batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4230-l4246
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4230-l4246
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE ATHENIAN AND THE THEBAN / THE GOATHERD AND THE GOAT / THE SHEEP AND THE
DOG / THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF; lines 4230-4246
start: '4230'
end: '4246'
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 shepherd finds and raises a stray wolf cub with his dogs. As an adult,
the wolf sometimes helps pursue sheep-stealing wolves, but also shares stolen
sheep with them or steals sheep himself and shares with the dogs. The shepherd
catches him and hangs him from a tree. The moral states that innate nature will
reveal itself.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A shepherd finds a wolf cub straying in the pastures.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The shepherd takes the cub home and raises him with his dogs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: When full grown, the wolf joins the dogs in hunting wolves that steal sheep
from the flock.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: If the dogs abandon the chase, the wolf continues alone, overtakes the thief,
and shares the sheep with him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: If no wolves steal sheep for some time, the wolf steals one himself and shares
the plunder with the dogs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The shepherd becomes suspicious, catches the wolf in the act, ties a rope
around his neck, and hangs him on the nearest tree.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The stated moral says that what is bred in the bone will come out in the flesh.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Shepherd
description: A shepherd who finds, raises, suspects, catches, and hangs the wolf.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Wolf's Cub / Wolf
description: A stray wolf cub raised with dogs; as an adult he hunts sheep-stealing
wolves, shares stolen sheep, steals sheep himself, and is hanged.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dogs
description: The shepherd’s dogs, with whom the cub is raised; they hunt sheep-stealing
wolves and later share plunder stolen by the wolf.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Sheep-stealing wolves
description: Wolves that carry off sheep from the flock; one pursued wolf shares
the feast with the raised wolf.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sheep / flock
description: Sheep belonging to the flock; they are stolen and consumed as plunder.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: finder and rearer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The shepherd finds the cub, takes him home, and rears him with the dogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: adopted predator
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The wolf cub is taken from the pastures and raised among the shepherd’s dogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: pursuer of thieves
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The adult wolf joins the dogs in hunting wolves that steal sheep.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: sharer of stolen plunder
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The wolf shares stolen sheep with a pursued wolf, and later steals a sheep
himself and shares it with the dogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The shepherd catches the wolf in the act and hangs him from a tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: stolen livestock
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Sheep are carried off by wolves or stolen by the raised wolf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree of execution
literal_form: nearest tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: rope around the neck
literal_form: rope
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: bone and flesh moral image
literal_form: bone and flesh
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Wolf cub adopted into the household
summary: The shepherd finds a stray wolf cub in the pastures and raises him at home
with his dogs.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Pursuit of sheep-stealing wolves
summary: The grown wolf joins the dogs in hunting wolves that steal sheep from the
flock.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Hidden sharing with the thief
summary: When the dogs fail and return home, the wolf continues the chase, catches
the thief, and shares the sheep with him before returning to the shepherd.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Wolf steals from the flock
summary: In the absence of sheep theft by other wolves, the raised wolf steals a
sheep himself and shares the plunder with the dogs.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Exposure and hanging
summary: The shepherd’s suspicions lead him to catch the wolf in the act; he fastens
a rope around the wolf’s neck and hangs him from the nearest tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Innate nature revealed despite upbringing
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The wolf is raised with dogs but ultimately steals and shares sheep; the
moral explicitly states that what is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level fable motif label, not a supplied taxonomy ID.
- id: motif:2
label: Adopted predator betrays the flock
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A wolf cub raised in the shepherd’s household becomes a sheep thief and accomplice
in sharing stolen sheep.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the wolf’s actions morally rather than as a supernatural
transformation or formal mythic role.
- id: motif:3
label: Punishment after secret theft is exposed
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The shepherd grows suspicious, catches the wolf in the act, and hangs him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a simple punitive outcome; broader legal or ritual implications
are not stated.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 4230-4232
quote_or_summary: "“A Shepherd found a Wolf's Cub straying in the pastures, and
took him home and reared him along with his dogs.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4232-4235
quote_or_summary: When the cub is grown, he joins the dogs in hunting wolves that
steal sheep from the flock.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4235-4239
quote_or_summary: If the dogs fail and return home, the wolf continues the chase,
overtakes the thief, shares the feast with him, and returns to the shepherd.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 4239-4242
quote_or_summary: "“he would steal one himself and share his plunder with the dogs.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4242-4245
quote_or_summary: The shepherd becomes suspicious, catches the wolf in the act,
ties a rope around his neck, and hangs him on the nearest tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: '4246'
quote_or_summary: "“What's bred in the bone is sure to come out in the flesh.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used for evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Candidate motifs are descriptive and
passage-based; no external comparison claims were made.
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 supplied motif-family taxonomy ref was assigned because the passage’s primary pattern is an animal-fable moral about innate nature rather than one of the listed mythic motif families.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4230-l4246
passage_sha256=c2c412b16952ab9c9db3d95a63ce514c6fa197448e95185425ac23d4862e0bed