ee of her daughters hadn't
long ago been married to youths of their own village. So when the
stranger said he would require no dowry, the old woman whispered to her
oldest daughter:

"He seems to be all right. Perhaps you had better take him."

The poor girl accepted her mother's advice and that afternoon started
off with the Vampire who said he would lead her home and marry her.

They walked a great distance and as evening came on they reached a wild
ghostly spot which frightened the girl half to death.

"This way, my dear," the Vampire said, pushing her into an opening in
the earth. "We take this underground passage and soon we'll be home."

The passage led to a sort of cave which really was the Vampire's home.

"What an awful place!" the poor girl cried in terror. "Let me out!"

"Let you out, indeed!" the Vampire sneered, taking his own horrible
shape and laughing cruelly. "Here you are and here you stay and if you
don't do everything I tell you, I'll soon finish you! Here now, drink
this."

He offered the poor girl a pitcher and when she saw what was in it she
nearly fainted with horror.

"No!" she cried. "I won't! I won't!"

"If you don't drink this," the Vampire said, darkly, "then I'll drink
you!"

And with that he killed her with no more feeling than if she were a fly.

Then in a short time he went back to the old woman and said:

"Dear mother, my poor wife is ill and she begs that you send her your
second daughter to nurse her. She asks for her sister night and day and
I fear she will die unless she sees her."

When the poor old mother heard this, she begged the second daughter to
go at once with the young man and nurse her sick sister.

Well, the same thing happened to the second sister and in no time at all
the Vampire had killed her, too, to satisfy his awful thirst.

Then he returned again to the old mother and this time he pretended that
both sisters were sick and were trying for the third sister to come and
nurse them. So the poor old woman sent her Youngest Daughter away with
the Vampire.

The Youngest Sister when she found out the truth about the horrid
Vampire didn't sit down and weep helplessly as the others had done and
wait for the Vampire to kill her, but she prayed God's help and then
tried to find some way of escape.

There were doors in the cave which the Vampire told her were doors to
closets she must not enter. When the Vampire was out she opened these
doors and found tha