Once upon a time there were three bears. They all lived together in the forest, in their own house. One of them was a small, tiny little bear, another was a medium-sized bear, and the third was a big, huge bear. Everyone had their own pot for oatmeal: the tiny little bear had a small pot, the middle bear had a medium pot, the big, hefty bear had a huge pot. Each bear sat in his own chair: a small, tiny little bear in a small chair, a medium bear in a middle chair, and a big, hefty bear in a huge chair. And they each slept on their own bed: a tiny little bear cub on a small bed, a medium bear on a medium bed, a big hefty bear on a huge bed.
One day the bears cooked oatmeal for breakfast, put it in pots, and went for a walk in the forest: the porridge needed to catch a cold; Otherwise, if they had eaten it hot, it would have burned their entire mouth.
While they were walking through the forest, a little old woman approached the house. She was not very good, this old woman: first she looked through the window, then through the keyhole: she saw that there was no one in the house, and raised the latch. The door was not locked. Yes, the bears never locked her up - they were kind bears: they themselves did not offend anyone and did not expect harm to themselves.
The little old woman opened the door and walked in. And how happy she was when she saw porridge on the table! If she were a good old lady, she, of course, would have waited for the bears, and they would probably have treated her to breakfast. After all, they were good bears, a little rough, like all bears, but good-natured and hospitable. But the old woman was bad, unscrupulous, and started eating without asking.
First, she tried the porridge from the pot of a big hefty bear, but the porridge seemed too hot to her, and the old woman said: “Rubbish!” Then she tasted the porridge from the pot of the middle bear, but his porridge seemed to her to be completely cold, and the old woman again said: “Rubbish!” Then she began to eat the porridge of the tiny little bear cub. This porridge turned out to be neither hot nor cold, but just right, and the little old lady liked it so much that she began to devour it on both cheeks and cleaned the entire pot to the bottom. However, the nasty old woman called this porridge a bad word: the pot was too small, there wasn’t enough porridge for the old woman.
Then the old woman sat down in the chair of the big, hefty bear, but it seemed too hard to her. She moved to the middle bear's chair, but it seemed too soft to her. Finally, she plopped down in the armchair of the tiny little bear cub, and it seemed to her not hard, not soft, but just right. So she sat down in this armchair - she sat and sat until she pushed through the seats and - plop! - straight to the floor. A nasty old woman stood up and called the chair a swear word.
Then the old woman ran upstairs to the bedroom where all three bears were sleeping. At first she lay down on the bed of a big, hefty bear, but it seemed too high in her head. Then she lay down on the bed of the middle bear, but this one seemed too high in her legs. Finally, she lay down on the bed of a tiny little bear cub, and the bed turned out to be not too high either at the heads or at the feet, but just right. So the old woman hid herself warmly and fell into a deep sleep.
By that time, the bears decided that the porridge had already cooled down, and returned home for breakfast. The big, hefty bear looked at his pot and saw a spoon in the porridge: the old woman had left it there. And the bear roared in his loud, rough, scary voice:
SOMEONE EATED MY PORRIDGE!
The middle bear also looked at his pot and saw that there was a spoon in his porridge.
The bears had wooden spoons, but if they were silver, the nasty old woman would probably have pocketed them.
And the middle bear said in his not loud, not quiet, but middle voice:
SOMEONE EATED MY PORRIDGE!
And the little tiny bear cub looked at his pot and saw that there was a spoon in the pot, but there was no trace of the porridge. And he squeaked in a thin, thin, quiet voice:
Someone ate my porridge and ate it all!
Then the bears realized that someone had gotten into their house and eaten all the porridge of the tiny little bear cub. And they began to look for the thief in all corners. The big, hefty bear noticed that the hard pillow was lying crookedly in his chair - the old woman had moved it when she jumped up from her seat. And the big, huge bear roared in his loud, rough, scary voice:
SOMEONE WAS SITTING IN MY CHAIR!
The old woman crushed the soft pillow of the middle bear. And the middle bear said in his not loud, not quiet, but middle voice:
SOMEONE WAS SITTING IN MY CHAIR!
And you already know what the old lady did with the armchair. And the little, tiny little bear cub squeaked in his thin, thin, quiet voice:
Someone was sitting in my chair and pushed through the seat!
We must look further, the bears decided and went upstairs to the bedroom. The big, hefty bear saw that his pillow was out of place - the old woman had moved it - and roared in his loud, rough, scary voice:
SOMEONE SLEEP ON MY BED!
The middle bear saw that his roller was out of place - it was the old woman who had moved it - and said in his not loud, not quiet, but middle voice:
SOMEONE SLEEP ON MY BED!
And the little tiny bear cub came up to his crib and saw: the bolster was in place, the pillow was also in place, and on the pillow was the ugly, grimy head of a little old woman, and she was certainly out of place: there was no need for the nasty old woman to get into the bears!
And the little, tiny little bear cub squeaked in his thin, thin, quiet voice:
Someone slept on my bed and is now sleeping!
The little old woman heard in her sleep the loud, rough, scary voice of a big, huge bear, but she slept so soundly that it seemed to her as if it was the wind making noise or thunder. She heard not loud, not quiet, but the average voice of the average bear, but it seemed to her as if it was someone muttering in a dream. And when she heard the thin, thin, quiet voice of a small, tiny little bear cub, so ringing, so piercing, she immediately woke up. She opened her eyes and saw three bears standing right next to the bed. She jumped up and rushed to the window.
The window was just open, because our three bears, like all good, clean bears, always ventilated the bedroom in the morning. Well, the little old lady jumped out; and whether she broke her neck, or got lost in the forest, or got out of the forest, but the constable picked her up and took her to the house of correction for vagrancy, I cannot tell you that. Only all three bears never saw her again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru