The Death of the Little Hen
A classic Grimm Brothers folktale that subverts the typical moral lesson through dark irony. When a little hen's greed leads to her choking on a nut kernel, the little cock embarks on a chain of increasingly absurd tasks to save her—only to arrive too late. What follows is a darkly comic cascade of deaths as the cock's funeral procession unravels in tragedy, culminating in the death of nearly every animal involved. This tale exemplifies the Grimms' willingness to embrace melancholy and loss as genuine story outcomes.