C.S. Lewis pointed out that fairy tales don't even need to be especially well written to be unforgettable. Some of the most powerful tales are terse to the point of blankness, brimful of inconsistencies and plotted with a baffling lack of logic. (34-35)
One reason I like fairy tales so much is precisely this blankness. It's the same reason I enjoy The Old Testament. Reading between the lines is possible since there are gaps built in--tales and incidences smooshed next to each other (likely from differing sources). The result is great possibilities!
For this post, I checked out multiple picture books based on the tale. In one, dinosaurs lure Goldilocks into their house, only she manages to avoid being caught in their trap. In another, Goldilocks encounters three hares while running from the bears (the hares have poor luck--after finally getting Goldilocks to leave, their warren is invaded by...Alice!). In one of my favorites, Baby Bear, all grown up, wrecks havoc in a high-rise apartment before he falls asleep. When the family of humans wakes him up, the mom is...Goldilocks! All grown up with a child of her own.
In still another, Cajun-based tale, Goldilocks encounters the three Heberts near a Bayou. Turns out, the Heberts are people, not bears, but the tale got misheard (a clever take on the oral nature of fairy tales).
Even more interesting is Goldilock's personality; she is sometimes portrayed as bewildered, sometimes as incredibly bratty. In his book of Vile Verses, Roald Dahl refers to her as a "brazen little crook," "that little toad," "nosy thieving little louse," "delinquent little tot," "freak," "revolting little clown." His poem ends with the father bear advocating Goldilocks be eaten up.
But in one version, Goldilocks is unfairly accused, escapes into the forest, and becomes a kind of ninja-like bandit. And in still another, she is an animal biologist who wants to tag the bears. They eat her!
Of course, there are the classic versions. I recommend James Marshall (of course) and Jan Brett's versions.
Classic is not the same as original. The tale has no definitive author or collector but in the oldest versions, the little girl is, in fact, an old woman!
Robert Southey made the tale popular. Joseph Cundall made the supposed protagonist a young girl, Silver-Locks. Now the tale is like the Happy Birthday song. If there was an originator, nobody remembers who it was. The tale is there for anyone's use.
Colfer, Chris, illustrated by Jon Proctor. Goldilocks Wanted Dead of Alive. Little Brown & Company, 2021.
Collins, Sheila Herbert. Jolie Blonde and the Three Heberts: A Cajun Twist to an Old Tale, illustrated by Patrick Soper. Blue Heron Press, 1993.
Garner, James Finn. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life & Times. Macmillan, 1994.
Hodgkinson, Leigh. Goldilocks and Just One Bear. Nosy Crown, 2011.
Marshall, James. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Dial, 1988.
Opie, Iona and Peter. The Classic Fairy Tales. London, 1974.
Willems, Mo. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Balzer & Bray, 2012.
Yim, Natasha. Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, illustrated by Grace Zong. Charlesbridge, 2014.
1 comment:
Then there's the Goldilocks from Bill Willingham's comic book Fables who was a Communist agitator. She was Willingham's way of taking shots at the far left.
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