Benjamin, a young man, asks his servant Crasmagne to leave with him, not as a servant but as a mentor and a friend. Crasmagne is unsure at first, but as he is promised a great sum of money, he accepts. Benjamin tells him to meet him at midnight in a park. In the park, a strongbox is hidden inside a detached house; it is filled with jewels that used to belong to Benjamin’s mother. Benjamin orders Crasmagne to fetch the strongbox. Faced with his master’s threats, the servant has no choice but to oblige. However, once in possession of the strongbox, Crasmagne hides it somewhere else and pretends not to have found it. Furious, Benjamin enters the detached house to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Crasmagne, who is standing outside, sees Monsieur Lésimond, Benjamin’s father. Remorseful, he tells him the whole truth. Shortly after, Benjamin comes out of the house with the strongbox in one hand and a gun in the other. His father curses him and leaves. Crasmagne and Benjamin go to the “Coq Plumé” (Plucked Rooster) hotel. Once there, they meet the hostess and Javotte, her servant. Benjamin leaves Casmagne without a meal, and goes to have fun. However, their vacation soon turns to chaos: after gambling, they are thrown out of the hotel almost naked and penniless. Famished and exhausted, they encounter a peasant who offers them a job: Crasmagne becomes a valet and Benjamin a pig-keeper. Crasmagne dines with the peasant, leaving Benjamin alone with his thoughts: an angel appears and suggests for him to go back to his father. Shortly after, Crasmagne comes back with some soup and learns of Benjamin’s decision to go back home. Once home, Benjamin is forgiven by his father.

String marionette

All audiences

France

Printed

Servant

Relationship between father and son

Thief

Inheritance

Jewel

Curse

Journey

Game of chance

Bankruptcy

Misery

Return

Forgiveness

Comical

Edifying

French

Father

Young man

Domestic servant

Peasant

Valet

Knight

Host

Young woman

Fiancée

Aside

Sung scenes

Off-stage noise

Situation comedy

Song

Off-stage voice

Apparition of an angel

Change of social status

L'Enfant prodigue

The Prodigal Child

Mistreated by his aunt and his uncle since the death of his father, the farmer Timothy Coombewest decides to leave and seek his fortune. He asks Marjorie Morning to wait for him for a few years and to marry him upon his return. He becomes a cabin boy on board the Linnet. Once at sea, Captain Chief, or Blackbeard the Second, tasks his crew with a new quest: he wants to find an emerald that was buried by Jamesee Henderson several years before. Coastal erosion should have exposed the precious stone, permitting ships to see it with a naked eye. Eight years pass, and the emerald still remains lost. Colorado Maduro expresses his gratitude at the kindness of Timothy (Tim), who has not let him die of hunger while the captain has imprisoned him in the ship's hold. He confides in Tim that he found and stole the emerald a year before, but that his destiny is sealed: the one who steals this precious stone is cursed with a year left to live, and the one who receives it as a gift will be blessed with prosperity. The ship jets out towards the cliffs and sinks. In a grotto under the sea, Tim meets Davy Jones, who gives him back the precious gem. Tim, now captain, navigates towards the direction of his hometown. From the shore, the inhabitants see the sails of his ship and prepare to welcome him and to celebrate his marriage to Marjorie.