Project: Musical settings of Contes pour enfants pas sages, children's stories in French by Jacques Prévert. Contes pour enfants pas sages' ('Stories for thoughtless children') was written by the popular French poet and screenwriter Jacques Prévert in 1947. It comprises eight short, mordantly funny stories that mostly use animals as their principal characters. I have set six of them (L'Autruche, Scène de la vie des antilopes, Le dromadaire mécontent, L'éléphant de mer, Jeune lion en cage, Les premiers ânes) for an ensemble of soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano. Cheval dans une île is set for small SATB chorus, oboe, tenor saxophone and harp. L'opéra des girafes is just that, an opera in three tableaux –it will be set for soloists, chorus and orchestra.