Next day the girl's father and mother sent for the priest, told him the whole story, and entreated him to help them in their trouble. "Couldn't a service[405] be performed?" they said. The priest reflected awhile; then he replied: "Please to tell her to come to church to-morrow." Next day the lazybones went to church. The service began, numbers of people came to it. But just as they were going to sing the cherubim song,[406] there suddenly arose, goodness knows whence, so terrible a whirlwind that all the congregation fell flat on their faces. And it caught up that girl, and then flung her down on the ground. The girl disappeared from sight; nothing was left of her but her back hair.[407] They are generally the corpses of wizards, or of other sinners who have led specially unholy lives, which leave their graves by night and wander abroad. Into such bodies, it is held, demons enter, and the combination of fiend and corpse goes forth as the terrible Vampire thirsting for blood. Of the proceedings of such a being the next story gives a detailed account, from which, among other things, may be learnt the fact that Slavonic corpses attach great importance to their coffin-lids as well as to their shrouds. THE COFFIN-LID.[408] A moujik was driving along one night with a load of pots. His horse grew tired, and all of a sudden it came to a standstill alongside of a graveyard. The moujik unharnessed his horse and set it free to graze; meanwhile he laid himself down on one of the graves. But somehow he didn't go to sleep. He remained lying there some time. Suddenly the grave began to open beneath him: he felt the movement and sprang to his feet. The grave opened, and out of it came a corpse--wrapped in a white shroud, and holding a coffin lid--came out and ran to the church, laid the coffin-lid at the door, and then set off for the village. The moujik was a daring fellow. He picked up the coffin-lid and remained standing beside his cart, waiting to see what would happen. After a short delay the dead man came back, and was going to snatch up his coffin-lid--but it was not to be seen. Then the corpse began to track it out, traced it up to the moujik, and said: "Give me my lid: if you don't, I'll tear you to bits!" "And my hatchet, how about that?" answers the moujik. "Why, it's I who'll be chopping you into small pieces!" "Do give it back to me, good man!" begs the corpse. "I'll give it when you tell me where you've been and what you've done." "Well, I've been in the village, and there I've killed a couple of youngsters." "Well then, now tell me how they can be brought back to life." The corpse reluctantly made answer: