Vikram and the Vampire : Classic Hindu Tales of Adventure, Magic, and Romance

The Vikram and the Vampire,by Sir Richard F. Burton, originally written in sanskrit, have been an integral part of Indian fairy tales for many centuries. Legend has it that King Vikramaditya (Vikram), the emperor of Ujjain promises a monk to bring Betal, the vampire as a fovour promised to him. The condition is that the king should bring the vampire in complete silence, lest Betal, the vampire will fly back with the corpse to its abode. As soon as Vikram attempts to fetch the corpse in which the vampire Betal was residing, the vampire starts to narrate a story. And at the end of every story it compells king Vikram to solve the puzzle of the story, thus breaking his silence. The stories thus narrates by Betal, the Vampire forms an interesting series of fairy tales.