English Fairy Tales - Penn State University

Joseph Jacobscluding the mice, is afforded by a tale in Carnoy andNicolaides’ Traditions populaires de l’Asie Mineure, which istranslated as the first tale in Mr. Lang’s Blue Fairy Book. Thereis much in both that is similar to Aladdin, I beg his pardon,Allah-ed-din.XVIII. THE THREE BEARS.Source.—Verbatim et literatim from Southey, The Doctor, &c.,quarto edition, p. 327.Parallels.—None, as the story was invented by Southey. Thereis an Italian translation, I tre Orsi, Turin, 1868, and it wouldbe curious to see if the tale ever acclimatises itself in Italy.Remarks.—”The Three Bears” is the only example I know ofwhere a tale that can be definitely traced to a specific authorhas become a folk-tale. Not alone is this so, but the folk hasdeveloped the tale in a curious and instructive way, by substitutinga pretty little girl with golden locks for the naughtyold woman. In Southey’s version there is nothing of LittleSilverhair as the heroine: she seems to have been introducedin a metrical version by G. N., much be-praised by Southey.Silverhair seems to have become a favourite, and in Mrs.Valentine’s version of “The Three Bears,” in “The Old, OldFairy Tales,” the visit to the bear-house is only the preliminaryto a long succession of adventures of the pretty littlegirl, of which there is no trace in the original (and this in“The Old, Old Fairy Tales.” Oh! Mrs. Valentine!). I have,though somewhat reluctantly, cast back to the original form.After all, as Prof. Dowden remarks, Southey’s memory iskept alive more by “The Three Bears” than anything else,and the text of such a nursery classic should be retained inall its purity.151