batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2796-l2808
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2796-l2808
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE OXEN AND THE BUTCHERS / THE WOLF AND THE LION / THE SHEEP, THE WOLF,
AND THE STAG / THE LION AND THE THREE BULLS; lines 2796-2808
start: '2796'
end: '2808'
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: The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of foes.
summary: Three bulls graze together while a lion watches them. The lion cannot overpower
them while they remain united, so he uses false whispers and malicious hints to
make them distrust one another. Once the bulls separate and feed apart, the lion
kills them one by one. The fable closes with a moral about quarrels among friends
benefiting enemies.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Three bulls are grazing in a meadow.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A lion watches the bulls and wants to capture and devour them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The lion considers himself unable to defeat the three bulls while they remain
together.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The lion uses false whispers and malicious hints to create jealousies and
distrust among the bulls.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The bulls become cold and unfriendly, avoid one another, and feed apart.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: After the bulls separate, the lion attacks them one by one and kills them
in turn.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The stated moral says that quarrels among friends create opportunities for
foes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Three Bulls
description: Three bulls grazing in a meadow who first remain together and later
separate after distrust is stirred among them.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lion
description: A lion who watches the bulls, wants to devour them, foments distrust
among them, and kills them after they separate.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: united group
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The bulls are described as safe from the lion while they keep together.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: predatory foe
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The lion wants to capture and devour the bulls and later kills them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: divided victims
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The bulls avoid one another, feed apart, and are then killed one by one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: deceiver who foments distrust
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The lion uses false whispers and malicious hints to create jealousy and distrust.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: three bulls together
literal_form: three bulls grazing together
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: lion
literal_form: watching lion
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: false whispers
literal_form: false whispers and malicious hints
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: separate feeding
literal_form: each bull feeding by himself apart
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Bulls graze under watch
summary: Three bulls graze in a meadow while a lion watches and desires to capture
and devour them, but cannot overcome them while they stay together.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Deception creates distrust
summary: The lion spreads false whispers and malicious hints, producing jealousy
and distrust among the bulls.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Separated bulls are killed
summary: The bulls become unfriendly, separate from one another, and are killed
by the lion one at a time.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Stated moral
summary: The fable states that quarrels among friends provide opportunities for
foes.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divided allies defeated by an enemy
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The bulls are safe while united, but after jealousy and distrust divide them,
the lion kills them one by one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a brief didactic animal fable; the motif is inferred from
the plotted sequence and stated moral.
- id: motif:2
label: deceptive speech used to isolate victims
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The lion uses false whispers and malicious hints to make the bulls distrust
one another before attacking them individually.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No specific external taxonomy reference is supplied for this motif.
- id: motif:3
label: friends' quarrels aid foes
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The closing moral explicitly states that quarrels of friends are opportunities
for foes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broad and applies to the didactic moral
rather than to a narrowly defined narrative motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself frames the story as an instance of the general pattern
that internal quarrels among friends benefit external foes.
claim_level: same_function
target: 'proverbial-didactic pattern: discord among allies creates opportunity for
enemies'
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is a functional comparison to the passage's own stated moral,
not a claim of historical contact, common inheritance, or a specific parallel
text.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 2796-2799
quote_or_summary: Three bulls graze in a meadow while a lion watches them and wants
to capture and devour them.
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: 2799-2800
quote_or_summary: The lion feels he is no match for the three bulls as long as they
keep together.
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: 2800-2802
quote_or_summary: The lion begins using false whispers and malicious hints to stir
jealousy and distrust among the bulls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 2802-2805
quote_or_summary: 'The stratagem succeeds: the bulls grow cold and unfriendly, avoid
each other, and each feeds apart.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 2805-2806
quote_or_summary: Once the lion sees the bulls separated, he attacks them one by
one and kills them in turn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: '2808'
quote_or_summary: The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of foes.
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: medium
notes: The passage is short and explicit in plot and moral. Motif labels are based
on the internal sequence and closing moral; no external parallels are asserted.
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 and metadata were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2796-l2808
passage_sha256=a42f385790775f608131a970d07d54c425506d4d65092c2b7adf8fbdf19d4469