[Python] Why is slicing a string not working if step is not mentioned?

I am studying slicing in strings using the slicing operator :.

The string I have chosen is word = 'fabricated'.

According to me, the output for the below statements:

print(word[5:-8])
print(word[-3:-9])


should be:

cir
tacirb


However, nothing is getting printed on running these statements. Neither on Google Colab nor on VS Code.

But when I specifically mention the step parameter as follows:

print(word[5:-8:-1])
print(word[-3:-9:-1])


I get my expected output as:

cir
tacirb


I would like to understand why I am getting a string of length 0 although the step parameter is not mandatory.

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