Comparative mythology corpus
batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3473-l3487
batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3473-l3487
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3473-l3487
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE ASS AND THE WOLF / THE MONKEY AND THE CAMEL / THE SICK MAN AND THE DOCTOR
/ THE TRAVELLERS AND THE PLANE-TREE; lines 3473-3487
start: '3473'
end: '3487'
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: Many a service is met with ingratitude.
summary: Two travellers rest in the shade of a plane-tree on a hot road. One traveller
calls the tree useless because it bears no fruit, and the tree rebukes him for
abusing it while benefiting from its shade. The moral states that services are
often met with ingratitude.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Two travellers walk along a bare, dusty road in the heat of a summer day.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The travellers turn aside to a plane-tree for shelter from the sun beneath
its deep shade and spreading branches.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: One traveller says the plane-tree is useless because it bears no fruit and
gives no service to humans.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The plane-tree speaks and rebukes the traveller as ungrateful while he is
enjoying its shade.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The stated moral is that many services are answered with ingratitude.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Two Travellers
description: Two travellers walking together on a hot, dusty road and resting beneath
the plane-tree.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Critical traveller
description: One of the travellers who calls the plane-tree useless while resting
in its shade.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Plane-tree
description: A plane-tree with spreading branches and deep shade; it speaks indignantly
to the traveller.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Companion traveller
description: The companion to whom the critical traveller makes his remark.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: traveller and shelter-seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
basis: The travellers are walking on the road and take shelter beneath the tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: ungrateful beneficiary
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The traveller disparages the tree while benefiting from its shade.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: benefactor providing shelter
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The plane-tree provides shade and shelter from the sun.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: speaking rebuker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The plane-tree interrupts and rebukes the traveller for ingratitude.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: plane-tree
literal_form: Tree with spreading branches and deep shade
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: shade as shelter
literal_form: Deep shade beneath the plane-tree's foliage
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: scorching sun
literal_form: Burning rays or scorching sun on a summer day
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Travellers sheltered by the plane-tree rebuke it
summary: On a hot, dusty road, two travellers rest under a plane-tree. One criticizes
the tree as useless, and the tree responds that he is ungrateful because he is
using its shade while abusing it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: ingratitude toward a benefactor
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The traveller receives shelter from the plane-tree but calls it useless,
and the tree explicitly calls him ungrateful; the moral generalizes the point.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a fable moral motif rather than one of the supplied mythic motif-family
taxonomy items.
- id: motif:2
label: personified tree as moral speaker
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The plane-tree speaks, expresses indignation, and articulates the moral rebuke.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage personifies the tree but does not present it as sacred or
cosmological.
- id: motif:3
label: unrecognized useful service
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The traveller denies that the tree is of service while he is literally using
the service of its shade.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a practical moral pattern, not a demonstrated cross-cultural mythic
comparison.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself frames the event as an example of the general moral pattern
in which service is answered by ingratitude.
claim_level: same_motif
target: service met with ingratitude
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal comparison to the passage's stated moral, not evidence
for historical contact, common inheritance, or a broader taxonomy placement.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3473-3475
quote_or_summary: Two travellers walk on a bare, dusty road during the heat of a
summer day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3475-3478
quote_or_summary: They come to a plane-tree and shelter joyfully from the sun in
the deep shade of its spreading branches.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3478-3481
quote_or_summary: One traveller tells his companion that the plane-tree is useless
because it bears no fruit and is of no service to humans.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3481-3486
quote_or_summary: The plane-tree interrupts indignantly, calls the traveller ungrateful,
and points out that he is abusing it while enjoying the cool shade of its foliage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: line 3487
quote_or_summary: Many a service is met with ingratitude.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: 'The narrative and moral are explicit. Taxonomy linkage is limited: only
the literal tree symbol matches the supplied symbol taxonomy; no supplied mythic
motif family is directly supported.'
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 external sources or unprovided comparisons were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3473-l3487
passage_sha256=cb81d7c725afc0cf24bea86b86b6c4a137e06558fab07c1b5b0812df92b1e452