The story
“Little four-year-old Helen is the pet of a big New York boarding house. Her three greatest admirers are Ahren, Ben and Charles, three crabbed old coves, who spend most of their time outside of business hours racking their brains to provide new amusements for the object of their elderly affections. Helen’s mother at length returns to New York and takes her child away from the boarding house. The three old coves are heartbroken. Life holds out no promise of anything worth living for and things look gloomy, indeed, until one of the trio conceives the brilliant idea of kidnapping the child. Their plan succeeds, but the little girl’s frantic mother causes their arrest. They are arraigned in court and things look black until little Helen climbs up on the judge’s knee and explains things. The three old bachelors then propose that the mother start a boarding house, which they assure her will be a money-maker, and the judge, satisfied with the child’s explanation of the kidnapping, releases them. The boarding house is established and thereafter instead of being known as ‘the three crabbed old coves’ the bachelors earn for themselves the sobriquet of ‘Little Helen’s Three Grandpas.’”
Summary from Reel Life · 18 April 1914
