This volume of the collected works of Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Teffi includes mostly stories unknown to the modern reader, written both before the revolution and in emigration, united by a common theme. In them, the writer conveys mystical moods that reflect the worldview of a turning point. For the first time, the book “The Witch,” published in Berlin in 1936, and a number of works published in pre-revolutionary periodicals are being republished. The reader can also get acquainted with the best stories from the collection “The Lifeless Beast” (1916). The text of the book was translated from the original language using an artificial intelligence program. For the most part, the translation of the text is of very high quality, but in some cases, due to the imperfection of the technology, there may be incorrect phrase translations in the text, as well as single words and expressions may not be translated.