The collection is composed of works from different years. Some were written on the topic of the day, others raised more fundamental topics. The stories have their own “zest” in the form of, as a rule, an unexpected ending; feuilletons give a reason to smile or laugh heartily. From the most natural realism, the author moves on to fantastic plots and fairy tale elements. And the main conclusion is simple: man himself is the architect of his own happiness, here even a goldfish cannot replace him... This truth was confirmed during the pandemic panic that gripped almost the entire globe, and is confirmed in our troubled days.