Pushkin began writing his first major work, Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), a kind of fairy story in verse, in 1817. It was based on Russian folktales told by his old nurse Arina Rodionovna.

"On seashore far a green oak towers

And to it with a gold chain bound

A learned cat whiles away the hours

By walking slowly round and round.

To right he walks, and sings a ditty

To left he walks, and tells a tale...."

Please Note: This audiobook is in Russian.