In a brief prologue, the narrator of the story describes a green oak by the sea, on which a learned cat walks back and forth on a gold chain. When the cat walks to the right, he sings - to the left he tells stories. In this magical place, fairy tales come alive, including those common in Russian folktales such as a hut on hen's legs (избушка на курьих ножках), Baba Yaga (Баба-Яга), and King Koschei (царь Кащей) and fairy tales that Pushkin himself wrote, including the 33 warriors from "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". The narrator tells us he has been to this magical place and the cat has told the narrator these stories, including the following story.