The Child’s Concept of Chance reconfigures words, concepts and images from numerous traditional fairy tales and filmic sources into one anarchic, mythic, meta-fairy tale completely deficient in narrative purpose and moral instruction.
YEAR: 2014
RUNTIME: 5:00
VOICE: Anne Hardcastle
MUSIC (SAMPLED): Anton Webern, 6 Orchestral Pieces
Script
There was once a tailor who had three sons, but only one goat.
Early the next morning, the apprentice was walking through a clearing in the forest.
The old woman said, “You will not speak or be heard for seven years.”
Precious stones lay everywhere, and it was a joy to see them.
The King had a daughter who was very beautiful, but she was also very strange.
The girl believed that she was in a dream.
After 7 more years, when she was fourteen years old, she went again into the wide world.
When the boy awoke and saw that he had slept, he was sad at heart, and said: “she has certainly passed by, and
I was unable to set her free.”
The servants sat by the chamber door, and heard how she wept.
They resolved to go forth together and liberate the King’s daughter.
The King rejoiced when he saw her beauty and youth, and a great feast was made ready to which all the people
were invited.
The eyelids of the prince grew heavy.
How fortunate is the master who lives near the castle.
Have you no children, the stranger asked, who could help you with this work?
But the soldier had nothing left but his gun; so he took that on his shoulder and went forth into the wide world.
You shall for the next seven years neither wash yourself, nor comb your beard, nor your hair, nor cut your nails,
nor once say the lord’s prayer,” said the woman.
He thought to himself: If I go in, and the giant sees me, it will very likely cost me my life.”
So when a year had gone by, the second boy set out to seek his brother.
Soon afterwards the master thief returned, and asked what strange boy was lying there.
His brothers were satisfied with this; and, as they loved one another very much, they all three stayed together in
the house, followed their trades, and, as they had learnt them so well and were so clever, they earned a great
deal of money.
There they stood and did not know what to do, and none of them dared to go home.
But the queen would not give them their promised reward.
They replied: “We have now finished learning, and we must prove ourselves to the world, so allow us to go away
and travel.”
And now she went continually onwards, far, far, to the very end of the world.
Her joy was increased when her brother emerged from the forest in his original human form, and on the self-
same day the maiden, in accordance with her promise, was at last able to renounce her vows of marriage to the
unlucky sailor.