Dark was the night and fearsome the atmosphere. The howling of jackals faded into the weird laughter of unearthly beings . Flashes of lightning revealed ghastly faces.
But King Vikram did not swerve. He climbed the ancient tree and brought down the corpse. However, as soon as he began crossing the desolate cremation ground, with the corpse lying astride on his shoulder, the vampire that possessed the corpse remarked , "O King, you seem to have been induced to take up this arduous task by someone who is trying to exploit you. I am reminded of Anand , whose story I shall tell you now." The vampire then started narrating the story.
Long ago, Satyagiri was ruled by a king whose only son was Jayanth. He was a disciple of guru Govindacharya. Along with him , many other students were attending the gurukul. The other students kept aloof from the prince as a mark of respect. Jayanth, too, kept his distance from the other students. But one of them, Anand, tried his best to foster a friendship with the prince. Since Anand was intelligent, he was able to assist the prince in his studies whenever he needed such help. Gradually Anand succeeded in breaking the ice and Jayanth accepted him as his friend.
