McKinley reminds us that some of the greatest magic is in nature's miracles: "Births were very closely attended, because the request that things stay what they were had to be got in quickly, birth being a very great magic, and, in that country, likely to be teased into mischief." For these reasons, and because human beings are always attentive to the doings of royalty and government, news of the birth of a princess spreads quickly. The princess' name—Casta Albinia Allegra Dove Minerva Fidelia Aletta Blythe Domnia Delicia Aurelia Grace Isabel Griselda Gwyneth Pearl Ruby Coral Lily Iris BriarRose—reminds the reader of fairy tale princesses even as it pokes gentle and goodhumored fun at them.

McKinley continues to remind us that we must treat the literary fairy tale form with respect while we shape it. Fairy tales are the mythic foundations of our literary culture...