Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved stories. As soon as she learned speech, she enjoyed every story she was told. And when she learned to read, she began to devour as many books as she could. She grew into a lovely young woman, and soon was married to a very rich man whom she did not love. The man had a large library, where she spent most of her time. She buried herself in stories, discontent with her own life. Before long, she became discontent with stories, too. They all seemed to tell the same tale. All of them had a happy ending. And one day, she decided to write a story of her own.