Doctor Gaspar Arney --What a clever man is he!He can trap the sliest fox,He can crack the hardest rocks,He can fly from here to Mars,He can reach the farthest stars! This jolly song takes us in to the world of make-believe created by Yuri Olesha. The scene is set in a fantastic land ruled by three greedy fat men who are engrossed in eating and making merry in their palace. Meanwhile, curious things are happening outside the high palace walls. You will learn all about this and much more when you read this wise, merry tale that is so like the truth. The Three Fat Men, a favorite with all Soviet children, has run to over 30 printings, it was made into a film, and performed at many theaters in Russia. "Yuri Olesha (1899-1960), a Soviet prose writer and playwright, is immensely popular with readers for his novel Envy, his short stories, plays and the famous book for children The Three Fat Men, which is really one of his masterpieces." "Yuri Olesha?s book The Three Fat Men is fantastic, fabulous, abounding in extraordinary transformation and fascinating happenings." -- Literaturnaya Gazeta "There was something Beethovenian in Yuri Olesha, even in his voice. His eyes discovered many marvelous, impressive things around him, and he wrote about them briefly, precisely and excellently." -- Konstantin Paustovsky