“Why do you keep on sneezing so?” Volka asked, as though everything else was quite clear.

“The many thousand years I spent in dampness, deprived of the beneficial rays of the sun, in a cold vessel lying on the bottom of a river, have given me, your undeserving servant, a most tiresome running nose. Hachoo! Hachoo! But all this is of no importance at all and unworthy of your most treasured attention. Order me as you wish, O young master!” Hassan Abdurrakhman ibn Hottab concluded heatedly with his head raised, but still kneeling.

“First of all, won’t you please rise,” Volka said.

“Your every word is my command,” the old man replied obediently and rose. “I await your further orders.”

“And now,” Volka mumbled uncertainly, “if it’s not too much trouble … would you be kind enough … of course, if it’s not too much trouble… What I mean is, I’d really like to be back on the floor again.”

That very moment he found himself standing beside old man Hottabych, as we shall call our new acquaintance for short. The first thing Volka did was to grab the seat of his pants. There was no hole at all.

Miracles were beginning to happen.

THE GEOGRAPHY EXAMINATION

“Order me as you wish!” Hottabych continued, gazing at Volka devotedly. “Is there anything that grieves you, O Volka ibn Alyosha? Tell me, and I will help you.”

“My goodness!” Volka cried, glancing at the clock ticking away loudly on the table. “I’m late! I’m late for my exam!”

“What are you late for, O most treasured Volka ibn Alyosha?” Hottabych asked in a business-like way. “What does that strange word ‘ex-am’ mean?”

“It’s the same as a test. I’m late for my test at school.”