Hello, everyone! Alethea Mermaid here.

With Hero out in paperback this week and Dearest out next week, I’ve got a serious case of Fairy Tales on the brain (and Buzzfeed just told the world that fans of Once Upon a Time should read Enchanted…how cool is that?!?).

With all those Happily Ever Afters in my noggin, I took the opportunity to ask my fellow mermaids which tales were THEIR favorites.

(Mine? “The Goose Girl” by the Brothers Grimm. Followed closely by “Snow White & Rose Red” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and “The Wild Swans” and “The Fairies”…)

Kerri Mermaid — My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast (the Disney film version). Not only do I love the idea of kindness and really getting to know who a person is on the inside, but Belle likes to read. And I dig that! Reading rocks my socks!

Carlene Mermaid — My favorite fairytale has always been “Thumbelina.” As a kid who grew up traveling between divorced parents, grandparents and family and friends to be taken care of, I always appreciated how Thumbelina, or “Tiny”, was also passed from one to another. I think kids identify with “feeling small” when we’re growing up and don’t quite have the ability to control our destiny yet. I also adored the swallow she cared for. He probably began my lifelong love for romance heroes who sacrifice their happiness for the ones they love.

Masha Mermaid — “The Ice Queen.”  A reminder there is good and bad in all of us, and not to let the bad cloud your vision.

Susan Mermaid — When I was learning to ready, my parents had brought a volume back from Japan, after their stationing there was over (and I was born). It was called “Japanese Fairy Tales,” and I used to go through it and look at the illustrations. I especially liked “The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child,” and “How An Old Man Lost His Wen.”

I liked the bamboo cutter story because it was so nice that he was rewarded with such a beautiful daughter, when he’d given up hope. And the old man who lost his wen (goiter) was so clever. Beautiful, kind, clever… What’s not to love about those type of stories?

Pintip Mermaid — “Puss in Boots”! I love heist movies like Ocean’s Eleven, where characters employ fun and ingenious tricks to rob a bank, casino, etc. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, “Puss in Boots” was my favorite fairy tale as a kid. I wasn’t focused on the moral back then; I just loved how clever the cat was!

 Kimberly Mermaid — My favorite fairy tale is “Beauty and the Beast” for so many reasons.  I loved the idea of superficial and arrogant people being called on it and brought down a few pegs.  And I like the idea of people falling in love without getting caught up with appearances.  I think the prince would have always been a shallow shell of a man without having lived many years as a beast.  It’s probably why I liked Shrek, too!

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So…what’s YOUR favorite fairy tale?