Available for the first time in paperback, this anthology of 50 folktales is an excellent introduction to the rich oral tradition of Finnish folktales for both the general reader and for students of folklore. Storytelling as a living tradition was preserved longer in Finland than in many other countries because of its relative geoA--graphical isolation compared to other countries that more readily came into contact with another civilization which destroyed local oral traditions. As in other countries skilled storytellers were often representatives of the itinerant trades such as cobblers,...