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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/9412
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I don't think you will find _any_ tragedy for children found acceptable in these times. Grimm and Andersen got "grandfathered in" for being classics, even though they were rewritten in more "acceptable" forms for wide public. Currently though, when _Uncle Tom's Cabin_ is found racist for using real language of times it describes, when _Harry Potter_ is bashed for promoting occult practices, when you hear angry voices of angry moms whenever a cartoon displays anything but sweet cheerful imagery, the market for tragedy for children is pretty much dead.

There's a hundred good ways to do this, but you can be sure there will be people _outraged_ at the very idea, and unable to accept even the most gentle of them.

Some examples:

- Extend the story past death. The soul finds peace.
- Reunion when it's too late. Finding peace while mortally ill, on deathbed.
- Ride into the setting sun - abandon hopes that were ruined, give up in a vain struggle.
- ...and on moonless nights you can see a ghost picking flowers, where...
- The life was such a struggle, that a peaceful death is a welcome respite.
- Sentenced to an eternal duty, never able to get the deserved rest. The ultimate fate is bad, but isn't the worst.

Try to make the ending bittersweet, not just bitter. Give the reader a small candy.

I can give you one _modern_ example: Spielberg's _A.I._. It would be a story of futile search sentenced to ultimate failure, but it's given an extra ending, where the protagonist is given _one day_ of his wish.

Original score: 3