batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3167-l3178
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3167-l3178
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE / THE EAGLE AND THE COCKS / THE ESCAPED JACKDAW
/ THE FARMER AND THE FOX; lines 3167-3178
start: '3167'
end: '3178'
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: Revenge is a two-edged sword.
summary: A farmer, angered by a fox stealing his fowls, traps the fox, ties burning
tow to its tail, and releases it. The fox runs into the farmer’s ripe cornfield,
which catches fire and burns up, causing the farmer to lose his harvest.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A fox prowls around the farmer’s yard at night and carries off fowls.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer sets a trap and catches the fox.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The farmer ties tow to the fox’s tail, sets it on fire, and releases the fox.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The fox runs into fields where ripe corn is standing ready for cutting.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The corn catches fire and burns up, and the farmer loses his harvest.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The stated moral says that revenge is two-edged.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Farmer
description: A farmer whose fowls are stolen by a fox and who retaliates by setting
fire to tow tied to the fox’s tail.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Fox
description: A fox that carries off the farmer’s fowls, is trapped, and then runs
into the farmer’s ripe cornfield with burning tow tied to its tail.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: injured owner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer is annoyed because the fox carries off his fowls.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: fowl thief
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The fox comes at night and carries off the farmer’s fowls.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: avenger harmed by own revenge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer retaliates against the fox, but the resulting fire destroys his
own harvest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: released captive carrying fire
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After being trapped, the fox is released with burning tow tied to its tail.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire
literal_form: burning tow tied to the fox’s tail and the fire that burns the cornfield
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: ripe harvest
literal_form: fields where the corn was standing ripe and ready for cutting
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: trap
literal_form: a trap set by the farmer to catch the fox
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Fox steals fowls at night
summary: The fox repeatedly enters the farmer’s yard at night and carries off fowls,
annoying the farmer.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Farmer captures and retaliates against the fox
summary: The farmer traps the fox, ties tow to its tail, sets the tow on fire, and
lets the fox go.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Fire destroys the farmer’s harvest
summary: The released fox runs into the ripe cornfields, which catch fire and burn
up, leaving the farmer without his harvest.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Moral of revenge
summary: The passage concludes with the moral that revenge is a two-edged sword.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: revenge harms the avenger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The farmer’s revenge against the fox directly leads to the destruction of
his own ripe harvest, and the moral explicitly frames revenge as two-edged.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level fable motif label rather than one of the supplied
motif-family taxonomy IDs.
- id: motif:2
label: released animal carrying destructive fire
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fox is released with burning tow tied to its tail and carries the fire
into the farmer’s fields, where the crop burns up.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The destruction is local to the farmer’s harvest; it should not be generalized
to a cosmic or world-destroying fire motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3167-3170
quote_or_summary: A farmer is annoyed because a fox prowls around his yard at night
and carries off his fowls.
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: 3170-3171
quote_or_summary: The farmer sets a trap for the fox and catches it.
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: 3171-3173
quote_or_summary: To get revenge, the farmer ties tow to the fox’s tail, sets it
on fire, and lets the fox go.
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: 3173-3175
quote_or_summary: The fox runs straight to the fields where ripe corn is ready for
cutting.
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: 3175-3176
quote_or_summary: The cornfield catches fire, burns up, and the farmer loses all
his harvest.
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: '3178'
quote_or_summary: "“Revenge is a two-edged sword.”"
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. No comparison claims are
made because the passage does not itself support 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: |-
The supplied passage locator label names several adjacent fables, but the passage text provided for extraction is only “THE FARMER AND THE FOX.”
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3167-l3178
passage_sha256=067316deb8e0d5bf74338bbd848f658253f681765177249a4b3019eb0a4a1937