batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2135-l2152
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2135-l2152
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE TWO BAGS / THE OXEN AND THE AXLETREES / THE BOY AND THE FILBERTS / THE
FROGS ASKING FOR A KING; lines 2135-2152
start: '2135'
end: '2152'
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: The Frogs, dissatisfied because they have no ruler, ask Jupiter for a king.
Jupiter sends a log, which first frightens them but then becomes an object of
contempt because it is motionless. The Frogs ask again for a better king. Jupiter,
annoyed, sends a Stork, which begins catching and eating them.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Frogs are discontented because they have no one to rule over them.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Frogs send a deputation to Jupiter to ask for a king.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Jupiter casts a log into the pool and says it should be their king.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Frogs are initially terrified by the splash and retreat into the deepest
parts of the pool.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: After seeing the log remain motionless, the Frogs return to the surface and
eventually sit upon it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The Frogs consider the sluggish king an insult and ask Jupiter to replace
it with a better one.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Jupiter is annoyed by the repeated petition and sends a Stork to rule over
the Frogs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The Stork begins catching and eating the Frogs as fast as it can.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Frogs
description: A collective group living in a pool; they seek a ruler, reject the
log, and are eaten by the Stork.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jupiter
description: The deity petitioned by the Frogs; he gives them first a log and then
a Stork as king.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: The log
description: A motionless object cast into the pool by Jupiter and designated as
the Frogs’ king.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: The Stork
description: A bird sent by Jupiter to rule over the Frogs; it catches and eats
them.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: discontented petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Frogs are discontented and send a deputation to Jupiter asking for a
king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: subjects seeking a ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They ask for a king and later ask for another and better one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: divine responder to petition
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Jupiter receives the Frogs’ requests and assigns rulers to them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: annoyed punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After being pestered, Jupiter sends the Stork, which consumes the Frogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: inert first king
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The log remains motionless and is later called a sluggish king by the Frogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: predatory second king
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Stork is sent to rule and immediately catches and eats the Frogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pool
literal_form: pool where the Frogs lived
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: log king
literal_form: log cast into the pool and designated as king
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: stork king
literal_form: Stork sent to rule over the Frogs
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: king
literal_form: requested ruler over the Frogs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Frogs petition Jupiter for a king
summary: The Frogs, lacking a ruler and feeling discontent, send a deputation to
Jupiter to ask him to give them a king.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Jupiter gives the log
summary: Jupiter responds by casting a log into the Frogs’ pool and declaring it
their king.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Fear and contempt toward the log
summary: The Frogs first flee from the splash, but after noticing the log is motionless
they return, grow bold, and sit on it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Second petition for a better king
summary: The Frogs decide the sluggish king insults their dignity and ask Jupiter
to replace it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: The Stork rules by eating the Frogs
summary: Jupiter, annoyed by the repeated request, sends a Stork to rule, and the
Stork begins catching and eating the Frogs.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Petition to a deity for a ruler
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The Frogs ask Jupiter to give them a king, and Jupiter assigns rulers to
them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy label is broad; the passage concerns the request for rule
rather than formal dynastic legitimacy.
- id: motif:2
label: Rejected harmless ruler replaced by destructive ruler
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Frogs despise the motionless log and ask for a better king; the replacement
Stork catches and eats them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy reference directly names this fable pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: Divine punitive response to repeated petition
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Jupiter is annoyed at being pestered and sends a Stork whose rule results
in the Frogs being eaten.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states Jupiter’s annoyance and the harmful result, but it
does not explicitly call the act judgment or punishment.
- id: motif:4
label: Folly of discontent with a benign condition
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage describes Jupiter as despising the folly of the Frogs’ request;
their dissatisfaction leads from an inert king to a predatory one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The moral is implied by the narrated outcome and the word “folly,” but
no separate explicit moral statement is included in the provided passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2135-2139
quote_or_summary: The Frogs are discontented because they have no ruler and send
a deputation to Jupiter asking him to give them a king.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2139-2142
quote_or_summary: Jupiter regards the request as foolish, casts a log into the pool
where the Frogs live, and says it will be their king.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2142-2144
quote_or_summary: The Frogs are frightened by the splash and retreat into the deepest
parts of the pool.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2144-2147
quote_or_summary: When the log remains motionless, the Frogs return to the surface,
grow bolder, and sit on it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2147-2150
quote_or_summary: The Frogs judge the sluggish king an insult to their dignity and
ask Jupiter to remove it and give them a better one.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2150-2151
quote_or_summary: Jupiter, annoyed at being pestered, sends a Stork to rule over
the Frogs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2151-2152
quote_or_summary: The Stork begins catching and eating the Frogs as quickly as it
can.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary prepared from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The narrative elements are explicit in the provided passage. Motif taxonomy
assignments are cautious because the supplied taxonomy lacks a direct fable-pattern
category for this story. No comparison claims were made because the passage itself
does not support a specific comparative link.
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: |-
Extraction limited to the supplied passage text and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2135-l2152
passage_sha256=9497ad4d79febfad4687d6ce5112bd1a2bdc743ace5440ba1553c69d7205e936