The Little Black Hen, or The Underground People: A Fair Story for Children

Antoni Pogorelsky, a contemporary of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, wrote several fairy tales for children. "The Little Black Hen", one of his best, was composed for his ten-year-old nephew Alyosha. The book's main character is a young boy also called Alyosha. In return for his kindness and help the fairy folk reveal their innermost secrets to him. But he must keep these secrets faithfully, or his magic gift will disappear...

In this story fantasy alternates with an authentic account of life in the St. Petersburg boarding school where Alyosha lives and studies and where everything is strictly and harshly regulated. This is reality. And it is contrasted with make-believe. For the miraculous is close at hand-you need only tip-toe quietly through some dark, mysterious chambers to enter the radiant, colourful realm of fantasy...