The Twelve Dancing Princesses was one of my favorite fairy tales growing up, and lately, thanks to Barbie, has begun receiving a wider audience.

Now. Jody Wallace puts her own unique touch on the tale to make it into a humorous delight. After insulting, albeit without intention to do so, one of the fairies attending Princess Susannah's christening, the king and all his nobles find themselves cursed to never sire anything but girls. As the years go by, why this is a major problem becomes more and more obvious and burdensome. By the time of the story, Susannah is in her thirties, but has no hope of marrying, nor do her eleven younger sisters. While trying to find a way to break the curse, the girls discover a subterranean, magical land where enchanted princes drift through life. Soon, it becomes their almost nightly ritual to visit these men and dance for hours.

Unfortunately, the guys are impotent, and just a bit dim, but they beat nothing. Since they are keeping their nocturnal activities secret, it is little wonder that their mother becomes concerned by not only their tiredness, but also by the rate at which they are wearing out shoes. Body guard after body guard is hired to discover what is going on, but thanks to Susannah's magic, they have no success. Then, Jon Tom applies for the job, and for the first time, Susannah fears the secret might be on the verge of coming to light. He also gets under her skin like no man, enchanted princes all included, ever has.

With a gentle humor that is akin to, but not as bald as Gregory Maguire's, Ms. Wallace sweeps us away to magical lands populated by witty women and somewhat clueless, for the most part, men that they love. It's an interesting place to visit, and I'd enjoy seeing how the other eleven girls find their way to romance.