[
 {
  "chunk": 0,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "A worn-out peasant comes home through the farmyard and asks after his wife's dying father; she says the priest expects him to die before morning.",
  "predicament": "A worn-out couple learn the old relative they keep will not last the night, just as the busy season presses."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 1,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "At the old man's bedside the son-in-law complains that the death comes in good working weather, and the couple reckon how many hours the funeral invitations will cost.",
  "predicament": "A couple at a dying relative's bedside think mainly of the working days his death and burial will cost them."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 2,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "The wife suggests he start inviting mourners now and say the old man is already dead; he agrees, tells her to bake dumplings for the guests, and eats his bread without wasting a crumb.",
  "predicament": "To save a day's work, a couple decide to announce a relative's death before it has actually happened."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 3,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "She tells a passing neighbour the funeral is fixed for Saturday, bakes forty-eight dumplings, and finds her father still rattling whenever she looks in; her husband comes home asking if it is over.",
  "predicament": "Having told the neighbours a relative is dead, a woman keeps checking and finds him stubbornly still alive."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 4,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "The couple sleep beside the dying man; at dawn he is still alive, and the wife reassures her husband that the authorities will let them bury him on schedule, as they did for a neighbour.",
  "predicament": "A couple who announced a death too early reassure each other that the authorities will bend the rules for them."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 5,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "The old man lingers; the couple get the mayor and the health officer to agree to backdate the death, but the next morning he still breathes as the black-clad mourners arrive.",
  "predicament": "A couple who talked obliging officials into bending the rules face arriving mourners with the dying relative still breathing."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 6,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "The couple burst into tears, make excuses to every guest and hold back those who want to leave by offering the dumplings, which cheer the crowd up.",
  "predicament": "A couple who summoned mourners too early must explain the embarrassing mistake and keep the guests from leaving offended."
 },
 {
  "chunk": 7,
  "story": 0,
  "summary": "The old man dies in the middle of the feast; the couple are relieved, and the wife's only grief is that she must bake four dozen more dumplings for the real funeral.",
  "predicament": "A couple whose relative finally dies at the worst moment regret only the extra food and expense it costs them."
 }
]