故事來自阿美族的口述相傳，有美麗山林、大海及豐富的潮間帶，他們說樹上住著一條魚，又說海岸邊，有守護土地的魚群們，大自然的故事和人的情誼緊扣在族群的口述文化裡。
這個「住在樹上的魚」故事，不但精準點出林投在海岸的生態角色，也在三言兩語間準確描繪了山蘇、九芎、山棕、茄苳等植物的形態特徵；故事中的主配角們相互扶持、鼓勵的溫暖，充分體現阿美族的互助精神。這個簡短的神話故事，蘊含了深刻的自然觀察，與期待人們善良互助的寓意，讓人不由得讚嘆臺灣原住民族的傳統智慧。
Introduction
Inancienttimes,thePangcahTribepassedontheircultureorallybytellingstoriesaboutthebeautifulcoastalforest,theocean,andtheintertidalzone,aplacethatteemswithlife.Anintertidalzoneistheareabetweenhighandlowtide.Asaresultofthetide,thecoastlineisnotfixedlikealineonamap,butmovesinandout,everyday.Lookingoutacrossthisintertidalzoneintothesea,thePangcahpeopletoldstoriesofafishthatcametoliveinatreeandofatribeoffishthatlivesnearthecoastandtakescareoftheland.Thesearestoriesoffriendshipbetweennaturalcreatures.NatureandfriendshipareessentialelementsoftheoralcultureofthePangcahpeople.
ThisstoryofthefishinthetreefromMiyanotonlypointsouttheecologicalroleofthescrewpineonseashores,butalsodescribesspecieslikethebird’snestfern,crapemyrtle,sugarpalm,andbishopwoodaccuratelyinjustafewwords.Thewarmthofthecharacters,whohelpandencourageoneanother,atteststothespiritofhelpingeachotherinthePangcah(Amis).Readingastorythatcontainssuchkeenlyobservednaturaldetailcombinedwithamoralvisionthatcouldbeunderstoodintermsofsymbiosis,wecan’thelpbutfeelawedbytraditionalindigenouswisdom.
