The vikram and Vetaal

The stories of Vikram and Betal, 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.

The introduction shows the setting for the stories, and conclusion shows what happened after King Vikram fulfilled his promise to the monk.

Enjoy the stories:

• Introduction

• The Vampire's First Story. In which a man deceives a woman.

• The Vampire's Second Story. Of the Relative Villany of Men and Women.

• The Vampire's Third Story. Of a High-minded Family.

• The Vampire's Fourth Story. Of A Woman Who Told The Truth.

• The Vampire's Fifth Story. Of the Thief Who Laughed and Wept.

• The Vampire's Sixth Story. In Which Three Men Dispute about a Woman.

• The Vampire's Seventh Story. Showing the Exceeding Folly of Many Wise Fools.

• The Vampire's Eighth Story. Of the Use and Misuse of Magic Pills.

• The Vampire's Ninth Story. Showing That a Man's Wife Belongs Not to His Body but to His Head.

• The Vampire's Tenth Story. Of the Marvellous Delicacy of Three Queens.

• The Vampire's Eleventh Story. Which Puzzles Raja Vikram.

• Conclusion