It’s a long story and it all started before I was even born. The way I first heard it, I was four years old and my parents disguised the way the world worked as a fairy tale—except it was all true, in a manner of speaking. You see, once upon a time there was a magic kingdom, which had been conquered by an ogre. And the ogre was unpleasant and bad-tempered and suspicious, and from time to time he ate people, but . . .”
