batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3072-l3107
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3072-l3107
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE THREE TRADESMEN / THE MOUSE AND THE BULL / THE HARE AND THE HOUND / THE
TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE; lines 3072-3107
start: '3072'
end: '3107'
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 hound gives up chasing a hare and explains that the hare had stronger
motivation because she ran for her life. A country mouse visits a town mouse,
sees abundant food, but rejects the dangerous luxury of the town larder in favor
of simple food and peace at home.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A hound starts a hare from her resting place and pursues her for some distance.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The hare gains during the chase, and the hound gives up.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A rustic who saw the race taunts the hound about his defeat.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The hound says it is different to run for dinner than to run for life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A country mouse invites a town mouse to his home in the fields.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The country mouse serves barleycorns and roots.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The town mouse criticizes the country mouse's fare and invites him to the
town, promising richer food.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: In town, the country mouse is shown a larder containing flour, oatmeal, figs,
honey, and dates.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: When someone enters the larder, the two mice flee and hide in a narrow, uncomfortable
hole; this happens again when another person enters.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The country mouse leaves, saying town luxury is surrounded by dangers, while
at home he can eat simple roots and corn in peace.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hound
description: A hound who chases a hare, abandons the chase, and comments on differing
motives for running.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hare
description: A hare started from her form and pursued by the hound; she gains during
the chase.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Rustic
description: A rural onlooker who sees the race and taunts the hound afterward.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Country Mouse
description: A mouse living in the fields who hosts the town mouse, visits town,
and chooses simple food in peace over dangerous luxury.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Town Mouse
description: A mouse from town who visits the country mouse, criticizes his simple
fare, and shows him a rich larder in town.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Unidentified people entering the larder
description: Unspecified persons whose entrance into the larder causes the mice
to flee and hide.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The hound pursues the hare for some distance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: fleeing prey
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hare is chased and is described by the hound as running for her life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: taunting observer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The rustic saw the race and taunted the hound with defeat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: speaker of practical explanation
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The hound explains the difference between running for food and running for
life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: rural host
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The country mouse invites the town mouse to his field home and serves simple
food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: urban host and advocate of abundance
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The town mouse promises rich fare and shows the country mouse the town larder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: chooser of safety over luxury
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The country mouse decides to leave dangerous luxury and return to simple
food in peace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: danger trigger
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The entrance of people into the larder makes the mice run and hide.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: rural simple fare
literal_form: barleycorns, roots, roots and corn
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: town abundance
literal_form: larder with flour, oatmeal, figs, honey, and dates; described as a
horn of plenty
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: hiding place under threat
literal_form: narrow and exceedingly uncomfortable hole
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: life-or-death flight
literal_form: running for life contrasted with running for dinner
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hound abandons pursuit of hare
summary: The hound chases the hare but gives up after the hare gains during the
chase; a rustic mocks him, and he explains that the hare was running for life
while he was running for dinner.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Country meal and town invitation
summary: The country mouse hosts the town mouse in the fields with barleycorns and
roots; the town mouse dislikes the fare and invites him to enjoy richer food in
town.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Dangerous larder in town
summary: The country mouse sees abundant food in the town larder, but repeated human
entrances force the mice to hide in an uncomfortable hole.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Return to simple safety
summary: The country mouse rejects town luxury because of its dangers and prefers
simple roots and corn in peace at home.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: greater motive in flight from mortal danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The hound contrasts his own pursuit of dinner with the hare's flight for
life, explaining the outcome through unequal stakes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a practical moral
rather than a mythic wisdom figure.
- id: motif:2
label: simple safety preferred to dangerous luxury
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The country mouse rejects rich food in town because danger accompanies it
and chooses simple food in peace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is stated as fable wisdom; no stronger mythological taxonomy
category is directly supported.
- id: motif:3
label: contrast between town abundance and country simplicity
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage contrasts the country mouse's field meal of roots and barleycorns
with the town mouse's abundant larder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative contrast and setting pattern rather than a supplied
taxonomy family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3072-3075
quote_or_summary: A hound starts a hare from her form, pursues her, but gives up
after she gains during the chase.
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 3075-3079
quote_or_summary: The rustic taunts the hound; the hound replies, "it's one thing
to be running for your dinner, but quite another to be running for your life."
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: summary
locator: lines 3083-3088
quote_or_summary: The country mouse invites the town mouse to his field home and
serves barleycorns and roots with an earthy flavor.
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: lines 3088-3094
quote_or_summary: The town mouse says his larder is "a regular horn of plenty" and
promises the country mouse that he shall "live on the fat of the land."
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 3094-3098
quote_or_summary: In town, the country mouse is shown a larder containing flour,
oatmeal, figs, honey, and dates.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3098-3104
quote_or_summary: When people enter the larder, the two mice repeatedly flee and
hide in a narrow, uncomfortable hole.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 3104-3107
quote_or_summary: The country mouse says town luxury is "surrounded by dangers"
and prefers his simple dinner of roots and corn "in peace."
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: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are broad
fable-wisdom patterns; no explicit cross-text comparison is 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: |-
No supplied taxonomy symbol exactly matches the literal objects in the passage; symbol taxonomy references are therefore left empty.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3072-l3107
passage_sha256=9916eca799200695433e0f4a4ebeecf97f8559d516953d9f2d1180cf7e2a8d38