The Tales of Philip Pullman. Count Karlstein, or The Wild Hunt. Jack Spring-Heeled

Count Karlstein A Gothic Tale The Clockwork Mechanism, or Everything is Wound Up — a truly eerie story that recalls the plots of The Cold Heart by W. Hauff, The Sandman by E. Hoffmann, and even the legend of Doctor Faust. The spring of the fairy tale is wound so tightly that each step inexorably brings the heroes closer to their fateful conclusion. However, the story about clockwork mechanisms, wind-up toys, and the sinister Doctor Kalmenius ends quite favorably — precisely because it is wound correctly. Some tales are like a clockwork mechanism; once you wind them up, you cannot turn back. The master of clockwork, his apprentice, a mechanical knight, a little prince with a motor instead of a heart, and the mysterious Doctor Kalmenius, of whom rumors say he is the devil himself... Jack Spring-Heeled Jack — a name that instilled terror in both criminals and honest citizens. Some considered him a devil, but in fact, he was the first superhero — leaping over the houses of Victorian England with the help of springs in his heels. The story begins on a dark stormy night when three innocent orphans escape from an orphanage. They navigate the dangerous streets of London, pursued in the shadows by Death in the guise of Mac-the-Knife, the most villainous of all villains. And then Jack appears, the most springy of all heroes. But will he have the strength to save the orphans?