Iwan Zarensohn jumped over the wall into the garden, saw the golden cage with the Firebird glowing inside, took it out, and wanted to leave. The Russian tales gathered here, whether they feature animals or depict animals as helpers, are told with heart and mind, sometimes comical and coarse, mocking or tender, always empathetic, often with great breadth. Thus, we gain an astonishing insight into the much-discussed, elusive "Russian soul." The vast empire of the Tsars brought together over a hundred nationalities and ethnicities. It is no wonder that the great storytellers of Russia have drawn upon this treasure of tradition. The composers have done the same: Rimsky-Korsakov set "The Golden Cockerel" to music based on Pushkin, and Stravinsky referenced the tale of the "Firebird." Alexander Gruber has selected 25 stories from well over 600 fairy tales in the fourth volume of his series "Animal Tales of Many Peoples" and retells them anew.