31 Days of Happiness Countdown: where to find some real fantastic beasts. (Day 15)

Hello and welcome to Day 15 of Upworthy's 31 Days of Happiness Countdown! Each day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, we're sharing stories we hope will bring joy, smiles, and laughter into our lives and yours. It's been a challenging year for a lot of us, so why not end it on a high note with a bit of happiness? Check back tomorrow for another installment!

Finding a Strange Animals post in my Twitter feed is like finding a toasted marshmallow Jelly Belly in a sea of juicy pear.

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Because ... listen, there's a lot of crap in the world right now and things can seem really bad. Really bleak.

When I was a kid and I felt this way, I'd often retreat into fantasy stories. I'd read about Harry and Buckbeak the hippogriff, or Sam Vimes and the swamp dragons, or Dinotopia's dinosaurs. I still do that, leaning into fantasy worlds when the real world's just a little too much.

But when you get to see real fantastic beasts, well, that's kind of like someone taking you aside and saying, "Hey, I know things are tough right now. But don't forget, there's still amazing things out there."

I mean just check out some of these critters.

Strange Animals puts a little fantasy back in your day and you can't help but love it for that.

More days of happiness here: DAY 1 / DAY 2 / DAY 3 / DAY 4 / DAY 5 / DAY 6 / DAY 7 / DAY 8 / DAY 9 / DAY 10 / DAY 11 / DAY 12 / DAY 13 / DAY 14 / [DAY 15] / DAY 16 / DAY 17 / DAY 18 / DAY 19 / DAY 20 / DAY 21 / DAY 22 / DAY 23 / DAY 24 / DAY 25 / DAY 26 / DAY 27 / DAY 28 / DAY 29 / DAY 30 / DAY 31