batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4022-l4038
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4022-l4038
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FATHER AND HIS DAUGHTERS / THE THIEF AND THE INNKEEPER / THE PACK-ASS
AND THE WILD ASS / THE ASS AND HIS MASTERS; lines 4022-4038
start: '4022'
end: '4038'
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: An ass suffering under a gardener asks Jupiter for a new master. Jupiter,
through Mercury, causes the ass to be sold first to a potter and then, after a
second complaint, to a tanner. The ass realizes the final master may bring an
even worse end. The fable closes with a moral about not recognizing a good master
until serving a worse one.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A gardener has an ass that receives scanty food, carries heavy loads, and
is constantly beaten.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The ass asks Jupiter to remove him from the gardener and give him to another
master.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Jupiter sends Mercury to instruct the gardener to sell the ass to a potter.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The ass remains discontented because his work is harder under the potter.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The ass asks Jupiter for relief a second time, and Jupiter arranges for him
to be sold to a tanner.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: When the ass learns the tanner's trade, he regrets not being content with
his former masters.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The closing moral states that servants do not know a good master until they
have served a worse one.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ass
description: An ass who passes from one master to another after asking Jupiter for
relief.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Gardener
description: The ass's first master, associated with scanty food, heavy loads, and
beating.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Jupiter
description: A divine figure petitioned by the ass who arranges changes of master.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Mercury
description: A divine messenger sent by Jupiter to instruct the gardener to sell
the ass.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Potter
description: The ass's second master, under whom the ass works harder than before.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Tanner
description: The ass's third master, whose trade makes the ass fear ending in the
tanning-vat.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: complaining servant animal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The ass repeatedly complains and petitions Jupiter for relief from his masters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: realizer of worse fate
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The ass recognizes that the tanner's trade may lead to a worse end than his
former masters would have given him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: human master
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: The gardener, potter, and tanner are successive owners or masters of the
ass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: petitioned divine arranger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Jupiter is asked to change the ass's master and arranges the transfers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: divine messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Mercury is sent by Jupiter to deliver an instruction to the gardener.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tanning-vat
literal_form: tanning-vat
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ass under the gardener
summary: The ass suffers under the gardener through scanty food, heavy loads, and
beating.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: First petition and transfer
summary: The ass petitions Jupiter, and Jupiter sends Mercury to have the gardener
sell the ass to a potter.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Second petition and transfer
summary: The ass remains dissatisfied under the potter, asks Jupiter again for relief,
and is sold to a tanner.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Regret at the tanner's trade
summary: The ass recognizes the tanner's trade and regrets not remaining with a
former master, fearing the tanning-vat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Moral conclusion
summary: The fable concludes that servants recognize a good master only after serving
a worse one.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: discontented servant receives worse masters
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The sequence of complaints leads the ass from a hard master to harder or
more threatening masters, and the moral frames this as practical wisdom about
judging masters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy contains only broad motif-family labels; the specific
fable pattern is more precise than the taxonomy reference.
- id: motif:2
label: petition to deity brings unintended worsening
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The ass twice petitions Jupiter for relief, but each granted transfer leaves
him no better off and finally fearing the tanning-vat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents Jupiter as obliging rather than explicitly punitive;
the worsening is inferred from the ass's experience and final complaint.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4022-4024
quote_or_summary: A gardener's ass has a hard life with scanty food, heavy loads,
and constant beating.
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: 4024-4026
quote_or_summary: The ass begs Jupiter to take him from the gardener and give him
to another master.
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: 4026-4028
quote_or_summary: Jupiter sends Mercury to tell the gardener to sell the ass to
a potter.
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: 4028-4029
quote_or_summary: The ass remains discontented because he has to work harder than
before under the potter.
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: 4029-4031
quote_or_summary: The ass begs Jupiter for relief a second time, and Jupiter arranges
for the ass to be sold to a tanner.
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: 4031-4036
quote_or_summary: The ass says he should have been content with earlier masters,
because they would have buried him decently, but now he will end in the tanning-vat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; paraphrased from a public domain passage.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: '4038'
quote_or_summary: "“Servants don't know a good master till they have served a worse.”"
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: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive;
broad taxonomy mapping to wisdom is supported mainly by the explicit moral.
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 explicitly compare this fable to another tradition or motif family beyond its own moral pattern.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4022-l4038
passage_sha256=7334142ab65bbbd5af63c9306b6e26270d2394f31239434e1311d87ef5f9480e