The Shroud

by Brothers Grimm · from Household Tales

fairy tale moral tale melancholy Ages 8-14 271 words 2 min read
Original Story 271 words · 2 min read

The shroud

A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm

There was once a mother who had a little boy of seven years old, who was so handsome and lovable that no one could look at him without liking him, and she herself worshipped him above everything in the world. Now it so happened that he suddenly became ill, and God took him to himself; and for this the mother could not be comforted, and wept both day and night. But soon afterwards, when the child had been buried, it appeared by night in the places where it had sat and played during its life, and if the mother wept, it wept also, and when morning came it disappeared. As, however, the mother would not stop crying, it came one night, in the little white shroud in which it had been laid in its coffin, and with its wreath of flowers round its head, and stood on the bed at her feet, and said, "Oh, mother, do stop crying, or I shall never fall asleep in my coffin, for my shroud will not dry because of all thy tears, which fall upon it." The mother was afraid when she heard that, and wept no more. The next night the child came again, and held a little light in its hand, and said, "Look, mother, my shroud is nearly dry, and I can rest in my grave." Then the mother gave her sorrow into God's keeping, and bore it quietly and patiently, and the child came no more, but slept in its little bed beneath the earth.

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Story DNA

Moral

Excessive grief can disturb the peace of the departed, and true love sometimes means letting go.

Plot Summary

A mother deeply grieves the death of her beloved seven-year-old son, weeping incessantly. Her child's ghost appears, first mirroring her sorrow, then directly asking her to stop crying because her tears are keeping his burial shroud wet and preventing him from resting. Frightened and understanding, the mother ceases her excessive grief. The child's ghost appears one last time, announcing his shroud is dry, and the mother finds peace, allowing her son to rest in his grave.

Themes

grief and lossletting goparental lovepeace in death

Emotional Arc

suffering to peace

Writing Style

Voice: third person omniscient
Pacing: moderate
Descriptive: sparse

Narrative Elements

Conflict: person vs self
Ending: bittersweet
Magic: ghost of a child
the shroudtears

Cultural Context

Origin: German
Era: timeless fairy tale

Reflects common anxieties about child mortality and the proper grieving process in historical European societies.

Plot Beats (10)

  1. A mother loves her beautiful seven-year-old son above all else.
  2. The son falls ill and dies, leaving the mother inconsolable and weeping constantly.
  3. After burial, the child's ghost appears nightly in his old play spots, weeping alongside his mother.
  4. One night, the child's ghost appears in his burial shroud and wreath, standing at his mother's feet.
  5. The ghost speaks, asking his mother to stop crying because her tears are keeping his shroud wet and preventing him from sleeping in his coffin.
  6. Frightened by this revelation, the mother ceases her weeping.
  7. The following night, the child's ghost reappears, holding a small light.
  8. The ghost tells his mother that his shroud is now nearly dry and he can rest in his grave.
  9. The mother accepts her sorrow and commits it to God, bearing it quietly and patiently.
  10. The child's ghost never appears again, resting peacefully in his grave.

Characters

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The Mother

human adult female

None explicitly mentioned, but implied to be a grieving woman.

Attire: Simple, likely dark, mourning clothes typical of a 19th-century European peasant woman.

A woman with a tear-streaked face, consumed by grief.

Deeply sorrowful, loving, eventually accepting, fearful.

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The Little Boy

human child male

Seven years old, handsome and lovable.

Attire: A small white shroud, a wreath of flowers around his head.

A small boy in a white shroud with a wreath of flowers on his head, holding a tiny light.

Innocent, gentle, concerned for his mother's well-being, restless in death due to her grief.

Locations

Mother's House

indoor night

The home where the mother and her seven-year-old son lived, and where the mother continues to mourn after his death.

Mood: grief-stricken, sorrowful, eerie, eventually peaceful

The mother's intense mourning takes place here, and the ghost of her child appears to her, asking her to stop crying so his shroud can dry.

mother's bed places where the child sat and played child's apparition in a white shroud wreath of flowers on child's head little light held by the child

Child's Grave

outdoor night

The burial place of the seven-year-old boy, described as a 'little bed beneath the earth'.

Mood: somber, peaceful, final

The child's spirit is unable to rest here due to his mother's tears, but eventually finds peace once she stops weeping.

earth coffin shroud