batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2155-l2165
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2155-l2165
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE OXEN AND THE AXLETREES / THE BOY AND THE FILBERTS / THE FROGS ASKING
FOR A KING / THE OLIVE-TREE AND THE FIG-TREE; lines 2155-2165
start: '2155'
end: '2165'
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: An olive-tree mocks a fig-tree for losing its leaves in autumn and being
bare until spring, while the olive remains green year-round. A heavy snowfall
later settles on the olive’s leaves, causing it to bend and break, while the snow
passes harmlessly through the fig’s bare branches; the fig survives and later
bears more crops.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An Olive-tree taunts a Fig-tree about losing her leaves at a certain season.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Olive-tree says the Fig-tree loses leaves every autumn and remains bare
until spring.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Olive-tree says she remains green and flourishing all year round.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A heavy fall of snow comes soon after the taunt.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Snow settles on the Olive-tree’s leaves, and the Olive-tree bends and breaks
under the weight.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Snowflakes fall harmlessly through the Fig-tree’s bare branches.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Fig-tree survives and later bears many more crops.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Olive-tree
description: A tree that taunts the Fig-tree for seasonal leaf loss and claims to
remain green and flourishing all year; later bends and breaks under snow on its
leaves.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Fig-tree
description: A tree described as losing leaves in autumn and being bare until spring;
its bare branches let snow pass through, and it survives to bear further crops.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: heavy fall of snow
description: A snowfall that settles on the Olive-tree’s leaves but passes through
the Fig-tree’s bare branches.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: taunting speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Olive-tree taunts the Fig-tree and speaks against her seasonal leaf loss.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: taunted tree
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Fig-tree is addressed by the Olive-tree as the one that loses leaves
and is bare until spring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: damaged evergreen tree
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Olive-tree’s leaves catch snow, causing it to bend and break.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: surviving bare tree
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Fig-tree’s bare branches let the snow pass through harmlessly, and it
survives to bear more crops.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: damaging seasonal weather
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The heavy snow creates the condition under which the Olive-tree breaks and
the Fig-tree survives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree
literal_form: Olive-tree and Fig-tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: leaves
literal_form: Olive leaves and Fig-tree leaves lost in autumn
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: snow
literal_form: heavy fall of snow and flakes
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: bare branches
literal_form: bare branches of the Fig-tree
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Olive-tree taunts Fig-tree
summary: The Olive-tree contrasts the Fig-tree’s autumn leaf loss and winter barrenness
with her own year-round green flourishing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Snowfall reverses the apparent advantage
summary: A heavy snowfall settles on the Olive-tree’s leaves, causing her to bend
and break, while it passes through the Fig-tree’s bare branches; the Fig-tree
survives and bears further crops.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Boastful comparison followed by reversal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Olive-tree boasts of her year-round foliage over the Fig-tree’s seasonal
barrenness, but the same foliage makes her vulnerable when snow falls, while the
Fig-tree survives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives no explicit appended moral in the supplied text; the
motif label summarizes the narrative pattern only.
- id: motif:2
label: Seasonal change as protective adaptation
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage emphasizes autumn leaf loss, winter barrenness until spring,
year-round greenness, snowfall, and later crop-bearing; seasonal leaf loss protects
the Fig-tree from snow damage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy term is broad; the fable concerns a practical seasonal
contrast rather than a cosmic or ritual seasonal cycle.
- id: motif:3
label: Apparent weakness becomes advantage
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Fig-tree’s bare branches are mocked as a deficiency but allow snow to
pass harmlessly through, leading to survival and future fruitfulness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative pattern inferred directly from the sequence; no external
taxonomy reference is supplied.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2155-2158
quote_or_summary: The fable opens with an Olive-tree taunting a Fig-tree over the
loss of her leaves at a certain season.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 2158-2162
quote_or_summary: "“You ... lose your leaves every autumn, and are bare till the
spring: whereas I ... remain green and flourishing all the year round.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2162-2164
quote_or_summary: Soon afterward, heavy snow settles on the Olive-tree’s leaves,
and she bends and breaks under the weight.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2164-2165
quote_or_summary: The snowflakes fall harmlessly through the Fig-tree’s bare branches,
and the Fig-tree survives to bear many more crops.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the supplied passage. Motif labels
are passage-level candidates and should be reviewed against the Atlas taxonomy;
no comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not establish an
external 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: |-
Used only the provided passage and metadata. The supplied locator label mentions adjacent fables, but the provided passage text contains only “THE OLIVE-TREE AND THE FIG-TREE.”
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2155-l2165
passage_sha256=7472ad0ae55fa6a5a02609c728c85d0419f37a99b092e602eefad2b7587592b3