"Who are you?"

"I am Princess Tutu."

".......oh. They're not lovely, I don't think. Most of them aren't even finished. I was never any good, but I used to be able to finish paintings, and now I can't even do that."

"I see. That sounds very difficult. I don't know what I would do if I could no longer dance."

"I'm sure I'll never be able to. It would take me so long."

"I'm sure that's not true," says Tutu. "Please, will you dance with me?"

"I - I don't think I could stand it, trying again. I'm so tired of trying the same things over and over again, only to fail. I want to succeed at something."

"I don't believe you will fail," says Tutu, beginning to dance on her own. "Being an artist is hard work, but each of the attempts we make is valuable, even the ones that only tell us that we must continue trying our best. The only true failure is never to create at all."

"That's easy for you to say. You're already good at what you do."

"I wasn't always. I know what it's like to feel that none of the effort will ever pay off."

"So why did you keep going?"

"Because I love dancing." The piece she dances now communicates that love. "Do you remember what it was like to love painting?"

"Yes," says the elephant, suddenly sounding like he might cry. He stands, and now he does dance. It is inelegant, but it is communicative, weighed down by the heavy pain he's been carrying with him. "I used to love painting. But now - everything is gray and dull and nothing is exciting, I can't remember how I ever managed to be happy like this - it's all so miserably boring - I want to do something I can believe in - "

"I think you do believe in art," she says, taking one of his feet him her hand and joining his dance. "The feeling you are experiencing is not your own. Someone else's pain has made its home in yours. Would you like me to return it to its place?"

"Yes."

And so the shard is drawn out, though not entirely placated. "I am the feeling of boredom, shattered and forgotten. I've been trapped here for so long."

"The feeling of boredom," she says, smiling. "I truly believe that all of our feelings are important, but this is not where you belong."

"I see. Will you take me somewhere more interesting?"

"Yes." And so she carries the heart shard back to the prince.

"This feeling is not a pleasant one," she tells him, "But it is still an important emotion to have. It leads us to try new things and seek out new challenges."

Some time later, Duck heads back to the practice studios to see if Serafin is still there.

He is! Who'd've thought?

"How'd it go?"

"It was OK. He's been sad because he hasn't been into painting like he used to be, but I think he's going to be OK now."

"Good."

"Yeah!" Pause. "Hey Serafin, d'you ever get bored when you're practicing?"

"—Uh—maybe?"

He has to think about it.

"I think that depends what you mean by bored."