batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2223-l2246
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2223-l2246
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE MAN AND THE LION / THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE / THE KID ON THE HOUSETOP
/ THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL; lines 2223-2246
start: '2223'
end: '2246'
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: In one fable, a kid climbs onto an outhouse roof to browse on the thatch
and mocks a wolf below; the wolf replies that the roof, not the kid, is responsible
for the mockery. In another fable, a fox loses his tail in a trap and, ashamed,
urges other foxes to cut off their tails too; another fox points out that he would
not give this advice if he had not lost his own tail.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A kid climbs onto the roof of an outhouse because grass and other growth are
in the thatch.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: While browsing on the roof, the kid sees a wolf passing below and jeers at
him because the wolf cannot reach him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The wolf replies that the mockery comes from the roof on which the kid is
standing, not from the kid himself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A fox falls into a trap and escapes after a struggle, losing his tail or brush.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The tailless fox is ashamed of his appearance and wants other foxes to lose
their tails too.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The tailless fox calls a meeting and advises all the foxes to cut off their
tails, calling tails ugly, heavy, and tiresome to carry.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Another fox replies that the tailless fox would not be so eager for others
to cut off their tails if he had not lost his own.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Kid
description: A young goat who climbs onto an outhouse roof, browses there, and jeers
at a wolf below.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A wolf passing below the roof who cannot reach the kid and answers
the kid's jeer.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tailless fox
description: A fox who escapes a trap with the loss of his brush and tries to persuade
other foxes to cut off their tails.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Other foxes
description: The foxes whom the tailless fox gathers and advises to cut off their
tails.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: One other fox
description: A member of the other foxes who openly challenges the tailless fox's
advice.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: protected mocker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The kid mocks the wolf while standing on a roof that keeps the wolf from
reaching him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: unreached respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The wolf is below and replies that the roof enables the kid's mockery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: self-interested adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The fox loses his own tail and then urges other foxes to remove theirs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: targeted audience
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The other foxes are called to a meeting and advised to cut off their tails.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: motive-exposing respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: One fox identifies the tailless fox's advice as arising from his own loss.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: roof
literal_form: roof of an outhouse
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: tail or brush
literal_form: fox's tail, also called his brush
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: trap
literal_form: trap into which the fox falls
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Kid mocks wolf from the roof
summary: A kid climbs onto an outhouse roof to browse and jeers at a wolf passing
below because the wolf cannot reach him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Wolf attributes the mockery to the roof
summary: The wolf answers that he hears the kid, but that the roof rather than the
kid is responsible for the mockery.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Fox escapes trap without tail
summary: A fox escapes a trap after a struggle but loses his brush and becomes ashamed
of his appearance.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Tailless fox advises others to cut off tails
summary: The tailless fox gathers the other foxes and argues that tails are ugly,
heavy, and troublesome.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Another fox exposes the advice
summary: One of the other foxes says the tailless fox would not urge tail-cutting
if he had not already lost his own tail.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: insolence enabled by a safe position
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The kid mocks the wolf only while protected by the roof, and the wolf states
that the roof is the real source of the mockery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a fable lesson rather
than an explicit mythic wisdom figure.
- id: motif:2
label: self-interested advice after personal loss
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The fox loses his own tail, then urges other foxes to cut off theirs; another
fox identifies the advice as motivated by the fox's own loss.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is a moral-pattern extraction from a fable; no external comparison
is made.
- id: motif:3
label: failed persuasion to normalize a defect
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The tailless fox, ashamed of his appearance, tries to make the other foxes
remove their tails too, but his motive is challenged.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this pattern.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2223-2227
quote_or_summary: A kid climbs onto an outhouse roof, attracted by grass and other
growth in the thatch, and browses there.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2227-2229
quote_or_summary: The kid sees a wolf below and jeers at him because the wolf cannot
reach him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 2229-2231
quote_or_summary: '"it is not you who mock me, but the roof on which you are standing."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2235-2237
quote_or_summary: A fox falls into a trap, struggles free, and loses his brush.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2237-2240
quote_or_summary: The fox is ashamed of his appearance and wants other foxes to
part with their tails to divert attention from his loss.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2240-2244
quote_or_summary: The fox calls a meeting and advises the foxes to cut off their
tails, claiming they are ugly, heavy, and tiresome.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 2244-2246
quote_or_summary: '"if you hadn''t lost your own tail, you wouldn''t be so keen
on getting us to cut off ours."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the two fables included in the provided passage
text. Motif labels are passage-level candidate patterns and require human review
for taxonomy alignment.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a specific comparison to another text, tradition, or motif family beyond broad candidate motif labeling.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2223-l2246
passage_sha256=b2388e4a80d5b052f072ce041b72636629fb76922685d4ddaafa4731479aaeba