The Girl Who Turned Into a Fish and Other Classic Philippine Water Tales

Excerpt from the Introduction: This stories in this book come from folklore, and because the authorship of folklore is collective, the stories continually evolve as they are sung or recited. The stories in this collection are retold for children. They use language and situations that children can understand and identify with in their more limited experience of the world...The other selections of this book speak of human interactions-- punishments for vanity, rewards for humility, and the triumph of the underdog...There are eight stories in all. Two tell of human dealings with creatures not of our world...Why are things the way they are. What happens when people offend, cheat, or take advantage of each other?...These are questions you may have heard from your children. These are questions these stories attempt to answer. But to see folk tales as simply answers to questions is to do them an injustice. They were conceived as much to provide enjoyment as to instruct. Folk tales allow us to take imaginative leaps beyond our everyday lives. Ultimately, they are a springboard for the soul. - Maria Elena Paterno