Which Grimm fairy tale occupies place 200 in Grimms' Fairy Tales?

The Grimm fairy tale in place 200 is “The Golden Key.” The tale is also identified as KHM 200, using the catalogue numbering for Kinder- und Hausmärchen, or Children’s and Household Tales.

The story is unusually brief. A poor boy gathering firewood in deep winter finds a tiny golden key beneath the snow. He then discovers an iron chest, locates its nearly invisible keyhole, and begins turning the key. The tale ends before the chest is opened, leaving its contents to the reader’s imagination.

“The Golden Key” first appeared in the second part of the Grimms’ first edition in 1815, where it occupied the final position. It became number 200 in the 1850 edition and remained the collection’s closing tale in the standard numbering. The Grimms associated its source with Hesse, probably through Marie Hassenpflug.

A common mix-up is confusing the tale’s position with its first-edition placement or with other golden-object stories such as “The Golden Bird” and “The Golden Goose.”