The narrator tells us that the "shadow princess" was to live forever as a shadow. She was to "forever live as a clatter" . The narrator asks her father why she is so early. He tells her that since the young prince has returned, he has ordered her to stay a bit longer. She tells him that her brother has excelled since he was a young child. He is the "apple of everyones eye" , she says, and she says that she is just like him. She says that one day, she saw a prince from a neighboring country at a ball and tried to make the prince fall in love with her before the third midnight. The heroine always has a happy ending, she tells us. She also says that if she throws up now, it will be humiliating. She asks if the shadow princess is okay, and the narrator tells her to sit down. He says that the prince is charming, and he even opened a bottle of wine for her. He asks her if she would like to dance with him, but she tells him to come back tomorrow.