The parents of six-year-old Pavlik want to make an erudite out of their beloved son. They constantly force the boy to read a lot, study and achieve success. Mom and dad so want their son to be the first in everything. One day Pavlik comes to visit his grandmother in the village. Grandmother allows her grandson to go out alone for a walk. The walk turns into a fun journey for the young hero to Moscow...

Once on New Year's Eve, Gosha met a strange old man who called himself an inventor. He kept his last invention in a suitcase and willingly determined with the help of this device the area and degree of giftedness of each person. He predicted the career of a clown to Gosha, but Gosha did not believe it and, contrary to the recommendations, became a journalist.