A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Finding Benito unable to cross the sea, the King of the Fishes offers his back as a ferry and carries him to the distant country. Later he brings the boy and the rescued princess home. When the princess demands a ring lost during the crossing, the fish king summons his subjects. One is missing because it has eaten so much it cannot swim; the others drag it from beneath a stone. Suspecting the cause, the ruler has it opened, revealing the ring. This unnamed underwater king is Benito’s helper, distinct from the injured fish monarch of Griffis’s Korean Rabbit’s Eyes.
Origins & earliest records
Philippines; Tagalog tale as presented by Cole
Records & interpretation
Complete The Story of Benito and its editorial note directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Philippine Folk Tales
Tagalog: The Story of Benito, pp. 189–195 and note 8
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Philippine Folk Tales
Tagalog; The Story of Benito. Tagalog: The Story of Benito, pp. 189–195 and note 8
Whole Benito story and note8 directly read. Helper deaths, two water origins and undescribed transformed creature retained without added anatomy. Editorial European-origin assertion attributed, not independently verified. Original paraphrase.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collection / primary recorded narrativeCole, Philippine Folk Tales (1916), Tagalog: The Story of Benito, pp. 189–195 and note 8Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.