Versified by Mrs. Clara Doty Bates.
Silver Locks was a little girl,
Lovely and good;
She strayed out one day
And got lost in the wood,
And was lonely and sad,
Till she came where there stood
The house which belonged to the Bears.
She pulled the latch string,
And the door opened wide;
She peeped softly first,
And at last stepped inside;
So tired her little feet
Were that she cried,
And so hungry she, sobbed to herself.
She did not know
Whether to stay or to go;
But there were three chairs
Standing all in a row,
And there were three bowls
Full of milk white as snow,
And there were three beds by the wall.
But the Father Bear's chair
Was too hard to sit in it,
And the Mother Bear's chair
Was too hard to sit in it;
But the Baby Bear's chair
Was so soft in a minute
She had broken it all into pieces.
And the Father Bear's milk
Was too sour to drink,
And the Mother Bear's milk
Was too sour to drink;
But the Baby Bear's milk
Was so sweet, only think,
When she tasted she drank it all up.
And the Father Bear's bed
Was as hard as a stone,
And the Mother Bear's bed
Was as hard as a stone;
But the Baby Bear's bed
Was so soft she lay down,
And before she could wink was asleep.
By and by came the scratch
Of old Father Bear's claw,
And the fumbling knock
Of old Mother Bear's paw,
And the latch string flew up,
And the Baby Bear saw
That a stranger had surely been there.
Then Father Bear cried,
"Who's been sitting in my chair?"
And Mother Bear cried,
"Who's been sitting in my chair?"
And Baby Bear smiled,
"Who's been sitting in my chair,
And broken it all into pieces?"
Then Father Bear growled,
"Who's been tasting of my milk?"
And Mother Bear growled,
"Who's been tasting of my milk?"
And Baby Bear wondered,
"Who's tasted of my milk,
And tasting has drank it all up?"
And Father Bear roared,
"Who's been lying on my bed?"
And Mother Bear roared,
"Who's been lying on my bed?"
And Baby Bear laughed,
"Who's been lying on my bed?
O, here she is, fast asleep!"
The savage old Father Bear cried,
"Let us eat her!"
The savage old Mother Bear cried,
"Let us eat her!"
But the Baby Bear said,
"Nothing ever was sweeter.
Let's kiss her, and send her home!"