THE VAMPIRE AND ST. MICHAEL. 83

of these wares of thine with thee, for our ships are
already full.” —Then he made him laths and boards,
put them on board the ship, took St. Michael with
him, and they departed.

They went onand on. They sailed a short distance
and they sailed a long distance, till at last they came
to another tsardom and another empire. And the Tsar
of this tsardom had an only daughter, so lovely that
the like of her is neither to be imagined nor divined
in God's fair world, neither may it be told in tales.
Now this Tsarivna one day went down to the river
to bathe, and plunged into the water without first
crossing herself, whereupon the unclean spirit took
possession of her. The Tsarivna got out of the water,
and straightway fell ill of so terrible a disease that it
may not be told of. Do what they would—and the
wise men and the wise women did their utmost—it
was of no avail. Ina few days she grew worse and
died. Then the Tsar, her father, made a proclama-
tion that people should come and read the prayers
for the dead over her dead body, and so exorcise the
evil spirit, and whosoever delivered her was to have
half his power and half his tsardom.

And the people came in crowds—but none of them
could read the prayers for the dead over her, it was
impossible. Every evening a man went into the
church, and every morning they swept out his bones,