<P> In 1865, Charles Dickens referenced a similar tale in Our Mutual Friend, but in that story the house belongs to hobgoblins rather than bears . Dickens' reference however suggests a yet - to - be-discovered analogue or source . Hunting rituals and ceremonies have been suggested and dismissed as possible origins . </P> <P> In 1894, "Scrapefoot", a tale with a fox as antagonist that bears striking similarities to Southey's story, was uncovered by the folklorist Joseph Jacobs and may predate Southey's version in the oral tradition . Some sources state that it was illustrator John D. Batten who in 1894 reported a variant of the tale at least 40 years old . In this version, the three bears live in a castle in the woods and are visited by a fox called Scrapefoot who drinks their milk, sits in their chairs, and rests in their beds . This version belongs to the early Fox and Bear tale - cycle . Southey possibly heard "Scrapefoot", and confused its "vixen" with a synonym for an unpleasant malicious old woman . Some maintain however that the story as well as the old woman originated with Southey . </P> <P> Southey most likely learned the tale as a child from his uncle William Tyler . Uncle Tyler may have told a version with a vixen (female fox) as the intruder, and then Southey may have later confused "vixen" with another common meaning of "a crafty old woman". P.M. Zall writes in "The Gothic Voice of Father Bear" (1974) that "It was no trick for Southey, a consummate technician, to recreate the improvisational tone of an Uncle William through rhythmical reiteration, artful alliteration (' they walked into the woods, while'), even bardic interpolation (' She could not have been a good, honest Old Woman')". Ultimately, it is uncertain where Southey or his uncle learned the tale . </P> <P> Twelve years after the publication of Southey's tale, Joseph Cundall transformed the antagonist from an ugly old woman to a pretty little girl in his Treasury of Pleasure Books for Young Children . He explained his reasons for doing so in a dedicatory letter to his children, dated November 1849, which was inserted at the beginning of the book: </P>

Brothers grimm version of goldilocks and the three bears