The first recorded version of The Three Bears was a poem written and illustrated by Eleanor Mure for her little nephew’s birthday in 1831. It was never published, but was handed down through the years and now resides in the Toronto Public Library’s manuscript collection.
This version of the story is hilarious, with a poetic styling that reminds me of Dr. Seuss’ writing and the goofiness of a Looney Tunes cartoon. I also love that we know the specific author of this story, and that she was clearly the kind of aunt that every kid wants to have!
In the captions for the video version, I have preserved the original spelling and punctuation as written by Eleanor Mure.