"The past few years have been a footballing fairy story for the Swans, " he said.

BBC: Capital One Cup final: Swansea City romp to record win

So the next time the media sees such a fairy tale story, are they going do any background checks?

FORBES: Who's Been Duped? The Manti Te'o Hoax.

The fairy tale story ended on Wednesday when sports website Deadspin published a piece dismissing as a hoax the existence of Te'o's girlfriend and suggesting he was complicit.

CNN: Manti Te'o denies he was part of girlfriend hoax

Imagine a sprawling Skylanders-esque game featuring characters and environments from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, iconic fairy tale films, and the multitude of properties in their creative stable.

FORBES: 'Disney Infinity' Exists; Pixar and Disney Executives Hosting January 2013 Reveal Event

In 1812 the brothers Grimm started to publish their fairy tales, among them the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

ECONOMIST: Free that gnome

Any invocation of a celebrity has great hijacking potential, even if the story is a sprinkling of fairy dust.

CNN: Hijacking the media -- Trump shows how easy it is

But the Zimbabwe story is far from a fairy tale.

BBC: Zimbabweans hope for democratic rebirth

When I was a kid, I remember my mom read the fairy tale about the ugly duckling, a story about a hideous, huge baby duck that can't fit in with the other ducks.

NPR: Acting the Swan to Overcome the Duck

Many Thais will squirm at what follows, and will prefer the fairy-tale version of the king's story.

ECONOMIST: Thailand's king and its crisis

The rest of their story reads like the first half of any textbook startup fairy tale, with shared beds, ramen noodles, and much doubt abounding.

FORBES: How A YCombinator Startup Is Born: The Story Of Strikingly