GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS

 
   There are many old stories that are known worldwide but they differ from country to country. When my daughter was a baby I bought her the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" book. It has hard pages and touch and feel fabric elements to encourage children to play with the book. The story is about a little girl who went for a walk in the forest and came upon a little wooden house. She knocked, when no one answered, she walked in. She noticed three bowls of porridge on the kitchen table and because she was hungry she ate everything from the smallest bowl. Then she wanted to rest and sat on the smallest of three chairs but she broke it. At last she felt sleepy and laid down in the smallest of three beds. While she was sleeping the three bears who lived in the house came back and noticed that someone had been to their house. They found an empty bowl, a broken chair and a little girl sleeping in the bed. "They growled and shouted as they chased naughty Goldilocks out." That's how the story ends in the English book.

   My friend who comes from Ukraine brought me the "Маша и Три Медведя" (Eng. Masha and the Three Bears) book from her last visit to her family home. The book is in Russian and you can find many elements from Russian and Ukrainian culture inside. The family of bears is smiling to you from the cover but it is easy to notice that daddy bear is dressed in Russian national colors (he wears a shirt in white and blue stripes and a red scarf) and has a hat in Ukrainian national colors (blue and yellow). The girl's name is Masha and it is a typical Russian name. Masha just like in the English story found a house in the wood, ate porridge, broke a chair and fell asleep in the smallest bed. The three bears found the girl in their house but instead of yelling they explained that it is rude to enter someone else's house without an invitation. Masha asked them for forgiveness and explained that she was looking for someone to play with. The little bear wanted to play hide-and-seek with Masha but it was already late. Mummy and daddy bear said that Masha should go home now as her parents might be worried. They blessed Masha and wished her a safe journey home.

   I was looking for a Polish version of the story on my book-shelf but I couldn't find one. I will definitely put it on my wish list ;) I'm very keen to check if there would be any Polish aspects in the story.