Master Abraham Liskov, a magician and miracle worker at the court of a pocket principality, saves a kitten from drowning during a phantasmagoric celebration organized by him. Murr learns to understand the language of the biped family, comprehends literacy and absorbs scraps of knowledge from ancient tomes from the maestro’s table in order to finally enter the service of Johannes Kreisler and immortalize his observations on paper. The most gifted of cats, with pen and ink, sets out his biography and views on the world, using the pages of his master's notes as blotting paper, thanks to which we learn something about the life of a rebellious musician. This is a philosophical fairy tale about the collision of two worlds: the world of ordinary people, pragmatic rationalists with Hoffmann's favorite hero: a restless artist, a wanderer, an everyday loser, an incurable romantic. Moreover, the world of philistine-rationalists, despising “these crazy artists,” subconsciously strives to imitate them, which is remarkably evident in the example of the “Notes” of the aforementioned cat. This is how another important theme for Hoffmann arises: the theme of duality, the theme of genuine and substitute, false entities. “Notes...” is also distinguished by Hoffmann's trademark humor: ironic and sarcastic and, at the same time, transparent and light.