batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2357-l2368
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2357-l2368
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FAWN AND HIS MOTHER / THE FOX AND THE LION / THE EAGLE AND HIS CAPTOR
/ THE BLACKSMITH AND HIS DOG; lines 2357-2368
start: '2357'
end: '2368'
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 blacksmith’s small dog sleeps while the blacksmith works, but wakes at
mealtime. After giving the dog a bone, the blacksmith rebukes him for being lazy
and only waking to be fed. The passage ends with the moral that those who will
not work deserve to starve.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A blacksmith has a little dog.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The dog sleeps while the blacksmith is working.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The dog is awake when it is time for meals.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The blacksmith throws the dog a bone as usual.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The blacksmith says the dog sleeps while he hammers at the anvil but wakes
and wags his tail when food is available.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The stated moral is that those who will not work deserve to starve.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Blacksmith
description: A blacksmith who works at an anvil and feeds his dog a bone.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Little Dog
description: A small dog belonging to the blacksmith; it sleeps during work and
wakes for meals.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: working master
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The blacksmith works, hammers at an anvil, and is described as the dog’s
master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: rebuker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The blacksmith directly criticizes the dog’s laziness and food-seeking behavior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: dependent animal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The dog belongs to the blacksmith and is fed by him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: idle recipient of food
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The dog sleeps during the master’s work but wakes to receive food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: bone
literal_form: Bone given as food to the dog
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: anvil
literal_form: Anvil at which the blacksmith hammers
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: wagging tail
literal_form: The dog wags its tail when food is available
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Dog sleeps while master works
summary: The blacksmith works while his little dog sleeps, but the dog is alert
at mealtime.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Bone and rebuke
summary: After throwing the dog a bone, the blacksmith complains that the dog sleeps
during work and wakes only to be fed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Explicit moral
summary: The passage concludes with the moral that refusal to work merits starvation.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: lazy dependent rebuked for eating without working
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The dog receives food but does not participate in work; the blacksmith rebukes
this behavior, and the closing moral generalizes it as a lesson about work and
sustenance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broad; the passage is a didactic fable
rather than an explicit philosophical discourse.
- id: motif:2
label: work as condition for food
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The moral states that those who will not work deserve to starve, linking
labor to entitlement to food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is an explicit moral rather than a complex mythic motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2357-2361
quote_or_summary: A blacksmith has a little dog that sleeps when the master works
and wakes when it is time for meals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2362-2363
quote_or_summary: The master, pretending disgust, throws the dog a bone as usual
before speaking to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 2363-2367
quote_or_summary: '"When I am hammering away at my anvil, you just curl up and go
to sleep... you wake up and wag your tail to be fed."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: line 2368
quote_or_summary: '"Those who will not work deserve to starve."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Comparison claims are omitted
because the passage itself does not support a specific cross-textual 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: |-
The supplied locator label names multiple fables, but the provided passage text includes only 'THE BLACKSMITH AND HIS DOG'; extraction is limited to that passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2357-l2368
passage_sha256=74b02e6a9ec5ee71aa4d5b400c043a7008c29b5db3fd6e72388927ff6e0d8b2e