The book is a scientific and artistic reproduction of the thoughts of "grandfather Krylov" about his life and his time. Readers are invited to erase the textbook gloss from the well-known image of the fabulist, which will allow him to play with bright and, possibly, unexpected colors. Just as interesting will be acquaintance with the less well-known, but very fascinating and even unique phenomena of the work of I.A. Krylov: his defiant comedies, the cycle of jokes he created about himself and the "mask" of the eccentric worn by him, which he did not take off until his last breath.