batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4249-l4268
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4249-l4268
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GOATHERD AND THE GOAT / THE SHEEP AND THE DOG / THE SHEPHERD AND THE
WOLF / THE LION, JUPITER, AND THE ELEPHANT; lines 4249-4268
start: '4249'
end: '4268'
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 lion is ashamed because he fears a cock's crowing and complains to Jupiter.
Jupiter says the lion should be content with only one failing. The lion then meets
an elephant, learns that the elephant fears a gnat entering his ear, and is comforted
by realizing that even a huge animal fears something small.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The lion is large and strong, with sharp teeth and claws, but fears the sound
of a cock crowing and runs away when he hears it.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The lion complains to Jupiter about being made with this fear.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Jupiter tells the lion that he has done the best he could for him and that
the lion should be content because this is his only failing.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The lion remains ashamed of his timidity and wishes he might die.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The lion meets the elephant and notices that the elephant keeps cocking up
his ears as if listening for something.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A gnat hums by, and the elephant says he is afraid that it will get into his
ear and kill him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The lion's spirits rise when he compares his fear of a cock with the elephant's
fear of a gnat.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Lion
description: A large, strong lion with sharp teeth and claws who fears a cock's
crowing and later takes comfort from the elephant's fear.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jupiter
description: A divine figure addressed by the lion; he says he did the best he could
for the lion and that the lion should be content with only one failing.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Elephant
description: A great beast who keeps his ears raised and says he fears a gnat entering
his ear.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cock
description: A cock whose crowing frightens the lion; the cock is not directly present
in the narrated encounter.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Gnat
description: A small buzzing insect whose possible entry into the elephant's ear
frightens the elephant.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: powerful animal with a particular fear
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
basis: Both the lion and the elephant are described as large or great, yet each
is afraid of a smaller creature or sound.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: divine respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Jupiter answers the lion's complaint about how he was made.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: complainant seeking relief from shame
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lion complains bitterly to Jupiter and is ashamed of his timidity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: example that changes another's mood
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The elephant's fear of a gnat causes the lion's spirits to rise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: small or lesser feared creature
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The cock's crowing frightens the lion, and the gnat frightens the elephant.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cock crowing as fear trigger
literal_form: the sound of a cock crowing
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: gnat as fear trigger
literal_form: a wretched little buzzing insect / gnat
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: raised ears as watchfulness
literal_form: the elephant cocking up his ears as if listening
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Lion complains to Jupiter
summary: The lion, despite his strength, is distressed by his fear of a cock's crowing
and complains to Jupiter, who tells him he should be content with only one failing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Lion learns the elephant's fear
summary: The lion meets the elephant, notices his alert ears, and hears him say
that he fears a gnat entering his ear.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Lion is comforted by comparison
summary: The lion feels better after reasoning that the elephant, though huge, fears
a gnat, while the lion fears a cock, which is much larger than a gnat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: powerful creature afraid of something small
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The lion is strong but fears a cock's crowing, and the huge elephant fears
a gnat entering his ear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level fable pattern rather than a supplied formal taxonomy
motif.
- id: motif:2
label: consolation through discovering another's weakness
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The lion's mood improves when he learns that the elephant has a fear that
appears even more disproportionate than his own.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The link to the broad taxonomy family “wisdom” is interpretive and should
be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: one failing amid great strengths
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Jupiter tells the lion that, since fear of cock-crowing is his only failing,
he should be content.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The moral lesson is implied through Jupiter's speech and the later comparison,
but no explicit moral is given in the supplied passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4249-4254
quote_or_summary: The lion is described as large and strong, with sharp teeth and
claws, yet he cannot bear a cock crowing and runs away when he hears it.
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: 4254-4258
quote_or_summary: The lion complains to Jupiter, who says it is not his fault, that
he did the best he could, and that the lion should be content because this is
his only failing.
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: 4258-4260
quote_or_summary: The lion remains uncomforted, is ashamed of his timidity, and
wishes he might die.
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: 4260-4263
quote_or_summary: The lion meets the elephant, talks with him, and asks why the
elephant keeps cocking up his ears as though listening.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 4263-4266
quote_or_summary: "“I'm terribly afraid of its getting into my ear: if it once gets
in, I'm dead and done for.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 4266-4268
quote_or_summary: The lion's spirits rise because, if the huge elephant fears a
gnat, the lion need not be ashamed of fearing a cock, which is much bigger than
a gnat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the supplied English passage.
Motif labels are descriptive and passage-level; taxonomy assignment to “wisdom”
is broad and should be reviewed.
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. No comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself establish a comparison with another text or tradition.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4249-l4268
passage_sha256=36e9fa9ffa8a94cea0e5fa9590ccbfd82475d7c79ac68769c67a6c9e98e776a3