batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4120-l4139
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4120-l4139
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FROGS AND THE WELL / THE CRAB AND THE FOX / THE FOX AND THE GRASSHOPPER
/ THE FARMER, HIS BOY, AND THE ROOKS; lines 4120-4139
start: '4120'
end: '4139'
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: They have a way of saying one thing and meaning another
summary: A farmer protects a newly sown wheat field from birds by changing his spoken
signal for a sling. The birds fail to understand the new signal and are struck
by stones; afterward a rook warns cranes that men can say one thing while meaning
another.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A farmer has sown a field of wheat and watches it because rooks and starlings
repeatedly settle on it and eat the grain.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer’s boy accompanies him and carries a sling.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: When the farmer asks for the sling by name, the starlings understand and warn
the rooks, and the birds fly away.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The farmer tells the boy that he will use the word “humph” instead of saying
“sling,” and the boy is to hand him the sling quickly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: When the flock returns, the farmer says “Humph,” the starlings do not react,
and he has time to sling stones among them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Several birds are struck in different parts of the body before the flock escapes
beyond range.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: After fleeing, the birds meet cranes, and one rook warns them not to go near
men because men say one thing and mean another.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Farmer
description: A man guarding his newly sown wheat field and using a disguised signal
to get his sling.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Boy
description: The farmer’s boy, who carries the sling and is instructed to hand it
over when the farmer says “humph.”
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Rooks and starlings
description: Birds that settle on the wheat field, eat grain, understand the word
“sling,” and flee after being struck by stones.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cranes
description: Birds met by the fleeing rooks, who ask what the matter is.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: field guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer watches over the sown wheat field to protect it from birds eating
the grain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: deceptive signal user
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer replaces the direct word “sling” with “humph” so the birds will
not understand his intent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: assistant carrying weapon
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The boy carries the sling and is told to hand it over quickly when given
the coded signal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: crop-raiding birds
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The rooks and starlings repeatedly settle on the field and eat the grain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: warned and wounded flock
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The starlings first warn the rooks, but after the farmer changes the signal,
several birds are hit before they escape.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: questioning bystanders
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The cranes ask the fleeing birds what the matter is.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sling
literal_form: sling carried by the boy and used by the farmer to throw stones
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: coded word
literal_form: the substitute signal “humph” used instead of the word “sling”
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: wheat field
literal_form: newly sown field of wheat being eaten by birds
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Birds raid the sown field
summary: The farmer watches a newly sown wheat field because rooks and starlings
keep settling on it and eating the grain, while his boy carries a sling.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: The farmer changes the signal
summary: Because the starlings understand the word “sling” and warn the rooks, the
farmer instructs the boy that he will say “humph” instead.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: The birds fail to interpret the new word
summary: The flock returns; the farmer says “Humph,” the birds do not respond in
time, and he strikes several of them with stones.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Rook warns the cranes about men
summary: After escaping, the birds meet cranes, and a rook explains that men are
dangerous because they say one thing and mean another.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: coded speech deceives listeners
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The farmer deliberately substitutes an indirect signal for the word the birds
understand, allowing him to attack before they flee.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy label is broad; the passage presents practical
deception rather than a full mythic trickster figure.
- id: motif:2
label: practical cunning overcomes animal vigilance
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The birds initially avoid danger by understanding the farmer’s speech, but
the farmer devises a simple linguistic trick that defeats their warning system.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames the action as a fable about human duplicity; assigning
the broader wisdom motif should be reviewed.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4120-4124
quote_or_summary: A farmer has just sown wheat and watches it because rooks and
starlings keep settling on the field and eating grain; his boy accompanies him
carrying a sling.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4124-4129
quote_or_summary: When the farmer asks for the sling, the starlings understand and
warn the rooks; the farmer decides to say “humph” instead of “sling” and tells
the boy to hand him the sling quickly.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary with brief quoted signal words.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4129-4134
quote_or_summary: The flock returns, the farmer says “Humph,” the starlings do not
notice, and he slings stones among them, hitting birds before they escape.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary with brief quoted signal word.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 4134-4139
quote_or_summary: A rook warns the cranes not to go near men because “They have
a way of saying one thing and meaning another.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for key wording.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal plot extraction is straightforward. Motif assignments are cautious
because the taxonomy is broad and the passage is an animal fable rather than a
mythic episode. No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does
not support a specific cross-text comparison.
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 text was used; despite the locator label mentioning multiple fables, the provided passage contains only “THE FARMER, HIS BOY, AND THE ROOKS.”
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4120-l4139
passage_sha256=ee079bfbde7e41ac118c80c79b7044adf0af36d394a79aa5a2a609600b003a20