Anthony Pogorelsky wrote the fairy tale "The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants" for his nephew Alyosha Tolstoy— a future poet and writer. This work has long become a classic of children's literature, a fairy tale that has been known and loved in Russia since childhood. Young readers, who are initially fascinated by the magic of the plot, learn an invaluable lesson at the end of the tale: they walk the path together with the hero Alyosha and begin to realize the power of goodness, truth and diligence. Nika Georgievna Golts, an unsurpassed master of book illustration, Honored Artist of Russia, and winner of the Honorary Diploma of the H. K. Andersen International Prize for Children's Literature, accurately conveyed the deep meaning of this tale in her illustrations.