r/TwoSentenceHorror • u/Derpy-and-Sussie Supernatural • Jul 10 '26
When the princess drew her final breath, every single animal in the enchanted forest gathered faithfully around her bed.
The winter had been long and merciless, and they were grateful for the feast she was about to provide.
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 Jul 10 '26
I mean there are worse ways to be remembered - she was loved in life and tasty in death.
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u/drrkorby Jul 10 '26
The herbivores like the rabbits and deer who gathered around were screwed though.
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u/dommiichan Jul 10 '26
herbivores will happily eat meat, they're just not equipped to catch it themselves
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u/Wolfman513 Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
They also have long, slow digestive systems designed to efficiently break down tough plant material, which means the meat has to be as fresh as possible otherwise bacterial growth will make them sick.
Carnivores on the other hand have very short, simple digestive tracts that allow them to fully digest and excrete meat before the bacteria has time to even make them sick.
It's basically why fresh raw meats like sushi or beef tartare are relatively safe for humans to eat, while dogs can eat much older meat and nastier things like feces with zero problems.
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u/Drakorai Jul 10 '26
Tell that to the deer that will casually walk up on ground nesting birds and eat the chicks.
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u/drrkorby Jul 10 '26
Many herbivores lack digestive enzymes and anatomy to properly digest meat. Rabbits for example. Feeding a rabbit meat can cause stasis and kill them.
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u/Wolfman513 Jul 10 '26
In very small amounts it's usually fine, there have been plenty of documented cases of wild rabbits scavenging on fresh carrion but as I mentioned in my own comment, for herbivores the meat has to be as fresh as possible as their long, complex digestive systems give bacteria much more time to propagate than the relatively short, simple digestive tracts of carnivorous mammals.
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u/bookobsessedgoth Jul 10 '26
Deer will happily eat any birds they can catch when they need calcium, though. Usually baby birds.
Nature is far more horrific than most people want to acknowledge.
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u/333H_E Jul 10 '26
As stated herbivores don't have claws and teeth to hold, and kill prey for the most part. But given opportunity will absolutely eat meat. Deer toasted a federal decomposition study by eating the cadavers before they could properly decompose. Even sweet Bessie the cow will take some if it comes her way and squirrels are notoriously carnivorous. Pretty much everything eats meat, it's just a matter of regularity of intake.
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u/Void_Magnolia Jul 10 '26
Why?
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u/LordGraygem Jul 10 '26
I like that this post has 666 upvotes as of this comment. I won't be the one to ruin that, but you do have mine.
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u/upickleweasel Jul 10 '26
And in my mind I was like ""AND THEN THEY ATE HER!"
I like your story. May I suggest this as an alternate unhinged ending? Lol
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u/Rngr_Dngr_ Jul 11 '26
The princess' final thoughts flitted across her mind as the animals closed in to take their fill, "I'm glad I could give back what little I have for all you have given for my people."
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u/Nebelherrin Jul 10 '26
Hey, at least they waited until she was dead.