batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2717-l2732
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2717-l2732
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LIONESS AND THE VIXEN / THE VIPER AND THE FILE / THE CAT AND THE COCK
/ THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE; lines 2717-2732
start: '2717'
end: '2732'
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: Slow and steady wins the race.
summary: A Hare mocks a Tortoise for slowness. The Tortoise challenges him to a
race. A fox sets the course and judges. The Hare runs far ahead, rests, and falls
asleep, while the Tortoise continues steadily and reaches the goal first. The
Hare wakes and runs fast, but finds the Tortoise has already won.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Hare makes fun of the Tortoise for being slow.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Tortoise proposes a race and wagers that he will win.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Hare is amused by the idea and agrees to try the race.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The fox is agreed upon to set the course and act as judge.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Both racers start together, but the Hare soon gets far ahead.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The Hare lies down to rest and falls asleep.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Tortoise keeps plodding on and reaches the goal.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The Hare wakes and runs at his fastest, but the Tortoise has already won.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The stated moral is that slow and steady wins the race.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hare
description: A fast racer who mocks the Tortoise, runs ahead, rests, sleeps, and
loses the race.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Tortoise
description: A slow racer who challenges the Hare, continues steadily, reaches the
goal, and wins.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Fox
description: The figure appointed to set the race course and judge the race.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Mocker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Hare makes fun of the Tortoise for slowness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Racer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The Hare and the Tortoise agree to run a race and start together.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: Challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Tortoise proposes the race and wagers that he will win.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: Steady winner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Tortoise keeps plodding on, reaches the goal, and is identified as the
winner.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: Overconfident loser
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Hare is far ahead, chooses to rest, falls asleep, and loses despite later
running fast.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: Course-setter and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The fox is assigned to set the course and judge the race.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Challenge to race
summary: The Hare mocks the Tortoise for slowness, and the Tortoise responds by
challenging him to a race and wagering that he will win.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Race arrangement
summary: The Hare agrees to the race, and the fox is appointed to set the course
and judge.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Race and reversal
summary: The Hare quickly gains a lead, rests, and falls asleep; the Tortoise continues
steadily and reaches the goal first. The Hare wakes and runs, but the Tortoise
has already won.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Moral statement
summary: The fable closes with the moral that slow and steady wins the race.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Slow steady contestant defeats faster opponent
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The slower Tortoise wins by continuing steadily while the faster Hare sleeps,
and the stated moral confirms the lesson.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents an explicit practical
moral rather than a mythic wisdom scene.
- id: motif:2
label: Overconfidence causes defeat
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Hare mocks the Tortoise, is amused by the race, becomes so far ahead
that he rests and sleeps, and then loses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: This is an inferred fable motif from the plot sequence; it is not separately
named in the supplied taxonomy.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 2717-2723
quote_or_summary: A Hare makes fun of a Tortoise for slowness; the Tortoise says,
"I'll run a race with you, and I'll wager that I win," and the Hare agrees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 2723-2727
quote_or_summary: The fox is chosen to set the course and judge; when the race begins,
both start together, and the Hare soon gets far ahead.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 2727-2731
quote_or_summary: The Hare lies down and falls asleep. The Tortoise keeps moving,
reaches the goal, and has already won when the Hare wakes and runs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: '2732'
quote_or_summary: Slow and steady wins the race.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is brief and explicit, with a stated moral. No comparison claims
were added because the supplied passage does not itself establish a 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: |-
Only the supplied Hare and Tortoise passage was extracted, despite the broader passage label mentioning adjacent fables.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2717-l2732
passage_sha256=38f71acc4ca82e252093da24782993f788d52545ec6cac328e1c84aad40a11e9