This is an experimental project I'm working on, a collection of modern "fables, fairytales, and folk stories" told in a frame story (a traditional story that houses sub-stories, like 1,001 Nights or the Pentamerone). The frame story follows a group of beauty pageant contestants who, in an attempt to make the contest more palatable to an increasingly polarized audience, compete to tell the best folk tale.  I don't want this project to reflect solely my views--I want it to be more communal, which is why I'm opening these stories up for comments! If there's something you like, dislike, or just think is weird ("why do all the lions have Biblical names?"), feel free to drop a comment saying as much, and I'll see if I can incorporate them into the final version in the form of reactions from the audience, judges, or other contestants :)