A maiden meets Death as she walks down the road and tries to offer him riches in return for a bit more time alive. Death refuses her offer and takes her away.
Pinocchio is a wooden puppet who is brought to life by a wood sprite. Because he is made of wood he can't fully die; he is sent to the afterlife for a holding period where he is told by Death he will remain longer and longer each time he dies. Pinocchio interprets this as freedom from consequences; however, as Death tells him, he may be able to return from the afterlife, but those he loves cannot.
One day, everyone stops dying. When death reemerged as a human-like woman, she decides she will warn humans with a letter, one week before she takes them.
A prince seeks a land where there is no death. While many figures offer him centuries to live, he is not satisfied with anything but immortality. He finds the Land of Immortality, where he lives a thousand years until Death finally finds him. The Queen of Immortality and Death wager for his life and the Queen wins.
Legendary hero Puss in Boots finds himself on his last life. Now hunted by Death because he wasted his first eight, Puss must convince Death he values life in order to live out his last one.
When given three wishes, Francis asks for a sack which will swallow anything he names. So when Death comes for him, he forces her into the sack in attempt to live forever. However, when he has tired of life he releases Death who then takes him.
Death is a godlike character in the Discworld series with sympathy toward humans. Death has been known to allow some extra lives or allow them to bargain for their lives.
Children Billy and Mandy accidentally enslave the Grim Reaper as a guardian for them. Grim looks after them resentfully, but eventually comes to care for them.
In The Tale of the Three Brothers, a story in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, three brothers cheat Death and in reward Death gives them each a gift. Each gift is intended to bring the owner misfortune and back into Death's arms, but one brother is clever enough to use his gift to hide from Death.
During the Black Death, a knight begins a chess game with Death, hoping he will survive as long as he plays the game. He ends up distracting Death while a family escapes their doom. Enjoying his cleverness, Death allows the knight to live "until they meet again."
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a story narrated by Death. Death tells the story of a young girl in Nazi Germany who steals books. Death is present in the lives of all the characters.
Collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, Godfather Death is a fairy tale in which a man asks death to be the godfather of his youngest son. In return Death assists the son in becoming a famous physician.
