batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1786-l1797
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1786-l1797
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BOASTING TRAVELLER / THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER / THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW
/ THE FARMER AND HIS SONS; lines 1786-1797
start: '1786'
end: '1797'
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 dying farmer tells his sons that hidden treasure lies in his vineyard
and instructs them to dig for it. After his death, they repeatedly dig the vineyard
but find no treasure; the well-dug vines then produce an exceptional crop.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A farmer is near death and calls his sons to him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer tells his sons that a hidden treasure lies in his vineyard and
instructs them to dig for it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: After the father dies, the sons use spade and fork to turn up the vineyard
soil repeatedly while searching for the supposed treasure.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The sons do not find buried treasure.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: After the thorough digging, the vines produce an unprecedented crop.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Farmer
description: A father who is at death's door and speaks to his sons about a hidden
treasure in the vineyard.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sons
description: The farmer's sons, who dig the vineyard after their father's death
while searching for the treasure.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: dying parent
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer is described as being at death's door and as the father of the
sons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: giver of deathbed instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He calls his sons around him and tells them to dig in the vineyard for hidden
treasure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: heirs or children receiving instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The sons are addressed by their father shortly before he dies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: diggers searching for treasure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After their father's death, they dig the vineyard repeatedly in search of
the supposed treasure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: hidden treasure
literal_form: A treasure said to lie hidden in the vineyard, though none is found.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: vineyard
literal_form: The farmer's vineyard, where the treasure is said to be hidden and
where the sons dig.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: spade and fork
literal_form: Tools used by the sons to turn up the vineyard soil.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: exceptional crop
literal_form: A crop from the vines described as never before seen after the digging.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: deathbed instruction
summary: The farmer, near death, gathers his sons and tells them that hidden treasure
lies in the vineyard and that they should dig for it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: search in the vineyard
summary: After the farmer dies, the sons dig the vineyard thoroughly with spade
and fork, searching for the supposed buried treasure.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: crop after digging
summary: The sons find no treasure, but the vines produce an exceptional crop because
the vineyard has been thoroughly dug.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: deathbed secret that induces productive labor
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A dying father gives his sons a secret about hidden treasure; their search
fails literally but their labor improves the vineyard and yields an exceptional
crop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not state an explicit moral in the provided excerpt;
the wisdom reading is inferred from the sequence of instruction, labor, and agricultural
reward.
- id: motif:2
label: hidden treasure search with unexpected reward
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The sons search for buried treasure and find none, but the act of searching
produces a valuable crop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level motif label, not tied to a supplied taxonomy reference.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1786-1790
quote_or_summary: A farmer near death calls his sons and says that a hidden treasure
lies in his vineyard, instructing them to dig for it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1791-1795
quote_or_summary: After the father dies, the sons take spade and fork and repeatedly
turn up the vineyard soil while searching for the treasure, but find none.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1795-1797
quote_or_summary: After the thorough digging, the vines produce a crop such as had
never before been seen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labeling is cautious because
the provided excerpt gives the narrative sequence but no explicit moral. No comparison
claims are made because the passage itself does not support a specific cross-text
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 and metadata were used. No external taxonomy IDs or comparative parallels were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1786-l1797
passage_sha256=7bf3077d12bbe3cadfb26bed9c57e751d61787364177385caac215715bb61840