Children's writer Boris Zhitkov (1882-1938) in the short story cycles "What Happened", "Animal Stories" and "Sea Stories" shares with the young reader his rich experience as a navigator - he went from a cabin boy to an assistant captain, was a navigator of a long voyage and captain of a research vessel - and a naturalist, putting it into an accessible, a fascinating and informative form. Easily and unobtrusively, Zhitkov brings up in the younger generation a love of nature, a thirst for adventure, as well as small and large scientific discoveries.