Maria Papova, owner and author of website Brain Pickings, was inspired by the recent US marriage equality hearings to talk about a lovely illustrated book for children entitled, And Tango Makes Three.
Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, the book features adorable illustrations by Henry Cole and tells a touching true-story about the relationship between two male chinstrap penguins from New York's Central Park Zoo.
Briefly, penguins Roy and Silo fell in love in 1998. Together, they raised Tango, which was the first and only female baby penguin at the zoo.
Just after And Tango Makes Three was published in 2005, Roy and Silo parted ways, with Silo choosing to partner a female penguin. Tango, on the other hand, has been with female penguin Tanuzi for every mating cycle since they met.
Enjoy the penguin fairy tale in the following images from And Tango Makes Three:
[via Brainpickings.org, images via Amazon.com, Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell and Henry Cole]