batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2688-l2714
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2688-l2714
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE OLD WOMAN AND THE WINE-JAR / THE LIONESS AND THE VIXEN / THE VIPER AND
THE FILE / THE CAT AND THE COCK; lines 2688-2714
start: '2688'
end: '2714'
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 Viper enters a carpenter's shop seeking food from tools
and asks a File for a meal; the File replies that it only takes and never gives.
In another, a Cat catches a Cock, searches for an excuse to eat him, rejects the
Cock's defense of his crowing, and kills and eats him.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A Viper enters a carpenter's shop and asks tools for something to eat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Viper asks the File for the favour of a meal.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The File says it invariably takes from everyone and never gives anything in
return.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The stated moral of the Viper and File fable is that covetous people are poor
givers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: A Cat pounces on a Cock and seeks an excuse for making a meal of him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The Cat accuses the Cock of making a nuisance at night by crowing and keeping
people awake.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The Cock replies that his crowing wakes men so they can begin the day's work
in good time.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The Cat says she will not go without dinner, then kills and eats the Cock.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The stated moral of the Cat and Cock fable is that lack of a good excuse does
not stop a villain from crime.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Viper
description: A viper who enters a carpenter's shop and begs tools for food.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: File
description: A carpenter's tool addressed by the Viper; it says it takes from everyone
and gives nothing in return.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Cat
description: A cat who catches a Cock, searches for an excuse to eat him, and then
kills and eats him.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cock
description: A cock caught by the Cat; he defends his crowing as useful for waking
men to work.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Men or people awakened by crowing
description: People whom the Cock says are awakened by his crowing so they can begin
the day's work.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: hungry petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Viper begs for food and asks the File for a meal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: non-giving respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The File answers that it only takes and never gives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: predator seeking pretext
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Cat catches the Cock and seeks an excuse to eat him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: accused prey defending usefulness
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Cock responds that his crowing is useful to men beginning work.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: beneficiaries of crowing
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Cock says men wake up and set about the day's work because of his crowing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: serpent
literal_form: Viper
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: file that takes and does not give
literal_form: File
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: cock-crowing as wake-up call
literal_form: Cock crowing at night or in time for the day's work
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Viper asks tools for food
summary: The Viper enters a carpenter's shop, goes among the tools, and asks for
something to eat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: File refuses the Viper
summary: The Viper asks the File for a meal, and the File replies that it only takes
and never gives.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Cat accuses the Cock
summary: The Cat catches the Cock, seeks an excuse for eating him, and accuses him
of disturbing people with crowing.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Cock's defense and death
summary: The Cock defends his crowing as useful, but the Cat rejects the defense,
kills him, and eats him.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: request made to one who only takes
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Viper seeks food from the File, which answers that it takes from everyone
and gives nothing; the moral states that the covetous are poor givers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage supplies a moral
lesson but not a specialized comparative motif label.
- id: motif:2
label: predator invents or lacks pretext for killing prey
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Cat looks for an excuse to eat the Cock, rejects the Cock's defense,
and eats him; the moral says lack of a good excuse does not keep a villain from
crime.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is described directly from the fable rather than matched to
a numbered external motif index.
- id: motif:3
label: useful crowing of the cock
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Cock defends himself by saying his crowing wakes men so they can begin
work on time.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a subsidiary motif within the Cat and Cock fable, not the final
moral emphasis.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2688-2691
quote_or_summary: A Viper enters a carpenter's shop and goes among the tools begging
for food.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2691-2693
quote_or_summary: The Viper addresses the File and asks for the favour of a meal.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 2693-2696
quote_or_summary: '"I invariably take from every one and never give anything in
return."'
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 2698
quote_or_summary: '"The covetous are poor givers."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2702-2705
quote_or_summary: A Cat pounces on a Cock and looks for an excuse to make a meal
of him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2705-2708
quote_or_summary: The Cat says the Cock is a nighttime nuisance because he crows
and keeps people awake.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2708-2711
quote_or_summary: The Cock says he crows so men can wake and begin the day's work
in good time.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2711-2712
quote_or_summary: The Cat says she will not go without dinner, then kills and eats
the Cock.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: line 2714
quote_or_summary: '"The want of a good excuse never kept a villain from crime."'
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: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are passage-derived and
broad; no external comparative claims are made.
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 supplied passage text was used. Although the locator label names additional fables, the provided excerpt contains only THE VIPER AND THE FILE and THE CAT AND THE COCK.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2688-l2714
passage_sha256=209057eb2bf1e67b008a4f9213405a7904d81b38b3aa3c180df53859cbbbcc7f