The stories included in this collection are classics of children's literature and have been cherished by generations of Portuguese children.

The author is one of Portugal's greatest poets and, like her poetry, these stories are filled with her delight and pleasure in nature, gardens and the sea, as well as her keen sense of the magical. Among other things, we encounter dwarves, diminutive little girls who live on the sea bed, plants that come alive at night, a tree that lives on long after it has been felled, and a pilgrim who discovers much more than the Holy Land. Her themes are, above all, loyalty and friendship.

This is the first time these stories have been translated into English. Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919-2004) was brought up in a wealthy Catholic family and remained true to her faith until her death, although she was also always fiercely critical of the repressive right-wing Salazar regime.

Introduced by her nanny to the joys of poetry and story-telling, Sophia published several collections of poems, two volumes of short stories and nine children's stories, which she wrote originally for her own children. She became Portugal's most acclaimed poet and was the first woman to be awarded Portugal's highest literary honour, the Premio Camoes.