batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1647-l1668
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1647-l1668
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE OAK AND THE REEDS / THE BLIND MAN AND THE CUB / THE BOY AND THE SNAILS
/ THE APES AND THE TWO TRAVELLERS; lines 1647-1668
start: '1647'
end: '1668'
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 travellers, one habitually lying and one habitually truthful, enter
the land of Apes. The King of the Apes displays royal magnificence and asks each
traveller to judge him and his subjects. The lying traveller flatters him and
receives a handsome present. The truthful traveller calls the king and subjects
fine apes, angering the king, who orders him clawed to death.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Two men travel together; one is described as never speaking the truth, and
the other as never telling a lie.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The travellers arrive in the land of Apes, and the King of the Apes orders
them brought before him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The King of the Apes receives the travellers while sitting on a throne, with
ape subjects arranged in rows on both sides.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The king asks the travellers what they think of him as king and what they
think of his subjects.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The lying traveller praises the king as noble and mighty and says the subjects
are worthy of their royal master.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The King of the Apes is pleased by the lying traveller’s answer and gives
him a handsome present.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The truthful traveller expects a greater reward for telling the truth after
seeing the lying traveller rewarded.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The truthful traveller says the king is a fine ape and the subjects are fine
apes too.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The King of the Apes becomes enraged and orders the truthful traveller taken
away and clawed to death.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: lying Traveller
description: One of the two travelling men, described as never speaking the truth;
he flatters the King of the Apes and receives a present.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: truthful Traveller
description: One of the two travelling men, described as never telling a lie; he
answers the king plainly and is condemned to be clawed to death.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: King of the Apes
description: An ape king who receives the travellers on a throne, asks for their
opinions, rewards flattery, and punishes the truthful answer.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ape subjects
description: Apes arranged in rows on either side of the king and described as his
subjects.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: flatterer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The traveller gives exaggerated praise of the king and subjects and is rewarded.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: plain-speaking truth-teller
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The traveller is described as never telling a lie and gives a direct answer
identifying the king and subjects as apes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: vain ruler and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The king stages a royal display, asks for judgments about himself and his
subjects, rewards praise, and punishes the unflattering answer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: rewarded speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After flattering the king, the traveller receives a handsome present.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: punished speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After answering truthfully, the traveller is ordered taken away and clawed
to death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: royal subjects
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The apes are explicitly called the king’s subjects and are arranged around
his throne.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: throne
literal_form: A throne on which the King of the Apes sits while receiving the travellers.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: handsome present
literal_form: A handsome present given by the King of the Apes to the lying traveller.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: rows of subjects
literal_form: Ape subjects ranged in long rows on either side of the king.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Arrival in the land of Apes
summary: The two travellers enter the land of Apes, and the king orders them brought
before him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Royal display and questioning
summary: The King of the Apes sits on a throne with his subjects in rows and asks
the travellers for their opinion of him and his subjects.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Flattery rewarded
summary: The lying traveller praises the king and subjects, and the delighted king
gives him a handsome present.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Truth punished
summary: The truthful traveller expects reward for truthfulness, but his plain answer
enrages the king, who orders him clawed to death.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: flattery rewarded by a vain ruler
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The king rewards the traveller who falsely praises him and his subjects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the action without an explicit appended moral in
the supplied excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: truth punished when spoken before power
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The traveller who tells the truth to the king receives a death sentence instead
of the reward he expected.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is inferred from the contrasting outcomes within the fable;
no broader comparison is stated in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: animal court mimicking human kingship
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The apes have a king, subjects, throne, formal reception, and royal rewards
and punishments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: No specific taxonomy reference among the supplied motif families directly
names animal court satire.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: 'Two travelling men are contrasted: one never speaks truth, and
the other never lies.'
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: summary
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The travellers come to the land of Apes, and the King of the Apes
orders them brought before him.
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:3
type: summary
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: To impress the travellers, the king receives them seated on a
throne, with ape subjects ranged in rows on both sides.
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: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The king asks what the travellers think of him as a king and what
they think of his subjects.
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: quote
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The lying traveller calls the king “a most noble and mighty monarch”
and says the subjects are worthy of their royal master.
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:6
type: summary
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The Ape is delighted by the flattering answer and gives the lying
traveller a handsome present.
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:7
type: summary
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The truthful traveller reasons that, if a lie was rewarded, truth
should receive an even greater reward.
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:8
type: quote
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The truthful traveller says, “I think you are a very fine Ape,
and all your subjects are fine Apes too.”
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:9
type: summary
locator: 1647-1668
quote_or_summary: The King of the Apes is enraged and orders the truthful traveller
taken away and clawed to death.
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: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction relies only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are plain descriptive
candidates; no external comparisons are asserted.
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 passage locator label names several fables, the supplied passage text contains only “THE APES AND THE TWO TRAVELLERS,” so extraction is limited to that fable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1647-l1668
passage_sha256=bd0ab3640d13175febde1a3566b51860622d14401c91be5e8b908c00279a2331