The book’s Prologue takes place prior to the action of the novel. The first section is a fairytale: a king is anxious that his legacy be passed down, but law says that his firstborn child will inherit the throne only if that child is male. Therefore, when the queen gives birth to a girl, he orders a midwife to bring his daughter into the woods. The midwife, however, takes mercy on the girl and gives her to a witch, who agrees that the girl can stay and do chores. The witch names the girl Eins, German for “one.” The midwife bestows a prophecy: “Your fate is not yet sealed./Even in the darkest night, a star will shine,/A bell will chime, all will be revealed.” In the coming years, the queen gives birth to two more girls, and the witch takes them in, naming them Zwei and Drei (“two” and “three”). The midwife shares the same prophecy with the other two sisters. The queen’s fourth child is a boy. 

We learn that the fairytale just relayed appears in a book; its reader is named Otto, and he has been playing a game of hide-and-seek. He realizes that while he has been hiding and reading, he missed the signal for those who were hidden to come out.