batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1323-l1339
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1323-l1339
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN / THE MISTRESS AND HER SERVANTS / THE GOODS AND
THE ILLS / THE HARES AND THE FROGS; lines 1323-1339
start: '1323'
end: '1339'
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: The hares, despairing because many enemies kill and devour them and because
they lack strength and courage, decide to drown themselves in a nearby pool. As
they run toward the pool, frogs on the bank hear them and leap into the water
to hide. An older, wiser hare tells the others not to destroy themselves, because
the frogs' fear shows that some creatures are even more timid than they are.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The hares gather together and lament their unhappy condition.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The hares are described as exposed to dangers on all sides and lacking strength
and courage.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Men, dogs, birds, and beasts of prey are identified as enemies who kill and
devour the hares daily.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The hares decide collectively to end their lives by drowning themselves in
a neighboring pool.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Frogs sitting on the bank hear the hares running, leap into the water together,
and hide in the depths.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: An older hare, described as wiser than the rest, tells the hares to stop and
take heart.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The older hare reasons that the frogs are afraid of the hares and therefore
must be more timid than the hares.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hares
description: A group of hares who lament their lot, fear many enemies, and initially
intend to drown themselves.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Older Hare
description: One of the hares, older and wiser than the rest, who urges the group
not to destroy themselves.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Frogs
description: A number of frogs sitting on the bank who leap into the water and hide
when they hear the hares approaching.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Enemies of the Hares
description: Men, dogs, birds, and beasts of prey, named as enemies that kill and
devour the hares.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: despairing vulnerable group
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The hares lament their unhappy lot, lack strength and courage, and decide
to drown themselves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: wise counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The older hare is called wiser than the rest and counsels the others to stop
and take heart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: more timid creatures
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The frogs flee from the hares and are interpreted by the older hare as more
timid than the hares.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: predators and persecutors
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The named enemies kill and devour the hares daily.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pool water
literal_form: neighboring pool; water; depths
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hares lament their condition
summary: The hares gather and complain about their unhappy and dangerous condition,
naming many enemies and their own lack of strength and courage.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Hares rush toward the pool
summary: The hares, resolved to die, run together toward a neighboring pool to drown
themselves.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Frogs flee into the water
summary: Frogs on the bank hear the hares running and jump into the water to hide
in the depths.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Older hare counsels the others
summary: The older hare tells the group not to destroy themselves, pointing out
that the frogs fear the hares and are therefore more timid.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: despair reversed by seeing another's fear
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The hares intend to drown themselves from despair, but the older hare changes
their decision after observing that the frogs are afraid of them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a fable-level narrative pattern rather than a clearly mythological
motif family.
- id: motif:2
label: wise elder interprets an event to restore courage
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The older hare, explicitly described as wiser than the rest, interprets the
frogs' flight as evidence that the hares should take heart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage supports wisdom as a practical
counsel motif, not an esoteric wisdom tradition.
- id: motif:3
label: water as intended death-place and hiding-place
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The hares approach the pool intending to drown, while the frogs leap into
the same water to hide.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The pool functions literally in the fable; no further symbolic meaning
is stated in the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1323-1327
quote_or_summary: The hares gather and lament their unhappy lot, being exposed to
dangers and lacking strength and courage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1327-1329
quote_or_summary: Men, dogs, birds, and beasts of prey are named as enemies who
kill and devour the hares daily.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1329-1332
quote_or_summary: The hares decide to end their lives and run together toward a
neighboring pool intending to drown themselves.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1332-1335
quote_or_summary: Frogs on the bank hear the hares running and leap together into
the water, hiding in the depths.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 1335-1339
quote_or_summary: 'The older hare, wiser than the rest, says: "Stop, my friends,
take heart; don''t let us destroy ourselves after all" and notes that the frogs
are afraid of them.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from public domain text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Passage details are straightforward. Motif labeling is cautious because the
text is an animal fable and does not itself state broader mythological comparisons.
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 passage itself does not support a specific comparison to another text, tradition, or motif family beyond the supplied taxonomy candidate for wisdom.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1323-l1339
passage_sha256=f1d513856916a192c6d94768182a2342e8cc8b2faefa8b5780742c9a2df3301b