Joseph Jacobs Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales collected by Joseph Jacobs

Fiction http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-1.html

The four stories read: The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Bears, and Tom Thumb.

Summary

Once there lived in the woods three bears. They were Great, Huge Bear, and Middle Bear and Little, Small, Wee Bear. They left their porridge cooling on the table as they went on a walk. While they were gone a little old woman peeked into the window and walked right in the door. She tasted the big bowl but left it for it was too hot, then tried the medium bowl, saying it was too cold. She tasted the littlest bowl and ate the entire thing, frustrated there wasn’t more. She went to the living room and sat on all the chairs. The biggest was too hard, the middle was too soft and the littlest was just right. She sat in the chair but it broke. She walked up the stairs to the bedroom. The larges bed was too high at the head; the second was too high at the feet. She tried the littlest bed and it was perfect. She snuggled under the covers and fell asleep. Meanwhile, the three bears had gotten back from their walk. They exclaimed that someone had been in their porridge and eaten Little, Small, Wee Bear’s. They saw the chairs in the living room and said someone had sat in their chairs and Little, Small, Wee Bear’s was broken. They went up the stairs and saw the messy bedcovers. Someone lay in their beds and was still in Little, Small, Wee Bear’s bed! When the old woman heard the high squeaking voice of Little, Small, Wee Bear, she woke up and was so frightened, she jumped out the window and was never seen of again.

Response

I found it more probable that the culprit was an old lady rather than a cute girl with golden curls. Most parents wouldn’t let children play by themselves in enchanted woods where bears could talk. I liked Jacob’s fairy collections because these were the stories I grew up on. I especially loved Tom Thumb. I was always taller than anyone else in my class and was funny to read about life from a shorter perspective.

Potential Problems

Most fairy tales were not written for children as the main audience. So there are some stories that are too gruesome and often end with the main character being eaten or robbed in order to get the point across.

Recommendations

I would recommend fairy tales to those with imagination and who love variations for the ending of stories, that don’t always end up like they are always portrayed.