Long, long ago, there lived a prince in a faraway land whose grandfather told him lots of tales.
Each time a story was told, the spirit of the story would move on to live with the listener and sing songs for him. The listener would then have to narrate the story to someone else in order for the story spirit to move on. After seven such retellings, the story spirits would be freed.
But this prince trapped the spirit of every story his grandfather told him so that he could always listen to their songs; he would put them in a room and lock the door, refusing to tell the tales to anyone.
As the years went by, the spirits grew tired; it was uncomfortable, and stuffy inside their locked room, but they couldn’t get out. They were trapped until the prince told the tales to someone else.
But, the prince had moved on with his life. He had grown old enough to marry, and once a princess was found, the grand wedding preparations began.
When the story spirits heard the news, they were enraged.