Jack and the Beanstalk / Goldilocks and the Three Bears / The Little Red Hen
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is an English folktale that came to England with the Vikings.
Jack, who lived in a small house with his mother, went to a market to sell an old cow.
A mysterious man asked him to sell the cow for some magic beans and he accepted the tempting offer.
Jack’s mom got very angry when he arrived home with only some beans, and she threw them out the window.
The next morning, the beans grew into a gigantic beanstalk that reached high up in the sky. Adventurous Jack climbed the beanstalk.
Jack and the Beanstalk is a tale loved greatly by children even today.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Goldilocks and the Three Bears is also an English folktale which became known to the public since when it was published by British author and poet Robert Southey.
A curious little girl named Goldilocks walked into a deep forest and got lost. After a long walk, Goldilocks became hungry and tired.
She finally found a cabin that seemed deserted. She entered the cabin and ate some porridge and fell asleep in one of the beds…
In the original tale, the curious little girl was described as an impudent, ugly and dirty old woman and the bear family was described as three scary male bears.
Many other changes were made for young children. With these revisions, the story became a world-famous fairy tale.
The Little Red Hen
The Little Red Hen is a Russian folktale which gained popularity when it was published in the United States in the 1940s.
A diligent hen that lived on a farm found several grains of wheat when she looked for something to eat on the ground.
She planted and grew them. Later in the fall, she harvested, and milled the wheat into flour, and baked the flour into bread.
At each stage, she asked for help from her friends. Not only did her friends refuse to help her, they also made fun of her.
This tale has been read by many children all around the world and teaches them the virtues of working hard.
