In Come Again In The Spring, the old man keeps giving the birds seeds so the birds tell the old man the answers to the Death's questions. That keeps him alive.

In the Japanese myth of Urashima and the tortoise, Urashima forgets his duties towards his old parents. When he finally returns he finds out that his parents and everyone else he knew have died.

Urashima is so sad at the end of the story that he decides to open the box in spite of being told not to. He finds his old age inside and dies.

Cause and Effect