batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1898-l1928
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1898-l1928
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: JUPITER AND THE MONKEY / FATHER AND SONS / THE LAMP / THE OWL AND THE BIRDS;
lines 1898-1928
start: '1898'
end: '1928'
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 personified lamp boasts that it shines more brightly than the sun, is
blown out by wind, and is relit by someone who tells it not to compare itself
with celestial lights. An owl repeatedly warns other birds about future dangers
from oak and mistletoe birdlime, flax nets, and an archer using feathered arrows;
the birds ignore and mock her until events confirm her warnings, after which they
respect her wisdom, though she no longer advises them.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A lamp filled with oil burns steadily and boasts that it shines more brightly
than the sun.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A puff of wind blows the lamp out, and someone lights it again with a match.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The relighter tells the lamp to remain alight and not mind the sun, noting
that even the stars do not need to be relit.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The owl calls the other birds together when the first oak sprouts and advises
them to destroy it while it is small.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The owl says that mistletoe will grow on the oak and that birdlime made from
it will be used for the birds' destruction.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: When the first flax is sown, the owl tells the birds to eat the seed because
men will make nets from flax to catch them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: When the owl sees the first archer, she warns that he is a deadly enemy who
will wing arrows with the birds' own feathers and shoot them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The birds ignore the owl, think she is mad, and laugh at her.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: After the owl's warnings come true, the birds respect her wisdom and attend
upon her, but she no longer gives advice.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Lamp
description: A personified oil-filled lamp that burns, boasts, is blown out, and
is relit.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sun
description: The celestial light against which the lamp compares its own brightness.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Stars
description: Celestial lights cited as not needing to be relit.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Someone who relights the lamp
description: An unnamed person who strikes a match, lights the lamp again, and addresses
it.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Owl
description: A wise bird who warns the other birds about future dangers and later
withholds further advice.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Other Birds
description: The birds whom the owl warns; they ignore and laugh at her, then later
respect her wisdom.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Men
description: Humans described as future makers of nets from flax.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: First archer
description: An archer whom the owl identifies as a deadly enemy of the birds.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: boastful lesser light
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lamp boasts that it shines more brightly than the sun, but is easily
extinguished and must be relit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: unrivaled celestial light
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The sun is the object of the lamp's boastful comparison, and the stars are
cited as lights that do not need relighting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: corrective speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The unnamed person relights the lamp and tells it not to compare itself with
the sun or stars.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: wise but ignored warner
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The owl gives repeated warnings about future dangers; the birds dismiss her
until her predictions come true.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: dismissive audience
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The birds take no notice, think the owl mad, and laugh at her before later
respecting her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: human threat to birds
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Men are said to make flax nets to catch birds, and the archer is described
as a deadly enemy who shoots them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lamp flame
literal_form: oil-filled lamp burning with clear steady light
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: sun and stars
literal_form: sun and stars as celestial lights
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: puff of wind
literal_form: wind that blows out the lamp
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: oak tree
literal_form: first oak sprouting in the forest
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: mistletoe and birdlime
literal_form: mistletoe on the oak from which birdlime will be prepared
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: flax seed and nets
literal_form: first flax seed and nets made from flax
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: feathered arrows
literal_form: arrows winged with birds' own feathers
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The boastful lamp is extinguished and relit
summary: The lamp boasts against the sun, is blown out by wind, is relit by an unnamed
person, and is corrected by comparison with the sun and stars.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: The owl warns about the oak and birdlime
summary: At the first oak sprout, the owl advises the birds to destroy it because
mistletoe and birdlime will later threaten them.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: The owl warns about flax nets
summary: When the first flax is sown, the owl urges the birds to eat the seed because
humans will make nets from it.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: The owl warns about the archer
summary: The owl identifies the first archer as a deadly enemy who will shoot birds
with arrows feathered from their own bodies.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Rejected wisdom becomes recognized too late
summary: The birds mock and ignore the owl, then later respect her after her warnings
prove true; the owl no longer offers advice.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: boastful lesser light humbled by extinction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The lamp boasts that it outshines the sun, but a small wind extinguishes
it and it must be relit by another.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this fable pattern.
- id: motif:2
label: ignored wise warning later proven true
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The owl gives repeated practical warnings that are rejected and mocked; later
events confirm her words and the birds recognize her wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage supports wisdom through the
owl's foresight, not a detailed wisdom tradition comparison.
- id: motif:3
label: danger made from the victim's own body
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The owl warns that the archer will wing arrows with the birds' own feathers
and shoot them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a local pattern within the fable rather than a confirmed cross-cultural
motif claim.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1898-1901
quote_or_summary: The lamp, filled with oil and burning steadily, becomes proud
and boasts that it shines more brightly than the sun.
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: lines 1901-1905
quote_or_summary: A wind blows the lamp out; someone relights it with a match and
says it should stay alight and not mind the sun, since the stars do not need relighting.
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: lines 1907-1913
quote_or_summary: The owl calls the birds together at the first oak sprout and advises
them to destroy it, warning that mistletoe and birdlime from it will threaten
them.
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: lines 1913-1916
quote_or_summary: At the first sowing of flax, the owl tells the birds to eat the
seed because men will later make nets from flax to catch them.
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: summary
locator: lines 1916-1919
quote_or_summary: On seeing the first archer, the owl warns the birds that he will
use their feathers on arrows and shoot them.
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:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1919-1928
quote_or_summary: The birds ignore and laugh at the owl, later respect her when
her warnings come true, and thereafter attend upon her, though she no longer advises
them.
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 is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive;
only the broad wisdom taxonomy reference is directly supported by the passage
and available taxonomy.
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: |-
No external comparisons were added because the passage itself does not support a specific comparison beyond local fable patterns.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1898-l1928
passage_sha256=9e739fcabbe8a5c404b1473bbeb3c2c23e9376e04ff915703b3e86e531571a5a