ntered their house
and eaten up the Little, Small, Wee Bear's breakfast, began to look
about them. Now the little old Woman 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 the little old Woman 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 the little old Woman had done to the third chair.
"+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.
Then the three Bears thought it necessary that they should make further
search; so they went upstairs into their bed-chamber. Now the little old
Woman had pulled the pillow of the Great, Huge Bear out of its place.
"~SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!~" said the Great, Huge Bear, in his
great, rough, gruff voice.
And the little old Woman had pulled the bolster of the Middle Bear out
of its place.
"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN 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 right place, and the pillow in its place upon the
bolster; and upon the pillow was the little old Woman's ugly, dirty
head,--which was not in its place, for she had no business there.
"+SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED,--AND HERE SHE IS!+" said the Little,
Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.
The little old Woman had heard in her sleep the great, rough, gruff
voice of the Great, Huge Bear; but she was so fast asleep that it was no
more to her than the roaring of 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 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 bed-chamber
window when they got up in the morning. Out the little old Woman jumped;
and whether she broke her neck in the fall, or ran into the wood and was
lost
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