batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3872-l3886
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3872-l3886
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LABOURER AND THE SNAKE / THE CAGE-BIRD AND THE BAT / THE ASS AND HIS
PURCHASER / THE KID AND THE WOLF; lines 3872-3886
start: '3872'
end: '3886'
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 kid strays from the flock and is pursued by a wolf. Expecting to be eaten,
the kid asks the wolf to play a tune so he may dance before dying. The wolf plays
his pipe; the sound draws the flock's guardian gods, who chase the wolf away.
The wolf concludes that he deserved the loss because he acted as a piper instead
of a butcher.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A kid strays from the flock and is chased by a wolf.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The kid says he cannot escape being eaten and asks the wolf to play a tune
for him to dance to before he dies.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The wolf takes out his pipe and plays while the kid dances.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The gods who guard the flock hear the sound, come to investigate, see the
wolf, chase him, and drive him away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The wolf says he deserved the outcome because his trade is butcher's work
and he had no business becoming a piper to please the kid.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Kid
description: A young goat that has strayed from the flock and is pursued by the
wolf.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A predator pursuing the kid; he plays a pipe at the kid's request and
is driven away.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: gods who guarded the flock
description: Guardian gods associated with the flock who hear the sound and drive
the wolf away.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: flock
description: The group from which the kid strays and which is guarded by gods.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: strayed animal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The kid is described as having strayed from the flock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: imperiled speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The kid acknowledges that he expects to be eaten and asks for music before
death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: predator
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The wolf chases the kid and expects to eat him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: distracted performer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The wolf stops to play his pipe for the kid instead of immediately eating
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: flock guardians
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The gods are explicitly said to guard the flock and drive the wolf away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pipe
literal_form: musical pipe played by the wolf
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: music and dance before death
literal_form: a tune played by the wolf and danced to by the kid
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: flock under divine guard
literal_form: the flock guarded by gods
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Straying and pursuit
summary: The kid separates from the flock and is chased by the wolf.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Request for music
summary: The kid, expecting death, asks the wolf to play a tune so he can dance
before being eaten.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Wolf plays, kid dances
summary: The wolf plays his pipe while the kid dances in front of him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Guardians drive off the wolf
summary: The flock's guardian gods hear the sound, see the wolf, chase him, and
drive him away.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Wolf's self-rebuke
summary: The wolf explains his failure as the result of taking on the role of piper
rather than remaining in his butcher's trade.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Prey delays predator through a final request
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The kid uses a request for music and dancing before death to delay the wolf,
which gives the guardians time to arrive and drive the wolf away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly name the kid's act as wisdom or trickery;
the motif label is inferred from the sequence of actions.
- id: motif:2
label: Predator loses prey by abandoning proper role
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The wolf himself states that he deserved the outcome because his trade was
the butcher's and he had no business becoming a piper.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a moralized pattern stated by the wolf, not a formal taxonomy
reference.
- id: motif:3
label: Protective guardians respond to sound and rescue the vulnerable
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The guardian gods of the flock hear the music, investigate, and drive away
the wolf threatening the kid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the guardians' intervention briefly and does not
elaborate a larger divine-rescue pattern.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3872-3874
quote_or_summary: A kid strays from the flock and is chased by a wolf.
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 3874-3878
quote_or_summary: The kid tells the wolf he knows he cannot escape being eaten and
asks for a tune to dance to before he dies.
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 3878-3880
quote_or_summary: The wolf agrees to music before dinner, takes out his pipe, and
plays while the kid dances.
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 3880-3883
quote_or_summary: The gods guarding the flock hear the sound, come to see what is
happening, see the wolf, chase him, and drive him away.
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: lines 3883-3886
quote_or_summary: '"my trade is the butcher''s, and I had no business to turn piper
to please you."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from public domain text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is limited to the supplied passage. Motif labels are candidate
descriptions based on the local fable sequence; no external comparisons are asserted.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a specific comparison beyond its own fable pattern.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3872-l3886
passage_sha256=0e00cd5d6944fa637c40f4cc398a4666219eefdafb28057400878d32cb5a1a1b