Oleg Rain’s new story “Two Wise Men in One Basin...” is published in a series of fantastic literature for children, but it can be called fantastic to the same extent as realistic. Its main character, third-grader Max, is an ordinary boy, the kind of boy who fights, dreams, makes friends, falls in love, invents, and is an excellent student in some subjects and not good in others. True, he differs from most of his peers in his wild imagination and heightened ability to empathize. But although the life of Max and his friend Vovka takes place against the backdrop of recognizable signs of our time, the story has a parallel fantastic plot that reveals the meaning of the title, which in turn hints at the walk of “three wise men in one basin.” Where did the “two wise men” sail and what did they see and experience during their exciting journey? Both realistic and fantastic narrative lines provide their own answers to this question. The book is recommended for children of middle school age.

Drawings by the author