r their breakfast, and
poured it into their porridge-pots, they walked out into the wood
while the porridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths
by beginning too soon to eat it. And while they were walking a little
old woman came to the house. She could not have been a good, honest
old woman; for, first, she looked in at the window, and then she
peeped in at the key-hole; and, seeing nobody in the house, she lifted
the latch. The door was not fastened, because the bears were good
bears, who did nobody any harm, and never suspected that anybody would
harm them. So the little old woman opened the door and went in, and
well pleased she was when she saw the porridge on the table. If she
had been a good little old woman she would have waited till the bears
came home, and then, perhaps, they would have asked her to breakfast;
for they were good bears--a little rough or so, as the manner of bears
is, but for all that very good-natured and hospitable. But she was an
impudent, bad old woman, and set about helping herself.

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was
too hot for her; and she said a bad word about that. And then she
tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that was too cold for her;
and she said a bad word about that, too. And then she went to the
porridge of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that, and that was
neither too hot nor too cold, but just right, and she liked it so well
that she ate it all up; but the naughty old woman said a bad word
about the little porridge-pot, because it did not hold enough for her.

Then the little old woman sate down in the chair of the Great, Huge
Bear, and that was too hard for her. And then she sate down in the
chair of the Middle Bear, and that was too soft for her. And then she
sate down in the chair of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and that was
neither too hard nor too soft, but just right. So she seated herself
in it, and there she sate till the bottom of the chair came out, and
down came she, plump upon the ground. And the naughty old woman said a
wicked word about that, too.

Then the little old woman went up-stairs into the bedchamber in which
the three bears slept. And first she lay down upon the bed of the
Great, Huge Bear; but that was too high at the head for her. And next
she lay down upon the bed of the Middle Bear; and that was too high at
the foot for her. And then she lay down upon the bed of the Little,
Small