"Myanmar has a long and rich tradition of literature that is mostly unknown to the world, since few translations are available. The collection here is a small selection from the wide choice available to the Burmese-reading public. Due to lack of time on my part, I could not read the majority that was published; there are thousands more that deserve to be presented to international readers, both short stories and novels. I beg pardon from those whose works were left out and I hope that better writers than I will do more than I ever could... The structure and form of writing in English and Bamar (or Burmese, which is both the majority race and the official language) in which the original stories were written, are somewhat different. English in general is generally concise, whereas Burmese has a varied and at times flowery vocabulary. Some editing was necessary for the sake of clarity and for this I must ask forgiveness of the writers, since unlike in the publishing houses of the west we do not have a tradition of another person editing the author?s work... My appreciation goes to U Sonny Nyein of Swiftwind Books, for giving his permission to reprint most of these stories that first appeared in their quarterly publication ?Enchanting Myanmar” and to U Harry Hpone Thant for putting up the stories on his website of the same name... My heartfelt thanks go to U Than Swe of Unity Books who first published these stores and especially for the group of wonderful artists, most of them not even graphic illustrators, who created the beautiful paintings for each story... I have chosen these stories partly because they cover a wide variety of human life: marriages like tongue and teeth; love beyond the grave; the anxiety of mothers; the kindness ? and unkindness - of strangers; and the snares of enticement and greed... Mainly, I chose the stories for the spirit of the people of Myanmar they portrayed. Many people may not be rich but they live with contentment, humour, compassion and pride, in the face of grim reality. They are the real representatives of the country, the true treasures of Myanmar... Enjoy. ma thanegi 2008