batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1692-l1706
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1692-l1706
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BOY AND THE SNAILS / THE APES AND THE TWO TRAVELLERS / THE ASS AND HIS
BURDENS / THE SHEPHERD'S BOY AND THE WOLF; lines 1692-1706
start: '1692'
end: '1706'
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: You cannot believe a liar even when he tells the truth.
summary: A shepherd boy repeatedly tricks villagers by falsely crying that a wolf
is attacking his sheep. When a wolf actually comes, the villagers ignore his cries,
and the wolf kills many sheep. The closing moral states that a liar is not believed
even when telling the truth.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A shepherd boy tends his flock near a village.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The boy falsely shouts that a wolf is attacking the sheep in order to trick
the villagers.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The villagers run to the boy in response to his cry, and he laughs at them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The boy repeats the false alarm more than once, and the villagers find there
is no wolf.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: A real wolf eventually comes, and the boy cries for help.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The villagers ignore the boy's real cries because they are accustomed to his
earlier calls.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The wolf kills sheep after sheep.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The passage ends with the moral that a liar cannot be believed even when telling
the truth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Shepherd's Boy
description: A boy tending a flock near a village who falsely cries wolf and later
cries truthfully when a wolf appears.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: villagers
description: People from the village who first respond to the boy's cries and later
ignore them.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A wolf that is first falsely reported and later actually comes and
kills sheep.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: sheep / flock
description: The shepherd boy's flock, eventually attacked and killed by the wolf.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: false alarm giver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The boy pretends a wolf is attacking and shouts the alarm when there is no
wolf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: truthful but disbelieved caller
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: When a wolf really appears, the boy cries for help but is ignored.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: deceived and later nonresponsive community
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The villagers first run to the boy and discover the hoax, then later ignore
his true cries.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: attacker of the flock
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wolf actually comes and kills sheep.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: victims of attack
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The sheep are the targets of the supposed and actual wolf attack.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: wolf
literal_form: Wolf
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: false cry of alarm
literal_form: The shouted cry "Wolf! wolf!"
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: flock
literal_form: sheep / flock
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: false wolf alarm near the village
summary: The shepherd boy tends sheep near a village and falsely cries that a wolf
is attacking; villagers come running and are mocked.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: repeated hoax
summary: The boy repeats the false alarm more than once, and the villagers learn
there is no wolf.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: real wolf ignored
summary: A real wolf comes; the boy cries out, but the villagers ignore him, and
the wolf kills sheep.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: explicit moral
summary: The passage states that a liar cannot be believed even when telling the
truth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: false alarm causing loss of credibility
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The boy repeatedly lies about danger, so the villagers do not believe him
when the danger is real.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has only a broad 'wisdom' category for this moral
pattern; the specific false-alarm motif is not listed as a taxonomy reference.
- id: motif:2
label: deceiver harmed by consequences of deception
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The boy's hoaxes cause the villagers to disregard his later true appeal,
resulting in loss among the sheep under his care.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not state a direct injury to the boy himself, only the
destruction of sheep; this motif label is therefore framed cautiously.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1692-1693
quote_or_summary: A shepherd boy tends his flock near a village.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 1693-1695
quote_or_summary: The boy pretends a wolf is attacking and shouts, "Wolf! wolf!"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1695-1697
quote_or_summary: The villagers come running, and the boy laughs at them for their
pains.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1697-1699
quote_or_summary: The boy repeats the hoax more than once; each time the villagers
find there is no wolf.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1699-1701
quote_or_summary: A wolf really comes, and the boy cries "Wolf! wolf!" as loudly
as he can.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary with short quoted cry.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 1701-1703
quote_or_summary: The villagers, used to his calls, take no notice of his cries
for help.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 1703-1704
quote_or_summary: The wolf has its own way and kills sheep after sheep.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: '1706'
quote_or_summary: You cannot believe a liar even when he tells the truth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short moral quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is brief and explicit. Motif candidates are clear at the passage
level, but the available taxonomy only supplies a broad 'wisdom' category rather
than a specific false-alarm or liar-disbelieved entry. No comparison claims are
made because the passage does not itself support a cross-textual 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 supplied passage text and metadata were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1692-l1706
passage_sha256=0c2f3a6475b3dd636eabbf77e54938e133dc8f3f601abaf45efdb46fb32146e6