Tonight, we’ll read "Princess Belle Etoile", written by the 17th century French writer and mother of modern western fairy tales, Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, AKA the Madame Countess d'Aulnoy. She originated the term that is now generally used for the genre. "Princess Belle Etoile" was itself inspired by an Italian fairy tale, which may have originally spun from an Arabic tale.