Night on Bald Mountain 25 December 1858, has been interpreted as an indication of Mussorgsky's intent to write an opera on the subject of Gogol's short story "St. John's Eve" (, "Vecher nakanune Ivana Kupala", "St. John's Eve"). Gogol's tale contains the elements of witchcraft common to other stories in the "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" collection, but does not feature a witches' sabbath. No further plans for this project were mentioned. The theme of a witches' sabbath, the central theme in all subsequent "Night on Bald Mountain" projects, appears to have been derived from the nonextant play "The Witch" (, "Ved′ma") by
Ketzel, the Cat who Composed "School Library Journal" called it "A delightful read." "Kirkus Reviews" named it "Truly, the cat's meow." and "Publishers Weekly", in a star review, wrote "a lovely tale of cross-species affection and creativity". It was also reviewed by the Jewish Book Council, the "Jewish Journal", and the "Buffalo News". "Ketzel" won the 2016 Massachusetts Book Awards Picture Book/Early Reader Award, and the 2016 Gold Sydney Taylor Book Award Younger Reader Category Ketzel, the Cat who Composed Ketzel, the Cat who Composed is a children's picture book by Lesléa Newman. Based on a true story, it is about the friendship between Moshe