batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4076-l4088
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4076-l4088
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE ASS AND HIS MASTERS / THE PACK-ASS, THE WILD ASS, AND THE LION / THE
ANT / THE FROGS AND THE WELL; lines 4076-4088
start: '4076'
end: '4088'
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: Think twice before you act.
summary: Two frogs leave a dried marsh during a hot summer and consider settling
in a deep well. One frog wants to jump in, but the other warns that if the well
dries up too, they may be unable to get out. The fable closes with a moral urging
deliberation before action.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Two frogs live together in a marsh.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A hot summer causes the marsh to dry up.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The frogs leave the dried marsh to look for another place to live.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The frogs come to a deep well.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: One frog proposes jumping into the well and settling there.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The other frog is described as wiser and warns against entering too quickly.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The cautious frog asks how they would get out if the well dried up like the
marsh.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The closing moral tells the audience to think twice before acting.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Two Frogs
description: A pair of frogs who live together in a marsh and leave when it dries
up.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Proposing frog
description: One of the frogs who looks into the well and suggests jumping in to
settle there.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Cautious frog
description: The other frog, described as having a wiser head, who advises against
jumping in too quickly.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Displaced inhabitants
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The frogs’ marsh dries up, and they leave to seek another place to live.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Impulsive proposer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: This frog suggests jumping into the well and settling there after seeing
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: Prudent adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: This frog is described as wiser and cautions that they may be trapped if
the well later dries up.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Damp dwelling place
literal_form: marsh; deep well; damp places
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: Deep well
literal_form: deep well
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Departure from the dried marsh
summary: During a hot summer, the marsh where the two frogs live dries up, so they
leave to find another place to live.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Decision at the deep well
summary: The frogs arrive at a deep well. One frog wants to jump in and settle there,
while the wiser frog warns that they might be unable to escape if the well also
dries up.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Moral conclusion
summary: The fable states the moral that one should think twice before acting.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Prudence before irreversible action
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wiser frog advises against jumping into the well without considering
whether they could escape if it dried up, and the explicit moral urges thinking
twice before acting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a brief animal fable; the taxonomy reference is limited
to the explicit prudential teaching rather than a larger mythic wisdom cycle.
- id: motif:2
label: Seeking new habitation after environmental loss
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The frogs leave their dried marsh during a hot summer to look for another
place to live.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a narrative situation rather than an explicit named motif in the
supplied taxonomy.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4076-4080
quote_or_summary: Two frogs live together in a marsh; in a hot summer the marsh
dries up, so they leave to find another place to live because frogs prefer damp
places.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 4080-4083
quote_or_summary: They came to a deep well, and one frog said it looked like a nice
cool place and suggested, “let us jump in and settle here.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4083-4087
quote_or_summary: The other frog, described as wiser, says not to go so fast and
asks how they would get out if the well dried up like the marsh.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: line 4088
quote_or_summary: "“Think twice before you act.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The literal narrative and moral are explicit. Motif assignment to wisdom
is supported by the moral, while broader motif classification remains limited
because the passage is concise.
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, text, 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__l4076-l4088
passage_sha256=ee79e6538396797319cafcc04e979595e001a29ad0f756f7f2e5abf849f5e109