from the short story Hansel and Gretel. Following the death of the main character, the mother (in an attempt to cover up his death) literally "chopped him in pieces, put him into the pan and... [cooked him up in blood-soup/black puddings]. The husband then eats the blood-soup/black pudding, saying how “delicious [the] food is," and even asks for the wife to "give [him] some more.” Parallel between food and death It is quite clear by the end of the tale that food is associated with death. At the beginning of the short story, the first wife is cutting an apple when she cuts her fingers and "blood [falls to] the snow." An apple later is even referred to as ushering in the Devil when the little boy comes home and the Devil figuratively makes the mother say to him, "My son, wilt thou have an apple?” You could even look to the son as a source of death when he is turned into stew. Finally, a millstone is used to kill the mother. A millstone is a tool typically used to grind corn. Guardianship Critics suggest that the character of the mother in "The Juniper Tree" is used to represent a guardian spirit. This theme of guardianship is shown throughout other Grimm fairy tales such as Cinderella, Briar Rose, and Snow White. In all of these stories, there is some object (normally represented through nature) that watches after the main character. In the case of "Briar Rose," "the briar hedge is the symbol of nature guarding her rose: the princess who sleeps inside the castle." Gift giving When the son becomes a bird, he requests gifts such as a gold chain from a goldsmith and a pair of shoes for his sister. In addition, he asks for a millstone from a group of millers, which he drops on the wife's head leading to her swift death. Critics argue that while the chain may represent power (to leave the wife), the shoes may also allude to freedom. Song Song is a symbolic motif in that it served as a vessel to expose the son's wrongful death. The bird sang this song to different townspeople in order to get gifts that he will later bestow on his sister and father after they heard the bird sing as well. This song fueled the personification of a bird, which naturally does not have the