Bastien und Bastienne to perform of Mozart's juvenile works. Bastienne, a shepherdess, fears that her "dearest friend", Bastien, has forsaken her for another pretty face, and decides to go into the pasture to be comforted by her flock of lambs. Before she can leave, however, she runs into Colas, the village soothsayer. Bastienne requests the help of his magical powers to help win back her Bastien. Colas (being a soothsayer) knows all about the problem, and comforts her with the knowledge that Bastien has not abandoned her, rather, he's merely been distracted lately by 'the lady of the manor'. His advice is to
The Cobbler and the Financier composer Henri-Joseph Rigel made a two-act comic opera of the fable in 1778. He was followed by Jacques Offenbach who, having set the fable for soloist and small orchestra as part of his "6 fables de la Fontaine" in 1842, later adapted the story to a one-act comic opera in 1856 in which the heroine sings a parody of his own setting. In that light-hearted entertainment, the cobbler turns the tables on his opponent by using the 300 crowns he is given to beat the financier at cards, taking over all his assets and winning the hand of his daughter.