Dremuchiy les polon udivitel`nykh, volshebstv i fantasticheskikh sushchestv. Zapravlyayet v nem zhutkaya rogataya koldun`ya - Starukha. Ona derzhit klyuchi ot granits, ot kazhdogo dereva i tsvetka — no k svoim velichayshim taynam, samym sokrovennym glubinam Dremuchiy les yeye ne dopuskayet. Tuda Staraya otpravlyayet Ul`yanu — devochku, kotoruyu s mladentsa derzhala vozle sebya kak sluzhanku, — i prikazyvayet yey prinesti ottuda ved`mskuyu knigu.
Dremuchiy les ne vpuskayet nikogo, krome odnogo-yedinstvennogo sushchestva — Serogo Volka. Tot prizhivayetsya v lesu i dazhe stanovitsya telokhranitelem Ved`my — odnako s kazhdym dnem yego vse sil`neye donimayet strakh i neuverennost`. V kontse kontsov Volk ne vyderzhivayet: ostavlyayet v lesu svoyu ten` — prismatrivat` za Ved`moy, a sam tyanet yeye metlu i letit za sovetom k Lune. . .
