Alyosha is a pupil at a boarding school in St. Petersburg. He saves a little black hen from the cook's knife and, in return, the hen takes him to an underground kingdom of little people, where he receives a gift of magical powers from their king. He becomes the brightest student at school, without having to study at all. Soon no one likes him anymore and Alyosha, trying to ingratiate himself, confesses to his magical power. Unfortunately, this breaks the spell and causes the little people from the magic kingdom to move away. Having learned his lesson, he undertakes to study and learn in school on his own.

Author Biography: Antony Pogorelsky was a famous Russian Romantic writer, 1787-1836. This story was cited by Tolstoy as a childhood favorite. ILLSUTRATORBIO: Gennady Spirin was born outside Moscow and graduated from Moscow's Stroganov Academy of Fine Arts. He came to the U.S.A. in 1991. Since then he has illustrated many beautiful books—Philipok, Jack and the Beanstalk, Gulliver's Adventures in Lilliput, and The Tale of the Firebird—all for Philomel Books.

He has received many international awards, including four gold medals from the Society of Illustrators, four New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year Awards, the Premio Grafico at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, and the Golden Apple of the Bratislava Biennale of Children's Book Illustration.