Tellus Tales

Once upon a time there were Three Bears, who lived together in a house of their own, in a wood.

C’erano una volta tre orsi, che vivevano in una casetta nel bosco.

One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great, Huge Bear. They had each a pot for their porridge; a little pot for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized pot for the Middle Bear, and a great pot for the Great, Huge Bear. And they had each a chair to sit in; a little 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. And they had each a bed to sleep in; a little bed for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized bed for the Middle Bear, and a great bed for the Great, Huge Bear.

Uno di loro era un piccolo orsacchiotto; l’altra un orsetta, ed il terzo un grande orso. Avevano tutti una personale tazza per il porridge; ognuna di dimensioni adatte all’orso che la utilizzava. Ed inoltre avevano anche delle sedie su misura ed anche dei letti di dimensioni proporzionali alla loro grandezza.

One day, after they had made the porridge for their breakfast, and poured it into their porridge-pots, they walked out into the wood while the porridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths by beginning too soon to eat it. And while they were walking, a little Girl called Goldilocks came to the house. First she looked in at the window, and then she peeped in at the keyhole; and seeing nobody in the house, she turned the handle of the door. The door was not fastened, because the Bears were good Bears, who did nobody any harm, and never suspected that anybody would harm them. So Goldilocks opened the door, and went in; and well pleased she was when she saw the porridge on the table. If she had been a thoughtful 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—a little rough or so, as the manner of Bears is, but for all that very good-natured and hospitable. But the porridge looked tempting, and she set about helping herself.

Un giorno, dopo aver preparato il porridge per la loro colazione, ed averlo versato nelle rispettive tazze, andarono a fare una passeggiata nel bosco mentre il porridge stava raffreddando, in modo che non si sarebbero scottati mangiandolo ad alte temperature. Mentre però stavano passeggiando, una ragazza chiamata Riccioli d’oro arrivò alla loro casa. All’inizio guardò dalla finestra, poi spiò dalla serratura, e non vedendo nessuno all’interno, girò la maniglia della porta. La porta..non era chiusa a chiave, poiché gli orsi erano buoni e nessuno li avrebbe pregiudicati, e nessuno mai pensò di farlo. Così Riccioli d’oro entrò all’interno, e si meravigliò quando trovò del buon porridge sul tavolo. Se lei fosse stata una bambina razionale avrebbe atteso l’arrivo degli orsi, che sicuramente, essendo benevolenti, l’avrebbero invitata a fare colazione con loro…ma il porridge aveva un aspetto invitante..e lei non riuscì a resistere.

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was too hot for her. And then she tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that was too cold for her. And 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, and she liked it so well that she ate it all up.

All’inizio assaggiò il porridge del grande orso…ma questo era troppo bollente per lei. Poi assaggiò il porridge dell’orsetta..e questo era troppo freddo per i suoi gusti. Allora, precipitatasi sul porridge dell’orsacchiotto, si accorse che faceva proprio al caso suo e lo divorò tutto.

Then Goldilocks sat down in the chair of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was too hard for her. And then she sat down in the chair of the Middle Bear, and that was too soft for her. And then she sat down in 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, and there she sat till the bottom of the chair came out, and down she came plump upon the ground.

Dopodiché Riccioli d’oro si sedette sulla sedia del grande orso, ma questa era troppo rigida per lei, quindi si spostò su quella dell’orsetta…ma questa era troppo morbida…allora scelse di sedere sulla sedia dell’orsacchiotto fin quando il fondo non sprofondò…

Then Goldilocks went upstairs into the bedchamber in which the three Bears slept. And first she lay down upon the bed of the Great, Huge Bear, but that was too high at the head for her. And next she lay down upon the bed of the Middle Bear, and that was too high at the foot for her. And 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 comfortably, and lay there till she fell fast asleep.

Allora Riccioli d’oro salì le scale e raggiunse la camera da letto dove gli orsi dormivano.
Li provò dapprima il letto del grande orso, poi il letto dell’orsetta ed infine il letto dell’orsacchiotto, che ovviamente faceva al caso suo e iniziò a riposare su di esso addormentandosi velocemente.

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

A questo punto gli orsi pensarono che magari il loro porridge avesse raggiunto la temperatura ideale e allora fecero ritorno per mangiare, ma Riccioli d’oro aveva lasciato il cucchiaio del grande orso ancora nella tazza.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!” said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice. And when the Middle Bear looked at hers, she saw that the spoon was standing in it too.

“QUALCUNO HA MANGIATO IL MIO PORRIDGE!” Disse il grande orso, con la sua voce rude. Allora l’orsetta guardò nella sua tazza e vide che anche lì, vi era il cucchiaio immerso.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!” said the Middle Bear, in her 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.

“QUALCUNO HA MANGIATO IL MIO PORRIDGE!” Disse stavolta l’orsetta, con la sua voce fresca.
Allora l’orsacchiotto guardò la sua tazza e notò, oltre al cucchiaio, che il suo prodige era interamente finito.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE, AND HAS EATEN IT ALL UP!” said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

“QUALCUNO HA MANGIATO IL MIO PORRIDGE, E LO HA FINITO TUTTO!” Disse l’orsacchiotto con la sua vocina squillante.

Upon this the Three Bears, seeing that someone had entered their house, and eaten up the Little, Small, Wee Bear’s breakfast, began to look about them. Now Goldilocks had not put the hard cushion straight when she rose from the chair of the Great, Huge Bear.

Una volta che i tre orsi, si accorsero dell’intrusione nella loro dimora, iniziarono a guardarsi intorno. Il grande orso si accorse per primo che l’intruso aveva spostato il cuscino della sua sedia.

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

“QUALCUNO SI E’ SEDUTO SULLA MIA SEDIA!” Disse il grande orso, con la sua voce rude.

And Goldilocks had squatted down the soft cushion of the Middle Bear.

Inoltre riccioli d’oro aveva schiacciato il cuscino dell’orsetta.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!” said the Middle Bear, in her middle voice.

“QUALCUNO SI E’ SEDUTO SULLA MIA SEDIA!” Disse l’orsetta con la sua voce fresca.

And you know what Goldilocks had done to the third chair.

E poi..tutti sapete cosa è successo alla terza sedia…

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR, AND HAS SAT THE BOTTOM OUT OF IT!” said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

“QUALCUNO SI E’ SEDUTO SULLA MIA SEDIA, ED HA FATTO CEDERE IL FONDO!” Disse l’orsacchiotto con la sua vocina squillante.

Then the Three Bears thought it necessary that they should make farther search; so they went upstairs into their bedchamber. Now Goldilocks had pulled the pillow of the Great, Huge Bear out of its place.

Così gli orsi, pensarono che sarebbe stato meglio effettuare un controllo più accurato per la casa, e decisero di salire su per le scale, raggiungendo la camera da letto. Riccioli d’oro..ovviamente aveva messo fuori posto il cuscino del grande orso.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!” said the Great, Huge Bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice.

“QUALCUNO E’ STATO NEL MIO LETTO” Disse il grande orso, con la sua voce rude.

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

“QUALCUNO E’ STATO NEL MIO LETTO” Disse l’orsetta con la sua voce fresca, dopo che Riccioli d’oro aveva spostato anche il suo cuscino.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!” said the Middle Bear, in her middle voice.

“QUALCUNO E’ STATO NEL MIO LETTO,ED E’ TUTTORA QUI!” Disse l’orsacchiotto con la sua vocina squillante, dopo che controllando se il suo letto fosse ok, notò la presenza di riccioli d’oro.

And when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there was the bolster in its place; and the pillow in its place upon the bolster; and upon the pillow was the head of Goldilocks—which was not in its place, for she had no business there.

La bambina udì le voci dell’orso e l’orsetta mentre sognava…e non diede peso a ciò, ma quando parlò persino l’orsacchiotto, allora cominciò a svegliarsi. E non appena, rimase piede a terra, si precipitò verso la finestra, scappando e correndo senza mai girarsi, e gli orsi…non videro più sua traccia.

“SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED—AND HERE SHE IS!” said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.

Tradotto in italiano da William Sinatra.

Goldilocks had heard in her sleep the great, rough, gruff voice of the Great, Huge Bear, and the middle voice of the Middle Bear, but it was only as if she had heard someone 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 herself 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 bedchamber window when they got up in the morning. Out Goldilocks jumped, and ran away as fast as she could run—never looking behind her; and what happened to her afterwards I cannot tell. But the Three Bears never saw anything more of her.

(Una favola inglese di L. Leslie Brooke, dal libro dell’oca d’oro 1905)

A British fairy tale. Illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke, from ‘The Golden Goose Book’. 1905.