About the book: 1964 / The reader has an old, old plot - a trial for theft. Only this seemed to happen in some kind of “fairy-tale” country, where spirits, animals, and celestial beings act, where the real and the fantastic are mixed. The reader involuntarily succumbs to the illusion of the reality of what is happening. The effect of being removed to “another land” was a success. In the story we meet long-familiar fairy tale characters: Mouse, Cat, Donkey, Deer... What’s strange about the fact that the Mouse is at enmity with the Cat? But their second image also lives in the characters: human features can be discerned in each animal. Therefore, the action immediately becomes acute. This wit is due to the characters, because we still don’t know anything about the idea. A didactic maxim would have weakened the impression. But that’s not all. The characters in the story are taken not so much from the natural world we are accustomed to, but from the artistic, philosophical and religious literature of the Far East.