Three Bears

Few people know that «Three Bears» – is an English fairy tale that has become widely popular in Russian in the retelling by Leo Tolstoy. The popularity of «our bears» is so great that they are placed on par with «Kolobok» and «The Turnip».

In the book, everything works according to the laws of a fairy tale – a little disobedient girl finds herself in the forest, discovers the house of three bears, mischiefs – tries the food from all the bowls, breaks a chair, and lies down on all the beds. Well, and of course, she had to flee from the enraged bears who suddenly returned home.

Delightful illustrations by Yuri Vasnetsov – large but with attractive details: here is the little bear, holding onto the ties of Nastasya Petrovna's apron so as not to get lost in the forest; here is Masha swinging on Mishenka's little chair, and mushrooms are falling out of the basket. The bowls are painted, the spoons are carved, each bed has a little rug and even slippers with pom-poms. And clusters of rowan with bunches of mushrooms are hung throughout the bear's house – apparently, supplies for the cold weather.

The moral of the tale is clear, as it should be in books for children of the youngest age:

— you cannot leave home without permission;

— it is dangerous to enter the house of strangers;

— it is impolite to use someone else's things without permission.

This book is enjoyable not only to read but also to admire the magical illustrations, and both can be done countless times.