Fairy Tales have accompanied me through my entire childhood and did their part in teaching me to believe. The following story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” was written by Robert Southey and originally called “The Story of the Three Bears”. While writing, it reminded me a lot of the story about snow white and the Dwarfs. If you love that story as much as I do, then keep reading!

Robert Southey
Robert Southey was born on the 12th of August 1774 in Bristol, England. He grew up being cared for by his aunt and got an education from Westminster School and Balliol College in Oxford. He did not acquire a degree from college and worked with Samuel Taylor Coleridge for some time instead. In 1795 he got married to Edith Fricker and went to Portugal the same year where he wrote and published “Letters Written During a Short Residence in Spain and Portugal” and studied the literature of these countries. During the years 1797 to 1799, Southey published a second part of his Poems, got published in newspapers and worked on other projects. Robert and Edith Southey had seven kids in total and to feed his family he had to work continuously. From 1809 to 1839 he wrote 95 political articles for the Tory “Quarterly Review”. After his wife’s death in 1837, Southey got remarried and spent his last years struggling with his mental and physical health. “The Doctor” was anonymously published from 1834 to 1847 and included anecdotes such as the story “The Story of the Three Bears”. Robert Southey died on the 21st of March 1843 in Keswick, Cumberland.

Summary
The story is about a girl called Goldilocks walking through a forest. She found a house, knocked on the door and walked in when nobody answered. On the table, she found three bowls of porridge and because she was hungry she started eating it. The first one was too hot, the second too cold and the third had the perfect temperature. After she ate it up she wanted to sit down because she felt tired. The first chair was too big, the second one was also too big and the second one was a good size. After she sat down it broke into pieces. So Goldilocks went to the bedroom and wanted to lie down. The first one was too hard, the second was too soft and the third one was perfect. During her nap, the three bears came back home and noticed that somebody used their things. The Baby bear complained that somebody broke their chair and that somebody is sleeping in their bed. As Goldilocks woke up she got scared, screamed “Help” and ran out of the house. She never came back to the house.

For the original story, click here! https://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/goldilocks_story.htm

Many interpreted the story as a lesson to not wander around alone and invade others’ personal spaces. In addition, it’s thought that Southey wrote the story with his “dirt-obsessed” aunt, who raised him, in mind. I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Robert Southey’s work!