batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3750-l3760

---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3750-l3760
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
  label: THE HEIFER AND THE OX / THE KINGDOM OF THE LION / THE ASS AND HIS DRIVER
    / THE LION AND THE HARE; lines 3750-3760
  start: '3750'
  end: '3760'
  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: "“I should have been content with what I had got”"
  summary: A lion gives up a sleeping hare to chase a larger stag, fails to catch
    the stag, returns to find the hare gone, and recognizes that he lost his meal
    by seeking a better prize.
  language: English
  quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: A lion finds a hare sleeping in her form and is about to devour her.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The lion sees a passing stag and leaves the hare to pursue the larger animal.
  category: sequence
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:3
  text: After a long chase, the lion cannot overtake the stag and returns for the
    hare.
  category: sequence
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:4
  text: The hare is no longer at the spot when the lion returns.
  category: sequence
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: obs:5
  text: The lion says that he should have been content with what he had instead of
    desiring a better prize.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: Lion
  description: Predatory animal who first targets the hare, then chases the stag,
    and later comments on his own loss.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  - role:4
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:5
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: Hare
  description: Animal found sleeping in her form; later absent when the lion returns.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:4
- id: fig:3
  name_or_label: Stag
  description: Passing larger game pursued by the lion but not caught.
  role_refs:
  - role:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: Predator
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The lion is about to devour the hare and later pursues the stag as game.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: role:2
  label: Abandoned prey
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  basis: The hare is initially available to the lion but is dropped when the stag
    appears.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:4
- id: role:3
  label: Uncaught larger prey
  assigned_to:
  - fig:3
  basis: The stag is the bigger game that the lion chases but cannot overtake.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
- id: role:4
  label: Self-correcting speaker
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The lion verbally acknowledges that his choice caused his loss.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: Hare as available prize
  literal_form: sleeping hare
  associated_figures:
  - fig:2
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
- id: sym:2
  label: Stag as better prize
  literal_form: passing stag / bigger game
  associated_figures:
  - fig:3
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: Initial prey found
  summary: The lion finds a sleeping hare and is about to eat her.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: scene:2
  label: Pursuit of larger game
  summary: The lion abandons the hare to chase a passing stag, but cannot catch it
    after a long chase.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  - fig:3
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  - sym:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
- id: scene:3
  label: Loss and spoken lesson
  summary: The lion returns and finds the hare gone, then states that he should have
    been content with what he had.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: Losing a certain gain by pursuing a greater prize
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The lion gives up prey he already has for larger prey he cannot catch, then
    explicitly recognizes that he should have been content.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
  confidence: high
  cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a practical fable
    lesson rather than a mythic wisdom episode.
- id: motif:2
  label: Contentment contrasted with overreaching desire
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The closing speech frames the lion’s loss as the result of hankering after
    a better prize instead of being satisfied with what he had.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
  confidence: high
  cautions: This is an inferred moral pattern from the explicit speech, not a separate
    named motif in the supplied taxonomy.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: summary
  locator: lines 3750-3760
  quote_or_summary: A lion finds a hare sleeping in her form and is about to devour
    her.
  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 3750-3760
  quote_or_summary: The lion sees a passing stag, drops the hare, and goes after the
    bigger game.
  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 3750-3760
  quote_or_summary: After a long chase, the lion cannot overtake the stag and abandons
    the attempt.
  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: lines 3750-3760
  quote_or_summary: The lion returns to the place where the hare had been, but the
    hare is nowhere to be seen.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
  type: quote
  locator: lines 3750-3760
  quote_or_summary: "“I should have been content with what I had got, instead of hankering
    after a better prize.”"
  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 brief fable has explicit action sequence and explicit moralizing speech.
    No passage-internal comparative claim is made, so comparison claims are left empty.
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: |-
  Used only the supplied passage text and metadata. No external taxonomy IDs or cross-tradition comparisons were added.
  batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
  custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3750-l3760
  passage_sha256=9ee19bb7697d1b4dfff933f2ab6585c53582ce557890d5c7aefd3141cb8b4434