A collection of fifty folktales, which features traditional folktales and a number of popular Finnish jokes and anecdotes, this anthology is an excellent introduction to the rich oral tradition of Finnish storytelling for both the general reader and for students of folklore. As in other countries, skilled storytellers were often representatives of the itinerant trades such as cobblers, tailors, lumberjacks, and peddlers, but due to its relative geographical isolation, storytelling as a living tradition was preserved longer in Finland when compared to other countries whose local oral traditions were considerably diminished by the impact of external cultures.

Helena Henderson, a member of the Anglo-Finnish Society, is a UK-based freelance tutor, translator and writer.