batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1510-l1540
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1510-l1540
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FROGS' COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SUN / THE DOG, THE COCK, AND THE FOX / THE
GNAT AND THE BULL / THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS; lines 1510-1540
start: '1510'
end: '1540'
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 gnat rests on a bull’s horn and asks whether the bull minds its departure;
the bull says he neither noticed its arrival nor will notice its leaving. Two
travellers encounter a bear; one hides in a tree while the other feigns death.
The bear leaves, and the endangered traveller says the bear advised him not to
travel with a friend who deserts him in danger.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A gnat alights on one horn of a bull and remains there for a considerable
time.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The gnat asks the bull whether the bull minds if it goes away.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The bull says it did not notice the gnat’s arrival and will not know when
it leaves.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The stated moral says people may be more consequential in their own eyes than
in their neighbours’ eyes.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Two travellers are on a road together when a bear appears.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: One traveller climbs into a tree and hides before the bear observes them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The other traveller cannot escape, lies on the ground, pretends to be dead,
remains still, and holds his breath.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The bear sniffs around the traveller on the ground, takes him for a corpse,
and leaves.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The traveller who hid asks what the bear whispered, and the other traveller
replies that the bear told him not to travel with a friend who deserts him at
the first sign of danger.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The stated moral says misfortune tests the sincerity of friendship.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Gnat
description: A small insect that rests on the bull’s horn and speaks before leaving.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Bull
description: The animal whose horn the gnat uses as a resting place; it responds
with indifference.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Bear
description: An animal that appears before two travellers, sniffs the traveller
on the ground, and leaves.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Traveller who climbs the tree
description: One of the two travellers; he hides in a tree and later asks what the
bear whispered.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Traveller who feigns death
description: One of the two travellers; unable to escape, he pretends to be dead
and later criticizes the companion who deserted him.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: self-important visitor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The gnat treats its departure as something that may matter to the bull.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: indifferent host or carrier
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The bull says the gnat’s arrival and departure are both unnoticed by him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: sudden danger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The bear suddenly appears and threatens the travellers’ safety.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: deserting companion
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: This traveller hides in a tree and is later described as a friend who deserts
another at the first sign of danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: abandoned survivor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: This traveller is left unable to flee, survives by pretending to be dead,
and voices the lesson about deserted friendship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: bull’s horn as resting place
literal_form: horn of a bull
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: tree as refuge
literal_form: tree beside the road
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: feigned corpse
literal_form: living traveller lying still and holding his breath as if dead
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Gnat on the bull’s horn
summary: A gnat rests on a bull’s horn, asks whether its departure matters, and
receives an indifferent reply from the bull.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: Travellers encounter the bear
summary: Two travellers meet a bear; one escapes into a tree while the other survives
by pretending to be dead.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:3
label: Lesson after the bear leaves
summary: After the bear departs, the abandoned traveller frames the event as advice
not to travel with a friend who deserts one in danger.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: self-importance corrected by indifference
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The gnat imagines its presence and departure may concern the bull, but the
bull says he did not notice either; the moral states that people may overrate
their own consequence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is an animal fable with a
moral rather than a mythic wisdom episode.
- id: motif:2
label: feigned death to escape a predator
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The traveller who cannot flee lies still, holds his breath, and is taken
by the bear for a corpse, causing the bear to leave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy motif directly names this survival stratagem.
- id: motif:3
label: danger reveals false friendship
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: One traveller abandons the other in danger; the surviving traveller states
the lesson as advice against travelling with a friend who deserts one, and the
moral says misfortune tests friendship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad and reflects the passage’s explicit moral
teaching.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 1510-1513, THE GNAT AND THE BULL
quote_or_summary: "“A Gnat alighted on one of the horns of a Bull” and remained
there for a considerable time."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 1513-1515, THE GNAT AND THE BULL
quote_or_summary: The gnat says to the bull, “Do you mind if I go now?”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 1515-1517, THE GNAT AND THE BULL
quote_or_summary: The bull replies, “I didn't notice when you came, and I shan't
know when you go away.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 1518-1519, THE GNAT AND THE BULL moral
quote_or_summary: "“We may often be of more consequence in our own eyes than in
the eyes of our neighbours.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1520-1522, THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS
quote_or_summary: Two travellers are on the road together when a bear suddenly appears.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1522-1524, THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS
quote_or_summary: Before the bear observes them, one traveller climbs into the branches
of a roadside tree and hides.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1524-1528, THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS
quote_or_summary: The other traveller cannot escape, throws himself on the ground,
pretends to be dead, keeps still, and holds his breath.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1528-1530, THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS
quote_or_summary: The bear sniffs around the motionless traveller, takes him for
a corpse, and goes away.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: lines 1530-1536, THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS
quote_or_summary: The survivor says the bear told him “never again to travel with
a friend who deserts you at the first sign of danger.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: lines 1537-1540, THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS moral
quote_or_summary: "“Misfortune tests the sincerity of friendship.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the provided English passage.
Motif labels are descriptive and partly aligned with the broad available taxonomy
term “wisdom.” No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does
not support a specific 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: |-
Only the two fables present in the supplied passage text were extracted, despite the broader passage label.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1510-l1540
passage_sha256=b464892b53c84e6351eaf60d3da5cdb431d1e8e51250c464fb459c27869c77c5