batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1073-l1097
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1073-l1097
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE DOG AND THE SOW / THE FOX AND THE CROW / THE HORSE AND THE GROOM / THE
WOLF AND THE LAMB; lines 1073-1097
start: '1073'
end: '1097'
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 groom spends much time grooming a horse while stealing
and selling part of its oats; the horse declines in condition and asks to be fed
more and combed less. In another, a wolf finds a lamb away from the flock, invents
accusations as excuses to kill it, ignores the lamb's replies, and devours it.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A groom spends long hours clipping and combing a horse in his charge.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The groom daily steals part of the horse's allowance of oats and sells it
for his own profit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The horse's condition worsens over time.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The horse tells the groom that if he wants it to look sleek and well, he should
comb it less and feed it more.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A wolf comes upon a lamb straying from the flock.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The wolf seeks a plausible excuse before killing the helpless lamb.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The wolf accuses the lamb of insulting him the previous year, feeding in his
pastures, and drinking from his spring.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The lamb answers that it was not born the previous year, has not tasted grass,
and has drunk only its mother's milk.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The wolf says he will not go without his dinner, then springs upon and devours
the lamb.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Groom
description: A caretaker of a horse who clips and combs it while stealing part of
its oats.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Horse
description: An animal under the groom's charge whose condition worsens and who
speaks to the groom.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A predator who finds a lamb, invents grievances, and devours it.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lamb
description: A helpless young animal straying from the flock who answers the wolf's
accusations before being devoured.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: caretaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The groom has charge of the horse and performs grooming actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: thief of food allowance
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The groom steals part of the horse's oats and sells it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: dependent animal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The horse is in the groom's charge and depends on its allowance of oats.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: speaker of practical complaint
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The horse tells the groom to feed it more and comb it less.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: predator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wolf springs upon and devours the lamb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: false accuser
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wolf makes accusations that the lamb answers as impossible or untrue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: prey
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The lamb is called helpless and is devoured by the wolf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: accused respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The lamb replies to the wolf's accusations with factual denials.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: oats
literal_form: The horse's allowance of oats, partly stolen and sold by the groom.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: combing and clipping
literal_form: The grooming actions performed for long hours on the horse.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: flock
literal_form: The group from which the lamb is straying.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: pastures
literal_form: The wolf's alleged pastures where he accuses the lamb of feeding.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: spring
literal_form: The wolf's alleged spring from which he accuses the lamb of drinking.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: mother's milk
literal_form: The only drink the lamb says it has had.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Grooming with stolen feed
summary: The groom attends to the horse's outward appearance while stealing and
selling part of its oats, causing the horse's condition to worsen.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Horse's complaint
summary: The horse tells the groom that feeding it more is necessary if he wants
it to look well.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Wolf finds lamb
summary: The wolf encounters a lamb straying from the flock and looks for a plausible
excuse to kill it.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Accusations and denials
summary: The wolf makes several accusations, and the lamb responds that each is
impossible or untrue.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Devouring despite replies
summary: The wolf ignores the lamb's replies and devours it.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: outward care paired with withheld sustenance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The groom clips and combs the horse but steals its oats, and the horse says
it needs more feeding rather than more combing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a plain passage-level motif label, not a matched taxonomy motif.
- id: motif:2
label: predator invents pretext against weaker victim
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The wolf seeks a plausible excuse before killing the lamb and makes accusations
that the lamb refutes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: No historical or cross-cultural comparison is asserted.
- id: motif:3
label: power ignores innocence and consumes victim
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After the lamb answers the accusations, the wolf states he will not go without
dinner and devours it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is extracted from the narrative sequence only.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1073-1078
quote_or_summary: A groom spends long hours clipping and combing the horse in his
charge, while daily stealing and selling part of its oats; the horse's condition
worsens.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 1079-1081
quote_or_summary: '"If you really want me to look sleek and well, you must comb
me less and feed me more."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1084-1087
quote_or_summary: A wolf finds a lamb straying from the flock and looks for a plausible
excuse to kill so helpless a creature.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1088-1095
quote_or_summary: The wolf accuses the lamb of a prior insult, feeding in his pastures,
and drinking from his spring; the lamb replies that it was not born then, has
not tasted grass, and has drunk only its mother's milk.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1096-1097
quote_or_summary: The wolf says he will not go without dinner, springs upon the
lamb, and devours it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Comparison claims are omitted
because the passage does not itself support cross-textual or historical comparison.
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: |-
The source label includes four fable titles, but the provided passage text includes only two fables; extraction is limited to the supplied text.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1073-l1097
passage_sha256=f0c160969e30430ba12b497d707099d273c0e308f260c9911bfc9a0cf13bbba7