It is unlikely that there is a person in our country who was not read the fairy tale "The Humpbacked Horse" in childhood. This work is often perceived as folk and is passed down orally. However, its author is Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov. He was born in the Tobolsk province in February 1815, and later his family moved to St. Petersburg. There, Yershov enrolled in the historical and philological faculty of the university, where he became fascinated with literature. At just 19 years old, he wrote his famous work "The Humpbacked Horse," using folk tales and adding the images of Ivan the Fool, the Firebird, and the capricious princess.

In the fairy tale, the youngest son Ivan the Fool becomes the owner of a magical humpbacked horse, with which he embarks on incredible adventures. Thanks to his four-legged friend, he fulfills all the whims of the king: he catches the Firebird, retrieves the ring of the Tsar Maiden from the bottom of the sea, saves the whale fish, escapes chases, and ultimately becomes a king himself. In addition to the series of astonishing events, the image of the main character is also captivating. Unlike his treacherous and greedy antagonists, Ivan the Fool remains kind-hearted, modest, and responsive. Alexander Pushkin highly praised the fairy tale, stating that Yershov cannot be surpassed in this genre.

"The Humpbacked Horse" became so popular that before the revolutions of 1917, it was reprinted 26 times. The story came to be regarded as a folk work. After graduating from university, Pyotr Yershov returned to his homeland and worked as the director of a school in the Tobolsk province. He wrote many more interesting fairy tales and plays, but he is best known for "The Humpbacked Horse."