batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1255-l1283
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1255-l1283
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LION AND THE MOUSE / THE CROW AND THE PITCHER / THE BOYS AND THE FROGS
/ THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN; lines 1255-1283
start: '1255'
end: '1283'
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: Two fables are presented. In the first, boys throw stones at frogs in a
pond until one frog asks them to stop, saying their sport is death to the frogs.
In the second, the North Wind and the Sun contest which is stronger by trying
to make a traveller remove his cloak; the Wind fails through force, while the
Sun succeeds through gentle and then stronger warmth. The stated moral is that
persuasion is better than force.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Mischievous boys play at the edge of a pond.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The boys throw stones at frogs in shallow water and kill several frogs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: One frog raises its head from the water and asks the boys to stop.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The frog states that what is sport to the boys is death to the frogs.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The North Wind and the Sun dispute which of them is stronger.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The North Wind and the Sun agree to test their powers on a traveller by seeing
which can remove his cloak first.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The North Wind blows furiously at the traveller, but the harder he blows,
the more closely the traveller wraps the cloak around himself.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The Sun first beams gently, causing the traveller to loosen his cloak, then
shines strongly, causing him to throw the cloak off.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The stated moral is that persuasion is better than force.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: mischievous Boys
description: Boys playing on the edge of a pond who pelt frogs with stones.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Frogs
description: Frogs swimming in shallow water; several are killed by stones.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: speaking Frog
description: One frog who puts his head out of the water and asks the boys to stop.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: North Wind
description: Personified wind who contests strength with the Sun and tries to remove
the traveller's cloak by forceful blowing.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sun
description: Personified sun who contests strength with the North Wind and makes
the traveller remove his cloak by warmth.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: traveller
description: A man wearing a cloak, used as the test subject in the contest between
the North Wind and the Sun.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: harmful players
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The boys amuse themselves by pelting frogs with stones and kill several.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: victims of play
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The frogs are struck by stones; several are killed, and one says the boys'
sport is death to the frogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: speaker requesting mercy
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: One frog asks the boys to stop and explains the deadly result of their game.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: rival claimants of strength
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The North Wind and the Sun each claim to be stronger than the other.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: forceful contestant
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The North Wind attacks furiously and tries to wrest the cloak away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: successful persuading contestant
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Sun uses gentle warmth and then full strength, leading the traveller
to remove the cloak himself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: test subject
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The traveller is the person on whom the North Wind and the Sun test their
powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pond water
literal_form: pond and shallow water where the frogs swim
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: stones
literal_form: stones thrown by the boys at the frogs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: cloak
literal_form: traveller's cloak targeted in the contest
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: North Wind
literal_form: personified wind blowing furiously
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Sun
literal_form: personified sun beaming gently and then shining in full strength
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: boys stone frogs at a pond
summary: Boys playing by a pond pelt frogs in shallow water with stones and kill
several of them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: frog protests deadly sport
summary: One frog emerges from the water and begs the boys to stop, explaining that
their amusement kills the frogs.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: natural forces set a contest
summary: The North Wind and the Sun dispute strength and agree to test themselves
by trying to strip a traveller of his cloak.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: force fails and warmth succeeds
summary: The North Wind's force makes the traveller hold his cloak tighter, while
the Sun's warmth leads him first to loosen and then remove it.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: thoughtless play causes death to others
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The boys treat stone-throwing as amusement, while the frogs are killed by
it and identify it as death to them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local fable pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy family.
- id: motif:2
label: speaking animal exposes human harm
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A frog speaks to the boys and states the moral contrast between their sport
and the frogs' death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage presents practical
moral instruction rather than esoteric wisdom.
- id: motif:3
label: contest of opposed personified natural powers
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The North Wind and the Sun are personified as rivals claiming superior strength
and testing their powers on the traveller.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The duality reference is general; the passage frames the opposition as
a fable contest, not a cosmological dualism.
- id: motif:4
label: persuasion succeeds where force fails
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Wind's force makes the traveller resist, while the Sun's gentler approach
leads him to remove the cloak; the stated moral says persuasion is better than
force.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is explicitly moral and practical; no broader historical comparison
is implied by the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1255-1260, THE BOYS AND THE FROGS
quote_or_summary: Mischievous boys play at the edge of a pond, see frogs in shallow
water, pelt them with stones, and kill several.
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 1260-1263, THE BOYS AND THE FROGS
quote_or_summary: One frog says, "what is sport to you is death to us."
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 1265-1269, THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
quote_or_summary: The North Wind and the Sun dispute which is stronger and agree
to test their powers on a traveller by seeing who can strip him of his cloak first.
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 1269-1274, THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
quote_or_summary: The North Wind blows furiously and tries to wrest the cloak away,
but the traveller wraps it more closely around himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1274-1281, THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
quote_or_summary: The Sun first beams gently, then shines in full strength, and
the traveller throws off his cloak and continues more lightly clad.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: line 1283, THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
quote_or_summary: '"Persuasion is better than force"'
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: Literal extraction is straightforward from the supplied passage. Motif assignments
are limited to broad candidate patterns and available taxonomy references; no
external comparisons were made.
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 supplied passage text was used. Although the locator label names additional fables, the provided text includes only THE BOYS AND THE FROGS and THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1255-l1283
passage_sha256=88cfd3d3f656cc95c272688f192acf8e77c910133ff42a230b97ef9e956ce53a