loud, rough, scary voice:

SOMEONE SLEEPING IN MY BED!

The middle bear saw that his roller was out of place - it was the old woman who moved it - and said in his middle voice, not loud, not quiet, but medium:

SOMEONE WAS SLEEPING ON MY BED!

And the little, tiny baby bear went up to his bed, saw: the cushion was in place, the pillow was also in place, and on the pillow was the ugly, grubby head of a little old woman, and she was by no means in the right place: there was no need for the nasty old woman climb the bears!

And the little, tiny baby bear cub squeaked with his thin, thin, quiet voice:

Someone was sleeping on my bed and is sleeping now!

The little old woman heard through her sleep the loud, rough, scary voice of a big, hefty bear, but she slept so soundly that it seemed to her that it was the wind or the thunder roaring. She heard not a loud, not a quiet, but an average voice of an average bear, but it seemed to her that it was someone mumbling in her sleep. And as soon as she heard the thin, thin, quiet voice of a tiny, tiny baby bear cub, so sonorous, so piercing, she immediately woke up. She opened her eyes and saw three bears standing by the very bed. She jumped up and rushed to the window.

The window was just open, because our three bears, like all good, clean bears, always ventilated the bedroom in the morning. Well, the little old woman jumped out; and whether she broke her neck, or got lost in the woods, or got out of the woods, but the constable took her away and took her to a house of correction for vagrancy, I cannot tell you. Only all three bears never saw her again.

Water blocked
Thomas the Rhymer
Fox and Kestrel
The Jeep and the Walgrave Witch
Source at World's End

↑ Up

Three Bears - Russian Folk Tale

Russian Folk Tale

In , one village was a little girl. And her name was Mashenka.

Mashenka was a good girl, but the trouble is that she was not very obedient. Once Mashenka's parents went to the market in the city, and she was told not to leave the house anywhere, to take care of the housework. But Mashenka did not listen to them, and ran away into the forest. She walked, walked through the forest, ran through the clearings, picked flowers. Gathered berries and mushrooms, and did not notice how lost in the forest. She, of course, was very upset, but did not burst into tears. Because you can't help grief with tears. And Mashenka began to look for her way home. She walked through the forest, walked, and came across some kind of hut.

If Mashenka had known who lived in this hut, she would not have approached her for any reason, but would have run in the other direction. Yes, but she didn’t know that she came across a house in which three bears lived. The bear's father's name was Mikhail Potapovich. He was huge and shaggy. The bear's mother's name was Nastasya Petrovna, she was smaller in size and not so shaggy. And the little bear cub, whose name was Mishutka, was completely funny and harmless.

Mother Nastasya Petrovna cooked delicious semolina porridge. The bears wanted to eat it with raspberries. They all went to the forest to pick berries for dinner. And there was no one at home at the time.

Mashenka came up to the hut and knocked on the door. But no one answers her and does not open the door. There was no one at home, the bears all went into the forest. Then Masha went into the house herself and began to look around. There were two rooms in the hut. There was a huge table in the first room. There were chairs at the table. A snow-white tablecloth is spread out on the table, and plates are arranged on it. When Mashenka saw the plates on the table, she really wanted to eat, because she wandered through the forest for a long time and had not eaten for a very long time. She, of course, knew that without asking you can not take anything from someone else. But the porridge in the bowls smelled so delicious... And Mashenka could not resist.

Mashenka sat down on the biggest chair, took the biggest spoon, and tried the porridge from the biggest plate. Mashenka really liked the porridge, but the spoon turned out to be very uncomfortable. Then Masha moved to the middle chair. And she began to eat porridge from an average plate, an average spoon. The porridge was very tasty too. Only Masha was very uncomfortable to sit on the middle chair. And then she moved to the smallest chair, took the smallest spoon and ate all the porridge from a small blue plate. And she liked this porridge so much that when she had finished everything, she began to lick the rest of the porridge from the plate with her tongue. Even though I knew it couldn't be done. And Masha's little blue plate slipped out of her hands, fell to the floor, and broke!

Masha leaned under the table to see what was with the plate, and at that moment the legs of the chair broke, and she ended up on the floor following the plate.

Mashenka got up from the floor and went to see what was in the other room. And in the second room, the three bears had a bedroom. Mashenka saw that there were three beds in the room. Big, small and very small.

She decided to lie down on the big bed first. The pillows on the large bed seemed uncomfortable to her. Then Masha moved to the middle bed. But there the blanket was too big for her. Finally, Mashenka lay down on a small bed. Everything suited her there. And she fell fast asleep.

Meanwhile, the bears returned home. They picked up raspberries, worked up an appetite. They entered the house, washed their paws and began to sit down at the table - to have dinner. They look: and they seem to have someone visiting!

Mikhail Potapovich looked at his chair, and how he roared:

— Who was sitting on my chair and moved it from its place?

Nastasya Petrovna looked at her chair, and after her husband cried out:

— And who was sitting on my chair and moved him?

And little Mishutka saw his broken chair and cried in a thin voice:

— And who was sitting on my chair and broke it???

Mikhail Potapovich looked at his plate, and how he roared:

— Who ate porridge from my plate?

Nastasya Petrovna looked into her cup, and let's also shout:

— And who ate porridge from my plate?

And little Mishutka saw his favorite blue plate broken on the floor and cried even harder:

— And who ate all my porridge and broke my favorite plate?

Three bears went to the bedroom.

Mikhail Potapovich looked at his bed, and how he roared:

— Who was lying on my bed and crushed it?

And Nastasya Petrovna followed him:

— And who was lying on my bed and wrinkled it? And only little Mishutka said nothing. Because I saw Mashenka on my bed. Mashenka woke up at that time, saw three bears and was very frightened. Then Mishutka says to her:

- Don't be afraid of us, girl, we are kind bears, we don't offend people. Mashenka calmed down, stopped being afraid of bears. She felt ashamed, and she asked the bears for forgiveness for the porridge she had eaten, the broken plate, the broken chair and the rumpled beds. She asked for forgiveness and began to correct her mistakes herself. She swept the fragments of the plate from the floor, made the beds. And then she helped Mikhail Potapovich to repair Mishutkin's chair.

After that, the three bears treated Masha to raspberries and helped her find her way home.