batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1049-l1070
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1049-l1070
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE MICE IN COUNCIL / THE BAT AND THE WEASELS / THE DOG AND THE SOW / THE
FOX AND THE CROW; lines 1049-1070
start: '1049'
end: '1070'
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: In one fable, a Dog and a Sow dispute which animal has the finest young,
and the Sow answers that her young can see at birth while the Dog's are born blind.
In another, a Crow holds cheese in a tree; a Fox flatters her beauty and hints
that a sweet voice would make her Queen of the Birds. The Crow caws, drops the
cheese, and the Fox takes it, saying she has a voice but lacks wits.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A Dog and a Sow argue, and each claims that its own young are finer than those
of any other animal.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Sow says her young can see when born, while the Dog's young are born blind.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A Crow sits on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A Fox observes the Crow and tries to discover a way to get the cheese.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Fox stands under the tree and praises the Crow's appearance and plumage.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Fox says that if the Crow's voice is as sweet as her appearance is fair,
she ought to be Queen of the Birds.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Crow is flattered and caws to show that she can sing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The cheese falls, and the Fox snatches it up.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The Fox tells the Crow that she has a voice but lacks wits.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Dog
description: An animal arguing that its own young are finer than those of any other
animal.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sow
description: An animal arguing about the quality of its young and contrasting their
sight at birth with the Dog's blind young.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dog's young
description: The Dog's offspring, described by the Sow as born blind.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Sow's young
description: The Sow's offspring, described by the Sow as able to see when they
come into the world.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Crow
description: A bird sitting in a tree with cheese in her beak, flattered by the
Fox, and prompted to caw.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Fox
description: An animal that observes the Crow, flatters her, and takes the cheese
after it falls.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: claimant in dispute
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: Both the Dog and the Sow claim that their own young are finer than those
of other animals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: comparative respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Sow answers the dispute by comparing her young's sight at birth with
the Dog's blind young.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: holder of desired food
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Crow holds a piece of cheese in her beak, which the Fox wants to obtain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: flatterer and deceiver
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The Fox praises the Crow and uses this praise to induce her to caw, causing
the cheese to fall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: flattered victim
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Crow is flattered by the Fox's words and caws, losing the cheese.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: taker of fallen food
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: After the cheese falls, the Fox snatches it up.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree
literal_form: A tree branch on which the Crow sits above the Fox.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: cheese
literal_form: A piece of cheese held in the Crow's beak and taken by the Fox after
it falls.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: voice
literal_form: The Crow's voice, praised hypothetically by the Fox and demonstrated
by a loud caw.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: wits
literal_form: The Fox's concluding term for the intelligence the Crow is said to
lack.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Dispute over offspring
summary: The Dog and the Sow each claim superior young; the Sow replies by noting
that her young see at birth while the Dog's are blind at birth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Fox notices Crow's cheese
summary: The Crow sits in a tree with cheese in her beak, and the Fox begins devising
a way to get it.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Flattery under the tree
summary: The Fox stands under the tree and praises the Crow's beauty and plumage,
adding that a sweet voice would make her Queen of the Birds.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Caw, dropped cheese, and rebuke
summary: The flattered Crow caws, the cheese falls, and the Fox takes it while saying
that she has a voice but lacks wits.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: boast answered by bodily comparison
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Dog and Sow dispute superiority of offspring, and the Sow answers by
contrasting sight and blindness at birth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage provides a brief argumentative exchange, not an extended mythic
pattern.
- id: motif:2
label: flattery used to obtain food
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The Fox flatters the Crow's appearance and voice so that she caws and drops
the cheese, which the Fox takes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy label is broad; the passage supports trickery by
flattery but does not explicitly describe boundary-crossing.
- id: motif:3
label: loss through vanity or lack of wits
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Crow responds to praise by cawing, loses the cheese, and is told by the
Fox that she lacks wits.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The moral language is implicit in the action and in the Fox's final statement
rather than stated as a separate maxim.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1049-1054
quote_or_summary: A Dog and a Sow argue over whose young are finer; the Sow says
hers can see at birth while the Dog's are born blind.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1056-1061
quote_or_summary: A Crow sits on a branch of a tree with cheese in her beak; a Fox
sees her and plans how to get the cheese.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1061-1066
quote_or_summary: The Fox stands below the tree, praises the Crow's beauty and plumage,
and says she would be Queen of the Birds if her voice matched her looks.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1066-1070
quote_or_summary: The flattered Crow caws; the cheese falls; the Fox snatches it
and says she has a voice but lacks wits.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the supplied English passage.
Motif labels are candidate-level and require review, especially where broad taxonomy
labels are used.
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: |-
No comparison claims were added because the supplied passage does not itself make or support a specific cross-textual comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1049-l1070
passage_sha256=d32ee8adca21c477d1e5e2c92165b360d86c639b1bfef848bd78739b03c17a65