By chance, Kuzma Lichikov, a resident of the fairy-tale town of Veliky Guslar, found himself in a cave where a sleeping princess lay. She awoke from Kuzma's kiss and fell in love with the hero. Love awakened Lichikov's talent as a woodcarver, and he decorated the forest glade where he settled with the princess in a hut with amusing figures. Batyev, the "head of city culture," took an interest in his work. Deciding to use the craftsman and his fairy-tale glade for mass events, he promised to give Lichikov and the princess a separate apartment in return. Lichikov, having received the position, quickly became bureaucratic, and in a fit of official zeal, he did not notice how love disappeared from his life...