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The Story of the Three Bears

A fairy tale from English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs

This fairy tale was collected by Joseph Jacobs and published in English Fairy Tales in 1890. The story is much older and was passed down through many retellings; Jacobs wrote down the version he heard. This text reflects its era, and the intruder is a 'little old woman' rather than the Goldilocks character from later versions. The story teaches children about respecting others' homes and belongings, and it uses the pattern of three (three bears, three tries) that makes folk tales easy to remember and enjoy.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8

Length

medium · about 559 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures

Source

English Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (8 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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