My favorite author in the entire world, Neil Gaiman, turns 50 today, so for this most special occasion, I thought I’d point out to you one of his stories that’s available to read online right now for free (legally, of course).

This short story is called Cinnamon, and it’s never been collected in print, only as an audio narrated by Gaiman. You can read it online at at the link above, where it’s accompanied by beautiful color illustrations by Jill Schwarz. (The audio version is available here for a very low price).

Cinnamon is a fable about an exotic princess who refuses to speak. There’s also a parrot, an angry aunt, fields of mango, and a tiger.

If you want more free Gaiman works, check out The Graveyard Book Video Tour, a collection of videos of the author reading from the book, which won the Newbery Medal in 2009.

For Gaiman’s birthday in 2008, we pulled together A Beginner’s Guide to Neil Gaiman, so if you’re not that familiar with the author, take a gander at that list and jump on! There’s something on it for every age group.

Happy Birthday, Neil Gaiman, keep on being you!