We have always been awed by fairytales and epics from other lands, have in fact an inferiority complex about our own. Why? Because us cityfolk grew up with other peoples’ stories and have never really known our oldest tales, those that are Philippine and Asian, that trace back thousands of years before Christ to their cradle in Central Asia. Many of our stories in fact are older than Western fairy tales. They are without snow or fir trees or cinders; in these stories the sun is always shining, the gods are rice-eating, the heroines ride rattan baskets and the values are Philippine.

Treasury of Stories was prepared by an eminent anthropologist who has listened to narratives of minority groups all over the archipelago. There is something in this high quality feast of myths, legends, epics and folk stories for every age group in a family.