New tales are weaved out of old fairy tales.

Byline: Nancy Pate

In fairy tales, a scullery maid may become the belle of the ball, a frog may turn into a prince, an ugly duckling into a swan.

Such stories are all about transformation, and most of us have wished at one time or another for a fairy godmother or a magic wand. These yearnings seem to surface especially when one is feeling powerless, unattractive and unloved. In other words, when one's a teenager. Thus the popularity of Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Although a number of contemporary writers _ Margaret Atwood, the late Angela Carter, Emma Donoghue, A.S. Byatt, among them _ have drawn on classic fairy tales in …