<Tr> <Th> Publication date </Th> <Td> 1837 </Td> </Tr> <P> "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and the older still "The Story of the Three Bears" are two variations of a 19th - century fairy tale . The original tale tells of a badly - behaved old woman who enters the forest home of three bachelor bears whilst they are away . She sits in their chairs, eats some of their porridge, and sleeps in one of their beds . When the bears return and discover her, she starts up, jumps from the window, and is never seen again . The other major version brings Goldilocks to the tale (replacing the old woman), and an even later version retained Goldilocks, but has the three bachelor bears transformed into Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear . </P> <P> What was originally a frightening oral tale became a cozy family story with only a hint of menace . The story has elicited various interpretations and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media . "The Story of the Three Bears" is one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language . </P> <P> 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 . Southey describes them as very good - natured, trusting, harmless, tidy, and hospitable . Each of these "bachelor" bears has his own porridge bowl, chair, and bed . One day they make porridge for breakfast, but it's too hot to eat, so they take a walk in the woods while their porridge cools . An old woman approaches the bears' house . As she has been sent out by her family, she is a disgrace to them . She is impudent, bad, foul - mouthed, ugly, dirty, and a vagrant deserving of a stint in the House of Correction . She looks through a window, peeps through the keyhole, and lifts the latch . Assured that no one is home, she walks in . The old woman eats the Wee Bear's porridge, then settles into his chair and breaks it . Prowling about, she finds the bears' beds and falls asleep in Wee Bear's bed . The dark end of the tale is reached when the bears return . Wee Bear finds his empty bowl, his broken chair, and the old woman in his bed and cries, "Somebody has been lying in my bed, and here she is!" The old woman wakes, jumps out the window and is never seen again . </P>

What is the meaning of goldilocks and the three bears