The Wizard's Apprentice

The cat Vaska, drawn and then brought to life by magic, fully inherited some of the shortcomings of his “parent,” Vasya Vertushinkin. So the two of them together got into a rather unpleasant story…

The fairy tale “The Wizard's Apprentice” is the very first tale in the “Master of the Magic Keys” cycle, the beginning of the adventures of the wizard Alyosha and his “faithful squire,” the cat Vaska. It is here that all the most historically important events take place: the wizard Alyosha inherits from his old teacher, Sekret Tainovich, a magic piece of chalk with which one can open a door into any fairy tale. From now on, Alexei Sekretovich is not just a wizard, but the Master of the Magic Keys. Along with the chalk he also gets a genie with a dreadful character, living in a blue thermos. And finally… Cat Vaska comes to life and jumps down onto the floor from Vasya Vertushkin's drawing, obeying the spell of the wizard Alyosha, and becomes his apprentice. If only Alyosha had known… The Master of the Magic Keys is one alone.