batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2941-l2963
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2941-l2963
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LION AND THE ASS / THE PROPHET / THE HOUND AND THE HARE / THE LION, THE
MOUSE, AND THE FOX; lines 2941-2963
start: '2941'
end: '2963'
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 young hound catches a hare but alternates between biting
as if to kill and frisking as if in play; the hare asks whether he is friend or
enemy, and the moral condemns a friend who plays double. In another fable, a mouse
runs over a sleeping lion and wakes him; a fox mocks the lion as afraid of a mouse,
and the lion replies that he objects to the mouse's bad manners rather than fearing
it.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A young hound starts a hare and catches up with her.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The hound alternates between snapping at the hare as if to kill her and releasing
her to frisk about as if playing.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The hare asks the hound to show his true colours and contrasts the conduct
of a friend with that of an enemy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The stated moral says that someone who plays double is no friend.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A lion lies asleep at the mouth of his den.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A mouse runs over the lion's back, tickles him, and wakes him with a start.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The awakened lion looks around to see what disturbed him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: A fox looking on makes a joke that he has seen a lion afraid of a mouse.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The lion denies being afraid of the mouse and says he cannot stand the mouse's
bad manners.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: young Hound
description: A young hound who pursues and catches a hare, then alternates between
biting and playful behavior.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hare
description: A hare caught by the hound who verbally challenges the hound's inconsistent
conduct.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lion
description: A lion sleeping at the mouth of his den who is awakened by a mouse
and replies to the fox's joke.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Mouse
description: A mouse who runs over the lion's back and tickles him, waking him.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Fox
description: An onlooking fox who jokes at the lion's expense.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The hound starts the hare and catches up with her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: ambiguous aggressor-playmate
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The hound alternates between snapping as if to kill and frisking as if in
play.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: pursued speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hare is caught and then questions the hound's mixed behavior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: disturbed sleeper
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The lion is asleep and is awakened by the mouse's movement over his back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: powerful figure mocked
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The fox frames the lion's startled reaction as fear of a mouse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: small disturber
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The mouse runs over and tickles the lion, waking him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: mocking onlooker
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The fox watches and makes a joke at the lion's expense.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: double conduct
literal_form: The hound's alternation between biting and playing with the hare.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: mouth of the den
literal_form: The lion lies asleep at the mouth of his den.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: small animal on powerful animal's back
literal_form: The mouse runs over the lion's back and tickles him awake.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hound's double treatment of the hare
summary: The hound catches the hare and behaves alternately as predator and playmate;
the hare challenges him to reveal whether he is friend or enemy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Mouse wakes the lion
summary: At the mouth of the lion's den, the mouse runs over the sleeping lion's
back, tickles him, and wakes him.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Fox mocks the lion's alarm
summary: The fox jokes that the lion was afraid of a mouse, and the lion responds
that he objects to the mouse's bad manners.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: ambiguous friend-or-enemy behavior
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The hound alternates between threatening and playful acts, and the hare frames
this as a contradiction between friend and enemy; the moral calls such conduct
playing double.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents practical moral
inconsistency rather than a developed cosmological dualism.
- id: motif:2
label: small creature disturbs powerful animal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A mouse wakes a sleeping lion by running over his back, creating a scene
in which a small animal provokes a reaction from a powerful one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not extend this into rescue, revenge, or reversal beyond
the disturbance and verbal exchange.
- id: motif:3
label: mocking onlooker challenges dignity of the powerful
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The fox, as an observing animal, jokes that the lion is afraid of the mouse,
prompting the lion's defensive reply.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The fox's joke resembles trickster-like verbal boundary testing, but the
passage does not explicitly identify the fox as a trickster figure.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2941-2947
quote_or_summary: A young hound starts and catches a hare, then alternates between
snapping at her as if to kill and letting go to frisk as if playing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 2947-2950
quote_or_summary: '"If you are my friend, why do you bite me? If you are my enemy,
why do you play with me?"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: line 2952
quote_or_summary: '"He is no friend who plays double."'
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: summary
locator: lines 2956-2960
quote_or_summary: A lion is asleep at the mouth of his den when a mouse runs over
his back, tickles him, wakes him, and causes him to look around for the disturbance.
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: lines 2960-2963
quote_or_summary: A fox jokes that he has seen a lion afraid of a mouse; the lion
testily denies fear and says the mouse's bad manners are what he cannot stand.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the supplied passage. Motif labels
are cautious and mostly non-taxonomic; no comparison claims were added because
the passage itself does not establish a specific 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: |-
Used only the supplied passage text and metadata. The locator label names additional fables, but only the two fables present in the provided passage text were extracted.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2941-l2963
passage_sha256=ad80171472c5a8f8e72ed1b09b1444d1e69650f89aa6e667ae51cb56e51793e2