batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2650-l2662
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2650-l2662
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE IMAGE-SELLER / THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW / THE RICH MAN AND THE TANNER
/ THE WOLF, THE MOTHER, AND HER CHILD; lines 2650-2662
start: '2650'
end: '2662'
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 hungry wolf follows a child's cries to a cottage and waits under the
window after hearing the mother threaten to throw the child to the wolf. Later
he hears the mother comfort the child and say the wolf will not get the child
because Daddy will kill him. The wolf leaves in disgust, concluding that the people
in the house cannot be believed.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A hungry wolf prowls in search of food.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The wolf is attracted to a cottage by a child's cries.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The wolf crouches beneath the cottage window and hears the mother speak to
the child.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The mother tells the child to stop crying or she will throw the child to the
wolf.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The wolf believes the mother's threat and waits a long time expecting to satisfy
his hunger.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: In the evening, the mother fondles the child and says the wolf will not get
the child and that Daddy will kill him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The wolf leaves in disgust and says the people in the house cannot be believed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A hungry wolf prowling for food, listening at a cottage window, waiting,
then leaving in disgust.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mother
description: A mother inside the cottage who first threatens to throw her crying
child to the wolf, then comforts the child and says the wolf will not get the
child.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Child
description: A crying child in the cottage who is addressed and comforted by the
mother.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Daddy
description: Mentioned by the mother as the one who will kill the wolf if he comes.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: hungry animal seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The wolf prowls about in search of food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: speaker of contradictory threats and reassurance
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The mother first threatens to throw the child to the wolf, then later says
the wolf will not get the child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: crying child
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wolf is attracted by the cries of the child, and the mother tells the
child to stop crying.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: duped listener
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The wolf believes the mother's words and waits, then discovers the later
statement contradicts the first.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: threatened protector
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The mother says Daddy will kill the wolf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Wolf follows crying to the cottage
summary: A hungry wolf searches for food, hears a child's cries, and comes to a
cottage where he crouches under the window.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Threat overheard and believed
summary: The wolf hears the mother threaten to throw the child to the wolf and waits,
expecting the threat to be carried out.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Contradictory reassurance and departure
summary: In the evening, the mother reassures the child that the wolf will not get
them and that Daddy will kill him; the wolf leaves, saying the people in the house
cannot be believed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Taking a threat literally
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wolf accepts the mother's threat as literal and waits for the child to
be given to him, but the mother's later words reveal the threat was not meant
as a real promise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is a moral fable about speech
and credulity rather than a wisdom myth in a strict mythological sense.
- id: motif:2
label: Unreliable human speech deceives an animal
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wolf hears two incompatible human statements and concludes that the household's
words cannot be believed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is an inferred fable pattern from the passage's action and closing
statement, not an explicit taxonomy motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2650-2652
quote_or_summary: A hungry wolf prowls about looking for food.
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 2652-2653
quote_or_summary: The wolf is drawn by a child's cries and comes to a cottage.
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 2653-2656
quote_or_summary: The wolf crouches beneath the window and hears the mother say,
"Stop crying, do! or I'll throw you to the Wolf."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation from public domain text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2656-2658
quote_or_summary: The wolf thinks the mother means what she says and waits a long
time, expecting to satisfy his hunger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 2658-2660
quote_or_summary: 'In the evening the mother fondles the child and says, "If the
naughty Wolf comes, he shan''t get my little one: Daddy will kill him."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation from public domain text.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 2660-2662
quote_or_summary: The wolf leaves in disgust and says, "you can't believe a word
they say."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation from public domain text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is short and self-contained. Motif labels are plain descriptive
fable patterns; available taxonomy references are only broadly applicable.
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 symbols from the supplied symbol taxonomy are present in the passage. No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does not support a specific comparative link.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2650-l2662
passage_sha256=bb790918f96a55ddf56201c43be58ccb53c8f117d55139380f508bad159e2e31