Answer:
A. The narrator's introduction introduces the setting and contrasts the innocence of children's books and bedtime stories with the tragedy that can result from fear.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the introduction of the story "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer, we learn more about the setting of the story. We learn of the fear of burglary that affects South Africans, and how this fear impacts all citizens in various ways, including the author. The rest of the story builds on this fear to discuss how people can become so controlled by their fear that they end up hurting and ruining what they wanted to protect. The introduction is also important in that it creates a strong contrast between a "serious" subject, such as the fear of violence, and the project that Gordimer is engaging in, which is that of telling a bedtime story.