batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1369-l1391
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1369-l1391
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE HARES AND THE FROGS / THE FOX AND THE STORK / THE WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
/ THE STAG IN THE OX-STALL; lines 1369-1391
start: '1369'
end: '1391'
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 hunted Stag hides in an ox-stall under hay. An Ox warns him that he risks
capture and later says the master’s keen eyes will find him. Farm-hands fail to
notice the Stag, but the master enters, inspects the stable, discovers him in
the hay, and has him killed for the table.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A Stag is chased from his lair by hounds and takes refuge in a farmyard stable
where oxen are stalled.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Stag hides under a pile of hay in a vacant stall, with only the tips of
his horns visible.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: An Ox asks why the Stag has entered and warns that he risks being captured
by the herdsmen.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Stag asks to stay until night, saying he can escape under cover of darkness.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Several farm-hands enter during the afternoon to attend the cattle but do
not notice the Stag.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Ox warns that if the master comes, the Stag will be found because nothing
escapes the master’s keen eyes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The master enters, criticizes the care of the oxen, seizes hay from the pile
where the Stag is hidden, detects him, and has him killed for the table.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Stag
description: A hunted animal who hides in the ox-stall under hay and is later discovered
and killed.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hounds
description: The animals chasing the Stag from his lair.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Oxen
description: Animals stalled in the stable; one speaks to the hidden Stag and warns
him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Farm-hands or herdsmen
description: People who enter to attend the cattle but fail to notice the hidden
Stag; later the master calls his men.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Master
description: The owner or overseer whose keen eyes are said to miss nothing; he
discovers the Stag and orders him killed.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fugitive animal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Stag is chased by hounds and seeks refuge in the farmyard stable.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: hidden victim
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Stag lies concealed under hay but is detected by the master and killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: pursuers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hounds chase the Stag from his lair.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: warning bystander
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: One Ox warns the Stag about the danger of capture and about the master’s
keen eyes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: ordinary caretakers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Farm-hands enter to attend the cattle without noticing the Stag; they are
also the kind of people the Ox identifies as a danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: keen-eyed inspector
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Ox says nothing escapes the master’s keen eyes, and the master discovers
the Stag.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: agent of capture and death
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: After detecting the Stag, the master calls his men and has him killed for
the table.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ox-stall or stable refuge
literal_form: Stable with stalled oxen and a vacant stall
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: concealing hay
literal_form: Pile of hay covering the Stag
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: visible horn tips
literal_form: Tips of the Stag’s horns protruding from the hay
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: cover of darkness
literal_form: Night or darkness proposed as cover for escape
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: keen eyes
literal_form: The master’s keen eyes
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: table
literal_form: The table for which the Stag is killed
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Flight and concealment in the ox-stall
summary: The Stag flees the hounds, enters a stable, and hides under hay in a vacant
stall with only his horn tips showing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Ox warns the hidden Stag
summary: An Ox questions the Stag’s decision to hide there and warns him of capture,
while the Stag says he will wait for night to escape.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Farm-hands fail to notice
summary: Several farm-hands enter to tend the cattle but do not see the hidden Stag,
causing him to think himself safe and thank the Oxen.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Master discovers and kills the Stag
summary: The Ox warns that the master will detect him; the master enters, inspects
the stall, takes hay from the hiding place, discovers the Stag, and has him killed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Hunted animal seeks refuge in a dangerous hiding place
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Stag, fleeing hounds, hides in a farmyard stable where the Ox warns he
may be captured by humans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a descriptive passage-level motif, not a supplied taxonomy family.
- id: motif:2
label: Concealment fails before a more observant authority
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Farm-hands do not notice the hidden Stag, but the master’s inspection reveals
him, matching the Ox’s warning about the master’s keen eyes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not state a separate moral; the motif is inferred from
the narrated sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: Overconfidence after incomplete escape
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Stag congratulates himself after lesser observers miss him, but the Ox’s
wiser warning proves correct when the master arrives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad and should be reviewed because
the passage presents practical warning rather than explicit wisdom teaching.
- id: motif:4
label: Escape deferred until night is prevented by daylight discovery
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Stag plans to escape under cover of darkness, but the master discovers
him before that plan succeeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: Night escape remains only an intended plan, not an enacted scene.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1369-1374
quote_or_summary: A Stag chased by hounds enters a farmyard stable, hides under
hay in a vacant stall, and remains concealed except for the tips of his horns.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1374-1378
quote_or_summary: An Ox asks why the Stag has come in and warns of capture by herdsmen;
the Stag asks to stay until night, when he expects to escape under darkness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1378-1382
quote_or_summary: Farm-hands enter during the afternoon to tend the cattle but do
not notice the Stag, who begins to congratulate himself and thank the Oxen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 1382-1385
quote_or_summary: "“If the master comes, you will certainly be found out, for nothing
ever escapes his keen eyes.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1385-1391
quote_or_summary: The master enters, complains about the oxen’s care, takes hay
from the pile where the Stag is hidden, detects him, calls his men, and has him
killed for the table.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based entirely on the supplied passage. Candidate motifs are
descriptive and require human review for alignment with any wider motif taxonomy.
No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not provide an
explicit comparative frame.
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: |-
Although the supplied locator label names several fables, the supplied passage text only includes “THE STAG IN THE OX-STALL”; extraction is limited to that text.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1369-l1391
passage_sha256=a5e058855bb4642b52e6b45e447bdbe8c3765984cb8cbfe164b7162ab6867afe