Once upon a time there was a kingdom known as Afraland. The
King Aasif and his Queen Almas were very happy. They were
always smiling, in fact giggling all the while and so were with
the people of the kingdom. It was for only this reason that the
kingdom had good relations with the other kingdoms which
resulted in a flourishing trade and great richness.

Sometimes the King and the Queen were not happy.
They did not cry as they were never used to crying, in fact
they never knew what crying meant. But the reason for
their sadness was their only daughter, Rafat.
Princess Rafat was very beautiful like her mother
Queen Almas. During the day her beauty shone brighter than
the sun and during the nights she glowed even more than the
moon and the stars. Her presence bought brightness
everywhere. The King and the Queen loved her dearly and the
kingdom too showered great care over their Princess.
Princess Rafat was the only person in the kingdom who
unfortunately did not know what happiness and merriment
meant. She was always sad and gloomy. For the least thing
she bitterly cried and cried so much that there would very soon
be a big pool of tears before her. Then the best of musicians
and jesters were called to pacify her and calm her down.

No, she was not stubborn. It was her nature to
always be sad. She could not understand why her
parents and the kingdom were so happy. Needless
to say, she never moved out of the palace neither did
she like to talk to anyone.
Yes, there is a story behind this. Years ago when the
Princess was born. The King and the Queen were very
happy. They invited all the Kings and Queens of different
lands far and wide. In their excitement of having a beautiful
Princess they completely forgot to invite Queen Tabassum
of the famous Magician Kingdom of Taba. In a fit of rage
she entered the palace uninvited and cursed the King and
the Queen that their little baby would be a sad and cranky
baby. She would never be happy as they had made her
sad by not inviting her to the celebration of the birth of the
Princess.