The Grimm brothers were from Germany. They listened to folktales. They wrote them down. They made them into a book in 1812. The title was Children’s Tales. Most of the stories were too scary for children. Many stories end with the characters dying terrible deaths. These endings are so horrible, they’re almost funny.

You probably know some of these fairy tales. “Little Red Riding Hood” is one. “Snow White” is another. Here’s one you probably never heard. The ending is terrible. Read it and see what you think.

A mouse, a bird, and a sausage lived together. They had a house. They were happy. Each had a job.

The bird flew to the forest every day. He got wood for the fire.

The mouse got water from the well. He started the fire. He set the table.

The sausage cooked the meals. He was a good cook. He put in vegetables. He put in meat. He even flavored the stew himself. He climbed into the great pot over the fire. He stirred the stew. This made the stew taste good. It didn’t hurt him at all.

One day, the bird went to get firewood. He met another bird on the way.

“Getting firewood is the hardest work. Why must you do it?” asked the other bird. “Your friends are making a fool out of you!”

The bird was sad. Was he a fool? He went home. He did not bring wood. He told his friends that he wasn’t going to get the wood anymore. They traded jobs. Now the sausage had to get the wood. The mouse had to cook. The bird had to get the water.

The next morning, the sausage went to get wood. A long time passed. The others got worried. The bird went to find him. But he saw a dog walking where the sausage should have been.

Can you guess what happened to the sausage? That’s right. The dog ate him. Do you know any dog that can resist a sausage?

The bird brought home the wood for the fire himself. He told the mouse what happened.

They were both very sad. But they decided to look on the bright side of life. The bird set the table. The mouse stirred the stew. Then he climbed up into the stew just like the sausage used to do.

Can you guess what happened? Mouse stew. That was the end of the mouse.

The bird hadn’t seen what happened to his furry friend. When he went looking for the mouse around the stew pot, he bumped some burning wood from the fireplace. This lit the whole house up in flames. The bird took his bucket and went to get water, but he fell down the well with the bucket. Can you guess what happened to the bird? He drowned in the well.

Great story! Just kidding.

The end.