The Louse and the Flea

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NameThe Louse and the Flea
Also known asLittle Louse and Little Flea
Aarne–Thompson groupingATU 2022 (An Animal Mourns the Death of a Spouse)
CountryGermany
The Louse and the Flea
Folk tale
NameThe Louse and the Flea
Also known asLittle Louse and Little Flea
Aarne–Thompson groupingATU 2022 (An Animal Mourns the Death of a Spouse)
CountryGermany
Published inGrimms' Fairy Tales

"The Louse and the Flea" or "Little Louse and Little Flea" (German: Läuschen und Flöhchen) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 30.[1]

It is Aarne-Thompson type 2022, An Animal Mourns the Death of a Spouse,[2] and takes the form of a chain tale, sometimes known as a cumulative tale. Wilhelm Grimm probably heard the story from Dorothea Catharina Wild in 1808.

A louse and a flea are married until the louse drowns while brewing. The flea mourns, inspiring a door to ask why and start creaking, which inspires a broom to ask why and start sweeping—through a sequence of objects until a spring overflows at the news and drowns them all.

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