one, two, three...

illustration by The Walt Disney Studio

Is anyone else noticing a pattern of threes? Three billy goats gruff, three little pigs, three blind mice, three little kittens, three fairies in sleeping beauty, three bears in Goldilocks, three days to guess in Rumpelstiltskin (also, she's asked to spin the straw into gold three times). In Snow White there are three drops of blood, three murder attempts, & three days of mourning. In Cinderella- bippity, boppity, boo: the magic happens on three. They say three is a charm, or more accurately, 'third time's a charm.' I wonder how long they've been saying that. In many of these stories the third try ends with success. For instance, the house of bricks in "The Three Little Pigs," the biggest brother with the biggest horns in "Three Billy Goats Gruff," the perfect porridge in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," and the guessing of the name in "Rumpelstiltskin." In others, it just seems to be that 'just right' number, the number of completion, the perfect representative numeral for recurrence.

Referring to my previous post, "Just Right," which contains more of my thoughts on Goldilocks, I think it's essentially a lesson in repetition (stick-to-it-ativeness) meant to teach young people, 'keep trying until you get it right' (which really isn't too far off from 'don't settle,' by the way). I think the side-plot of a little girl who entered a cottage uninvited and was ultimately chased off by bears is inconsequential or just thrown in for a bit of humor. Or, perhaps they just wanted to stuff in as many lessons as possible, and like Hansel & Gretel, kids should also come away knowing, you don't just walk up to people's houses and start eating stuff. In another story, Snow White, who also went in uninvited, didn't get chased off at all; they all became fast friends. But notice, she cleaned house before she ate and went to bed. Did she even eat? Or did she just make soup? I don't know, I need to read it again. All I can think of is the Disney version which adds in yet another lesson, "whistle while you work.' Anyway, if we go back to the central theme of Goldilocks, 'try, try, try again', here are some things to consider: 1. Once Goldilocks find's the 'just right' chair, it breaks.  2. Just when she starts to get comfortable, she has a rude awakening. It's important to learn to laugh at these things early in life, don't you think?

Honestly, I think it's because these stories are so multi-faceted that they've endured. It really doesn't have to boil down to just one moral, life just isn't that simple. The overarching  theme of all of this, anyway, is that we have to share stories; we have to laugh, learn, and illustrate. In this you will find true happiness in the Goldilocks zone. But don't forget, the magic happens on three.