Hikoichi, the cook, was mocked by the fishermen of the boat on which he worked, for each day he talked to and fed the fish of the sea as though they were his best friends. The fishermen laughed at his foolishness until, in a strange and mysterious way, they saw the King of the Sea reward Hikoichi's kindness a hundred-fold.

This is the first of twelve Japanese folk tales gracefully told by a gifted storyteller, Yoshiko Uchida. The stories cover a wide range and a host of colorful characters - a long-nosed goblin, a shrewd monkey, a formidable river ogre, a terrible black snake.

These stories are a fascinating excursion into the folklore of another land and are beautifully depicted in Marianne Yamaguchi's handsome charcoal drawings.

From the dust jacket