Comparative mythology corpus
batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1032-l1046
batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1032-l1046
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1032-l1046
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE MISCHIEVOUS DOG / THE CHARCOAL-BURNER AND THE FULLER / THE MICE IN COUNCIL
/ THE BAT AND THE WEASELS; lines 1032-1046
start: '1032'
end: '1046'
translation: Aesop's Fables; a new translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A bat is twice caught by weasels. To escape the first, who hates birds,
it claims to be a mouse; to escape the second, who never releases mice, it claims
to be a bird. Both weasels accept the claim and release it. The moral advises
observing circumstances before committing oneself.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A bat falls to the ground and is caught by a weasel.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The first weasel says he is an enemy of all birds on principle.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The bat says it is not a bird but a mouse, and the first weasel releases it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Later, the bat is caught in the same way by another weasel and again begs
for its life.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The second weasel says he never lets a mouse go.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The bat says it is not a mouse but a bird, and the second weasel releases
it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The moral tells the reader to see which way the wind blows before committing
oneself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bat
description: An animal caught twice by weasels; it escapes by identifying itself
first as a mouse and later as a bird.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: First Weasel
description: A weasel who catches the bat and says he is an enemy of all birds.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Second Weasel
description: Another weasel who catches the bat and says he never lets a mouse go.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: captive pleading for life
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The bat is caught and begs to be let go in both encounters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: captor threatening to kill or eat
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The weasels catch the bat; the first is described as about to kill and eat
it, and the second catches it in the same way.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: adaptive self-identifier
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The bat gives different identity claims to suit each weasel's stated hostility.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: enemy of birds
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The first weasel says he is an enemy of all birds on principle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: enemy of mice
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The second weasel says he never lets a mouse go.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: bat as ambiguous animal
literal_form: Bat described through opposed categories of bird and mouse
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: wind direction
literal_form: The moral image of seeing which way the wind blows
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: First capture and release
summary: A weasel catches the bat and refuses release because he hates birds; the
bat says it is a mouse, so the weasel releases it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Second capture and release
summary: Another weasel catches the bat and refuses release because he does not
release mice; the bat says it is a bird, so the weasel releases it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: Moral statement
summary: The closing moral advises judging conditions before making a commitment.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: survival through shifting social category
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The bat escapes danger by presenting itself under one category when birds
are threatened and another when mice are threatened.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents verbal self-identification, not literal physical
transformation.
- id: motif:2
label: prudential adaptation to circumstances
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The moral explicitly advises observing prevailing conditions before committing
oneself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a practical moral rather than a mythic episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1032-1034
quote_or_summary: A bat falls to the ground, is caught by a weasel, and is about
to be killed and eaten when it begs to be released.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 1034-1036
quote_or_summary: The Weasel says he cannot release the bat because he is "an enemy
of all birds on principle."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1036-1038
quote_or_summary: The bat says it is not a bird but a mouse; the weasel accepts
this and lets it go.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1038-1040
quote_or_summary: Some time later the bat is caught in the same way by another weasel
and again begs for its life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 1040-1041
quote_or_summary: The second weasel says, "I never let a mouse go by any chance."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1041-1044
quote_or_summary: The bat says it is not a mouse but a bird; the second weasel accepts
this and lets it go.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 1046
quote_or_summary: '"Look and see which way the wind blows before you commit yourself."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The basic narrative details are explicit. Motif-family mapping is interpretive
because the passage is a brief fable with a moral, and the bat's category shift
is verbal rather than bodily.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the provided passage text was used; the broader locator label names adjacent fables not included in the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1032-l1046
passage_sha256=78afe3258b77c9ae1d065eb5c19a79510254bb69160b8b254b0193c017def94b