The narrator tells us that the island's most popular dancer, Maria, has become a household name around the world because of her elegant dance moves. She's also known as the "queen of the dances" because she's so popular. The four island leaders have decided to hold a peace conference in each of their islands for one last time before the end of the year. They're going to have a dance with Maria during the conference, and then they'll have a peace declaration during the dance. Sounds like a great idea, right? They've got a month until the conference starts, but they're planning to hold the dance right after the peace conference. The festival will be free to the four islands, which means that everyone will be able to come to see Maria and her dancers. The narrator says that the ocean has offered to help with the festival, but he's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. He says that everyone on the island has a "power stone of sorrow" , which keeps them from being happy. He's going to announce the festival soon, and he wants to know what's up with the rumors that Maria and the other island leaders were wearing black suits and glasses. The mayor of the island says that they were just trying to get away from the rumor mill, but the narrator points out that they've already done that. He wants to make sure that the festival is a success.