Juniper Tree

I see the boy as falling into the same scale as the frog in "The Frog Prince." His soul is still in tact even though his physical form is in that of an animal. He does not have the same liberties as the frog, since the frog is able to still talk freely and is pretty much the same as he was when he was a prince, in spite of being a frog. The boy, on the other hand, was killed which means that he is "dead" but not completely since this is fairy tale world. Unlike the frog, the boy hasn't been placed under some sort of spell since he was actually killed but he does experience the sort of "grace" that is common in fairy tales. Fairy tale characters who have proven themselves to be "good"and "innocent" do not die. They either avert death or like the boy in "The Juniper Tree" are reincarnated. His speech, however, is severely limited and he only speaks in song. The boy gets to live but only so that he can attempt to regain his human form and to haunt his murderer. The good are always rewarded in fairy tales so the boy is killed but doesn't completely die, therefore, he is able to come back to life so easily after the truth behind his death is discovered and the evil have been punished.