During the several thousand years of Hottabych’s life, he had often had to do with people feeling sad and gloomy, and he knew how to cheer them up. At any rate, he was convinced he knew how to do so. All that was needed was to give a person that which he had always longed for. But what kind of a present should he give Volka? The answer came to him quite by chance when Volka asked a passer-by:

“Would you please tell me what time it is?”

The man looked at his watch and said, “Five to two.”

“Thank you,” Volka said and continued on in silence.

Hottabych was the first to speak.

“Tell me, O Volka, how was the man able to tell the time of day so accurately?”

“Didn’t you see him look at his watch?” The old man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“His watch?!” “Sure, his watch,” Volka explained. “He had a watch on his wrist. The round chrome-plated thing.”

“Why don’t you have such a watch, O most noble of all Genie-saviours?”

“I’m too young to have such a watch,” Volka answered humbly.

“May I be permitted, O honourable passer-by, to inquire as to the time of day?” Hottabych said, stopping the first person he saw and staring at his watch.

“Two minutes to two,” the man answered, somewhat surprised at the flowery language.

Thanking him in the most elaborate oriental manner, Hottabych said with a sly grin:

“May I be permitted, O loveliest of all Volkas, to inquire as to the time of day?”

And there was a watch shining on Volka’s left wrist, exactly like the one the man they had stopped had, but instead of being chrome-plated, it was of the purest gold.

“May it be worthy of your hand and your kind heart,” Hottabych said in a touched voice, basking in Volka’s happiness and surprise.

Then Volka did something that any other boy or girl would have done in his place, having found themselves the proud possessors of their first watch. He raised his arm to his ear to hear it tick.