It is the Court of the Middle Kingdom, of an old, foolish emperor who dotes on his daughter Belle Epine and has been turned against her gentle sister, Belle Rose. Belle Epine has no love for her father, but she humours him to his face while mocking him behind his back. And the courtiers follow her example. Alone the Fool has any real affection for his master, and he alone has given his heart's affection to the lovely, but despised Belle Rose. Belle Epine's favourite, on the other hand, is a black-clad, hunchbacked dwarf, and when the curtain rises he is maliciously plaguing the Fool. In a moment they are fighting, but the entry of the Emperor and his Counsellors and Courtiers makes them break hurriedly apart. The Emperor pets the dwarf and scolds the Fool. He is indeed a foolish Emperor and it is a gossiping, frivolous Court.