batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3531-l3549
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3531-l3549
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FLEA AND THE OX / THE BIRDS, THE BEASTS, AND THE BAT / THE MAN AND HIS
TWO SWEETHEARTS / THE EAGLE, THE JACKDAW, AND THE SHEPHERD; lines 3531-3549
start: '3531'
end: '3549'
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 jackdaw sees an eagle carry off a lamb and tries to imitate it by attacking
a ram. The jackdaw becomes trapped in the ram's wool, is caught by a shepherd,
has its wings clipped, and is shown to the shepherd's children as a jackdaw that
wanted to be taken for an eagle. The moral warns against attempting what is beyond
one's power, since it brings wasted effort, misfortune, and ridicule.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A jackdaw sees an eagle swoop down on a lamb and carry it off in its talons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The jackdaw says it will do the same thing itself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The jackdaw flies high, descends onto the back of a big ram, and gets its
claws caught in the wool.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The jackdaw flaps while stuck, which only makes the situation worse.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The shepherd arrives, takes the jackdaw, clips its wings, and carries it home
to his children.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The children ask what sort of bird it is, and the shepherd replies that it
is a jackdaw that wants to be taken for an eagle.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The stated moral says that attempting what is beyond one's power wastes effort
and courts misfortune and ridicule.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Eagle
description: A bird that swoops down on a lamb and carries it away in its talons.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jackdaw
description: A bird that imitates the eagle's action, becomes trapped in a ram's
wool, and is later identified as a jackdaw wanting to be taken for an eagle.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lamb
description: The animal carried off by the eagle.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ram
description: A big ram whose wool catches the jackdaw's claws.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Shepherd
description: A man who catches the trapped jackdaw, clips its wings, carries it
home, and explains it to his children.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Shepherd's children
description: Children who see the clipped-wing jackdaw and ask their father what
sort of bird it is.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: successful predator and model
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The eagle successfully carries off the lamb, and the jackdaw decides to imitate
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: failed imitator
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The jackdaw tries to copy the eagle's action but becomes trapped in the ram's
wool.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: captured and ridiculed bird
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The shepherd clips the jackdaw's wings and tells the children it wants to
be taken for an eagle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: prey
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The lamb is carried off by the eagle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: failed target and entangling animal
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The jackdaw lands on the ram, and its claws become caught in the ram's wool.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: captor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The shepherd takes the trapped jackdaw and clips its wings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: interpreter of identity
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The shepherd identifies the bird as a jackdaw that wants to be taken for
an eagle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: questioning witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The children ask what sort of bird the captured jackdaw is.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: eagle's talons
literal_form: talons carrying a lamb
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: ram's wool
literal_form: wool that catches the jackdaw's claws
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: clipped wings
literal_form: the jackdaw's wings clipped by the shepherd
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Eagle carries off lamb
summary: A jackdaw observes an eagle swoop onto a lamb and carry it away.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Jackdaw imitates eagle and is trapped
summary: The jackdaw attempts a similar attack on a ram but becomes stuck in the
ram's wool and worsens its situation by flapping.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Shepherd captures and identifies the jackdaw
summary: The shepherd catches the jackdaw, clips its wings, brings it to his children,
and explains that it is a jackdaw wanting to be taken for an eagle.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Explicit moral
summary: The moral states that attempting what is beyond one's power leads to wasted
effort, misfortune, and ridicule.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: failed imitation of a greater power
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The jackdaw tries to perform the eagle's successful act but lacks the capacity
and becomes trapped.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage gives a practical moral rather
than a specialized mythic motif.
- id: motif:2
label: overreaching beyond one's power brings ridicule
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The moral explicitly states that attempting what is beyond one's power wastes
effort and brings misfortune and ridicule; the shepherd's explanation to the children
dramatizes that ridicule.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is an explicit fable moral, not evidence for historical transmission
or a broader mythic complex.
- id: motif:3
label: mistaken claim to superior identity
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The shepherd says the captured bird is only a jackdaw but wants to be taken
for an eagle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames this through speech after the failed act; it does not
state that the jackdaw verbally claimed to be an eagle.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3531-3534
quote_or_summary: A jackdaw sees an eagle swoop down on a lamb, carry it off in
its talons, and says it will do the same.
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: lines 3534-3538
quote_or_summary: The jackdaw flies up, descends onto a big ram, gets its claws
caught in the wool, and flaps while stuck, making matters worse.
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: lines 3538-3544
quote_or_summary: The shepherd arrives, catches the jackdaw, clips its wings, carries
it home to his children, and explains that it is a jackdaw wanting to be taken
for an eagle.
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 3546-3549
quote_or_summary: '"If you attempt what is beyond your power, your trouble will
be wasted and you court not only misfortune but ridicule."'
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: The passage is brief and explicit in its moral. No comparison claims were
made because the passage itself does not compare this fable to another text, tradition,
or motif family beyond its own moral pattern.
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 and metadata were used. Available taxonomy references were applied only where directly supported by the explicit fable moral.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3531-l3549
passage_sha256=c9c19c2c7e7684e0f6a1bc599ed7833c041028966aedfef1d124599922a1cd67