batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3153-l3164
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3153-l3164
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LION AND THE BULL / THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE / THE EAGLE AND THE
COCKS / THE ESCAPED JACKDAW; lines 3153-3164
start: '3153'
end: '3164'
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 man catches a jackdaw, ties string to its leg, and gives it to his children
as a pet. The jackdaw later escapes back to its old haunts, but the string catches
in a tree, trapping it. Realizing it cannot get free, the jackdaw laments that
gaining freedom has cost its life.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A man catches a jackdaw and ties a piece of string to one of its legs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The man gives the jackdaw to his children as a pet.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The jackdaw dislikes living with people.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: After appearing fairly tame and being watched less closely, the jackdaw slips
away and flies back to its old haunts.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The string remains on the jackdaw’s leg and becomes entangled in the branches
of a tree.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The jackdaw cannot free itself despite trying.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The jackdaw says that in gaining freedom it has lost its life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Man
description: A man who catches the jackdaw, ties string to its leg, and gives it
to his children.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jackdaw
description: A caught bird kept as a pet, later escaping and becoming trapped by
the string on its leg.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Children
description: The man’s children, to whom the jackdaw is given as a pet.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
label: captor and giver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The man catches the jackdaw, ties string to its leg, and gives it to his
children.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: captive pet
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The jackdaw is caught, tethered, and given to children as a pet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: escapee trapped by tether
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The jackdaw escapes but the remaining string entangles in a tree and prevents
its freedom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: recipients of pet
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The children receive the jackdaw as a pet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: string tether
literal_form: piece of string tied to one of the jackdaw’s legs
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: tree branches
literal_form: branches of a tree where the string becomes entangled
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: old haunts
literal_form: the jackdaw’s former places to which it flies back
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Capture and tethering
summary: A man catches a jackdaw, ties string to its leg, and gives it to his children
as a pet.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Escape to former haunts
summary: The jackdaw dislikes human company and, when less closely watched, slips
away and flies back to its old haunts.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Fatal entanglement
summary: The string on the jackdaw’s leg catches in tree branches, preventing it
from getting free.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Lament over freedom and death
summary: The jackdaw realizes its situation is hopeless and laments that gaining
freedom has cost its life.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: escape from captivity ending in fatal entanglement
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The jackdaw escapes captivity but remains tethered; the tether catches in
a tree and leaves it unable to free itself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-specific fable pattern rather than a mapped motif-family
reference from the supplied taxonomy.
- id: motif:2
label: apparent freedom undone by a remaining bond
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The bird gains physical distance from its keepers, but the string tied during
captivity remains and causes its destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif label is interpretive but closely grounded in the literal sequence
and final speech.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3153-3156
quote_or_summary: A man catches a jackdaw, ties string to one leg, and gives it
to his children as a pet.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 3156-3159
quote_or_summary: The jackdaw dislikes living with people; when it seems tame and
is watched less closely, it slips away and flies back to its old haunts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 3159-3162
quote_or_summary: The string is still on the jackdaw’s leg, becomes entangled in
tree branches, and the jackdaw cannot get free despite trying.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 3162-3164
quote_or_summary: "“Alas, in gaining my freedom I have lost my life.”"
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 from the supplied passage. Motif labels
are candidate descriptions only; no comparison claims are made because the passage
itself does not support external 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 passage was used. No external taxonomy IDs beyond the supplied symbol reference for tree were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3153-l3164
passage_sha256=4c840d5efe0ae17fc9546ac6ffd7db9055f58937fa463260b178dfea073cc531