batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2390-l2411
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2390-l2411
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BLACKSMITH AND HIS DOG / THE STAG AT THE POOL / THE DOG AND THE SHADOW
/ MERCURY AND THE TRADESMEN; lines 2390-2411
start: '2390'
end: '2411'
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 dog carrying meat over a stream mistakes his reflection
for another dog with a larger piece, drops his own meat, and loses it to the current.
In another, Jupiter orders Mercury to mix lies into the ingredients used to make
tradesmen; Mercury distributes the infusion equally until the last tradesman,
the horse-dealer, receives all the leftover lies.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A dog crosses a plank bridge over a stream while holding a piece of meat in
his mouth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The dog sees his own reflection in the water and thinks it is another dog
with a larger piece of meat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The dog releases his own meat and attacks the perceived other dog to obtain
the larger piece.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The dog obtains neither piece of meat because the perceived other dog is only
a shadow and his own meat is carried away by the current.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Jupiter, while creating man, tells Mercury to make an infusion of lies and
add some to the ingredients used to make tradesmen.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Mercury adds an equal amount of the infusion to each tradesman in turn, including
named examples of a tallow-chandler, a greengrocer, and a haberdasher.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The horse-dealer is last on Mercury’s list and receives all the remaining
infusion of lies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The fable concludes that all tradesmen lie to some degree, but none lie like
a horse-dealer.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Dog
description: A dog carrying a piece of meat across a plank bridge over a stream.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Perceived other dog / reflection
description: The dog’s own reflection in the water, mistaken by the dog for another
dog with a larger piece of meat.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Jupiter
description: The deity creating man who instructs Mercury to prepare and add an
infusion of lies.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Mercury
description: The deity who makes and distributes the infusion of lies among tradesmen.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Tradesmen
description: A group made with ingredients to which Mercury adds an infusion of
lies.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Horse-dealer
description: The last tradesman on Mercury’s list, receiving all the remaining infusion
of lies.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: meat-carrier
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The dog crosses the bridge with meat in his mouth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: mistaken pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The dog mistakes his reflection for another dog and acts to seize its supposed
meat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: illusory rival
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The supposed other dog is only the dog’s own reflection or shadow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: creator and commander
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Jupiter is creating man and tells Mercury what to add to tradesmen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: divine mixer and distributor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Mercury makes and adds the infusion of lies to the tradesmen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: recipients of lies
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Tradesmen receive portions of the infusion of lies during their making.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: excess recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The horse-dealer receives all the infusion left over at the end.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: water
literal_form: stream water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: reflection or shadow
literal_form: the dog’s own reflection in the water, later called a shadow
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: piece of meat
literal_form: a piece of meat held by the dog, and a supposed larger piece seen
in the reflection
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: infusion of lies
literal_form: an infusion of lies added to the ingredients used to make tradesmen
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Dog crosses the stream and sees a reflection
summary: A dog carries meat across a plank bridge over a stream and sees his reflection
in the water, taking it for another dog with more meat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Dog loses the real meat by attacking the shadow
summary: The dog drops his own meat and attacks the perceived rival, but loses his
meat to the current and gains nothing from the shadow.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Jupiter orders the infusion of lies
summary: During the creation of man, Jupiter instructs Mercury to make an infusion
of lies and add it to the ingredients for tradesmen.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Mercury distributes the infusion among tradesmen
summary: Mercury adds equal portions to tradesmen in turn, but gives all the remaining
infusion to the final tradesman, the horse-dealer.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: mistaking a reflection for another being
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The dog interprets his own reflection in water as another dog with a larger
piece of meat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local narrative motif; no supplied taxonomy family directly
matches it.
- id: motif:2
label: losing a real possession while seeking an illusory greater gain
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The dog releases his own meat to seize a supposed larger piece and ends with
neither.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The moral implication is conventional for the fable, but the extraction
records only the passage’s actions and outcome.
- id: motif:3
label: divine manufacture of human social types with a moral ingredient
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Jupiter and Mercury participate in making tradesmen by adding an infusion
of lies to their ingredients.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is an etiological fable about tradesmen rather than a full
cosmogony; no supplied taxonomy family is an exact match.
- id: motif:4
label: unequal final distribution explaining a group’s distinctive vice
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The horse-dealer receives all leftover lies, which explains why horse-dealers
are said to lie more than other tradesmen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames this as an explanatory stereotype within the fable;
it should not be generalized outside the text.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2390-2393
quote_or_summary: A dog crosses a plank bridge over a stream with a piece of meat
in his mouth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2393-2395
quote_or_summary: The dog sees his reflection in the water and thinks it is another
dog with a piece of meat twice as big.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2395-2396
quote_or_summary: The dog lets go of his own meat and rushes at the perceived other
dog to get the larger piece.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2396-2398
quote_or_summary: The dog gets neither piece, since one was only a shadow and the
other is carried away by the current.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2402-2405
quote_or_summary: While Jupiter is creating man, he tells Mercury to make an infusion
of lies and add a little to the ingredients used for tradesmen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2405-2408
quote_or_summary: Mercury introduces an equal amount of the infusion into each tradesman
in turn, including the tallow-chandler, greengrocer, and haberdasher.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2408-2410
quote_or_summary: When Mercury reaches the horse-dealer, last on the list, he still
has a quantity left and puts it all into him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2410-2411
quote_or_summary: The fable states that all tradesmen lie more or less, but none
lie like a horse-dealer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are candidate descriptions
without exact supplied taxonomy matches. No comparison claims were made because
the passage itself does not support cross-text or cross-tradition 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: |-
Only the two fables present in the supplied passage text were extracted, despite the broader passage label.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2390-l2411
passage_sha256=40d30822cfe6dd8c56e2b97cc770164001381c1feaac83a341752260a88ee98f