Vikram

Vikram and Vethalam stories have been an important aspect of the Indian fairy tale sagas. Legend has it that Vikramaditya or Vikram was the king of an ancient part of India, called Ujjain. He was requested by a wicked sage, to capture and bring a ghost called Vethalam to him, so that he can complete his grand Ritual. Vikram accepts the request and goes on to confront the Vethalam in the forest. He finds the corpse of the Vethalam hanging upside down from the top branch of a drumstick tree. When the King took the corpse and started walking, the Vethalam enters the corpse and begins to speak. The ghost promises to accompany Vikram on a condition. King Vikram must not speak during the journey and if he speaks, it would take its body and go back to its tree. Also Vethalam made another condition. During the journey it would tell a puzzle story. If Vikram answers incorrectly or did not answer even when knowing the answer, it would shatter his head into a thousand pieces. Thus begin a series of short stories told by Vethalam to Vikram. The end of each story has a puzzle which compels King Vikram to break the silence and subsequently leads Vethalam to fly away. However, in conclusion the King did manage to maintain his silence at the end of the last story and thus succeeded in his quest to get Vethalam to the sage. From here on you are King Vikram hearing the story of the Vethalam. So good luck for the journey my King.