once upon a time

As the title implies, Gordimer frames this clique of South African apartheid in an allusive form that brings to mind many conventions of fairy tales. The story starts out with a section akin to prefatory material that an author includes as background to how they came to write the fiction that is about to be read. While lying in bed one night, the narrator heard strange noises that stirred fear stoked by recently reported cases of criminal behavior in her neighborhood. Finally accepting that the noises are due to the house settling, she decides to tell herself a bedtime story in order to get to sleep.