Aladdin had the day off from work, and he was trying to decide what exciting way to spend it. So many possibilities! Then he saw how beautiful it was outside, and he thought, “Yes, I know what I’ll do.”

He put his laptop right up to the window, and that’s where he spent the day having so many adventures on the Internet.

(PS Fairy Tales For Twenty-Somethings is now on Facebook)

I was on a Huffington Post Live segment called “Fairy Tale Darwinism,” discussing the evolution of fairy tales and why fairy tales stick with us. The other panelists are actual scholars and have fascinating things to say, so check out the video. Thanks, Huffington Post!

(Source: fairytalesfor20somethings)

Cinderella was a proud woman. She never cried. She never let the world see the pain she was going through. She refused to be considered weak. 

But sometimes, she couldn’t help it, sometimes she just had to write a Facebook status about how shitty her day was.

Prince Charming searched near and far for Cinderella. He even checked the event page for the ball but she totally wasn’t even on the guest list!

Chicken Little had no idea how to calm her Election Day anxiety. She just kept reloading news and social media sites even though they didn’t tell her any new information. She was going crazy but it was impossible to pull herself away. But then she found this slideshow of photos of a baby giraffe. Oh my God, his little legs were so cute!

Monica Guzman at The Seattle Times asked me a couple questions about Fairy Tales For Twenty-Somethings. Check out the interview here. Thanks, Monica!

The White Rabbit was such a flake. If he said he was going to be there at seven it always meant at least eight.

Peter Pan was feeling like his constant connection to the Internet and social networking sites was having a bad effect on his psyche, so he decided to disconnect and get back to the things he did pre-Internet, really live his life again.

That night, he watched TV for five hours straight.

The Frog Prince needed the princess to kiss him so he could turn back into a human. Then all his problems would be solved, then his life would be perfect.

Finally, after driving her home one night, she leaned in towards him. But he was going in for this open-mouthed thing, and hers was just gonna be a little peck, so when they met, aw, it was just, it was a mess.

Chicken Little feared the sky was falling. She also feared losing her job without explanation, getting told off by her best friend, and the gynecologist.

Cinderella hated her job but she was too broke to quit. A part of her didn’t care enough to quit anyway. What else would she do? It was stupid to think she could really be a photographer. Better to just accept her life and get used to it.

Then one night as she lay awake listening to the mice scratch against the walls, she closed her eyes and said quietly,

“A dream is a wish your heart makes,
When you’re fast asleep…
I don’t need everything to go right in my life,
I just wish I could care again.
Please. I just need to believe it’s possible.”

Little Red Riding Hood put up a profile on OkCupid, but all she got were these creepy messages from wolves.

“Well that was disappointing,” she said to herself, then went out and bought a vibrator.

Puss In Boots dressed in the best clothes and ate in the best restaurants now, but he still stayed true to his roots. On Friday nights he met up with his old cats in the alley and they ate leftover cans of tuna.

The Little Mermaid was a human now but she never knew what to say when somebody cracked a joke making fun of merpeople. Should she tell them she was offended? But it would require so much explanation. And nobody would believe the part about the octopus witch.

Rapunzel cut all her hair off and everyone was totally into it but one unexpected consequence was that she kept getting hit on by women.

After like the tenth time it happened she wanted to say to the girl, “Is this still a thing, that only lesbians have short hair? Can’t pretty much anyone have short hair now?” But then she was like, Eh, yolo, and they made out.