chair for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized chair for the Middle Bear; and a great chair for the Great, Huge Bear.

-a

And they had each a bed to sleep in ;—a little bed for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; a middlesized bed for the Middle Bear; and a great bed for the Great, Huge Bear.

One day, after they had made the porridge for their breakfast, they poured it into their bowls. Then they walked out into the wood while the porridge was cooling.

While the Bears were out walking, a little girl, named Silver-hair, came to the house.

First she looked in at the window; and then she peeped in at the key hole, and seeing nobody in the house, she lifted the latch.

The door was not locked, because the Bears were good Bears. They did nobody any harm, so they never fancied that any body would harm them.

Well, little Silver-hair opened the door and went in. And well pleased she was when she saw the porridge on the table.

If she had been a good little girl, she would have waited till the bears came home; and then perhaps they would have asked her to breakfast, for they were good bears.

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was too hot for her. Then she tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that was too cold for her. Then she went to the porridge of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and

tasted that; and that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right. So she ate it all up.

Then little Silverhair sat down on the chair of the great, Huge Bear, and that was too hard for her. Then she sat down on the chair of the Middle Bear, and that was too soft for her. Then she sat down on the chair of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and that was neither too hard nor too soft, but just right; so she seated herself in it There she sat till the bottom of the chair fell out, and down she came plump upon the ground.

Then little Silverhair went upstairs into the bed-chamber in which the Three Bears slept. First she lay down upon the bed of the Great, Huge, Bear, and that was too high at the head for her. Next she lay down upon the bed of the Middle Bear, and that was too high at the foot for her. Then she lay down upon the bed of the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and that was neither too high at the head nor at the foot, but just right. So she covered herself up cosily, and lay there till she fell fast asleep.

THE BEARS COME BACK TO THEIR PORRIDGE.

By this time the Three Bears thought their porridge would be cool enough; so they came home to breakfast. Now, little Silverhair had left the spoon of the Great, Huge Bear standing in his porridge.

*

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE," said the Great, Huge Bear in his great, gruff voice.

And when the Middle Bear looked at his, he saw that the spoon was standing in it too.

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE," said the Middle Bear in his middle voice.

Then the Little, Small, Wee Bear looked at his, and there was the spoon in the Porridge pot. But the porridge was all gone.

"Somebody has been at my porridge, and has eaten it all up," said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

Upon this the Three Bears began to look about them, to find the thief.

Now, little Silverhair had not put the hard cushion straight when she rose from the chair of the Great, Huge Bear.

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR," said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice.

And little Silverhair had squatted down the soft cushion of the Middle Bear.

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR," said the Middle Bear in his middle voice.

And you know what little Silverhair had done to the third chair.

66

Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and has sat the bottom of it out," said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

perch

search

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chamber

hole bolster

THE BEARS MARCH UP TO THEIR BED-ROOM.

Then the Three Bears thought they would search further. So they went up stairs into their bed

chamber.

Now, little Silverhair had pulled the pillow of the Great, Huge Bear out of its place.

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED," said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice.

And little Silverhair had pulled the bolster of the Middle Bear out of its place.

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED," said the Middle Bear in his middle voice.

And when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there was the bolster in its place. There, too, was the pillow in its place upon the bolster, and upon the pillow was little Silverhair's pretty head,-which was not in its place, as she had no business there.

"Somebody has been lying on my bed, and there she is," said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

Little Silverhair had heard in her sleep the great, rough, gruff voice of the Great, Huge Bear. But she was so fast asleep, it was no more to her than the roaring of the wind, or the rumbling of thunder.

And she had heard the middle voice of the Middle Bear, but it was only as if she had heard some one speaking in a dream.

But when she heard the little, small, wee voice of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, it was so sharp and so shrill that it awakened her at once.

Up she started; and when she saw the Three Bears on one side of the bed, she tumbled out at the other, and ran to the window.

Now, the window was open, because the Bears, like good, tidy Bears, as they were, always opened their bed-chamber window when they got up in the morning.

Out little Silverhair jumped; and away she ran into the wood, and the Three Bears never saw her any more.*

* Southey.

Dirty Jom.

There was one little Jem,
"Twas reported of him,
And 'twill be to his lasting dis grace,
That he never was seen

With his hands at all clean,
Nor ever yet washed was his face.

His friends were much hurt,'
To see so much dirt,

And often they made him quite clean;
But all was in vain,

He was dirty again,'

And never was fit to be seen.

When to wash he was sent,

He unwillingly went,

With water he'd splash himself o'er; But he seldom was seen,

To wash himself clean,

And often looked worse than before.

The idle and bad,

Like this little lad,

May be dirty and black, to be sure;
But good boys are seen

To be de cent and clean,

Although they are ever so poor.