batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4323-l4336
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4323-l4336
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GARDENER AND HIS DOG / THE RIVERS AND THE SEA / THE LION IN LOVE / THE
BEE-KEEPER; lines 4323-4336
start: '4323'
end: '4336'
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: When you hit back make sure you have got the right man.
summary: A thief steals honey from an apiary while the bee-keeper is absent. The
bee-keeper returns and finds the hives empty. The bees later return, see their
hives overturned and the bee-keeper nearby, and sting him. The bee-keeper complains
that they let the thief escape and attack their caretaker instead. The moral advises
ensuring that retaliation is directed at the correct person.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A thief enters an apiary while the bee-keeper is away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The thief steals all the honey.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The bee-keeper returns and finds the hives empty.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The bee-keeper stands staring at the empty hives for some time.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The bees return from gathering honey.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The bees find their hives overturned and the bee-keeper standing nearby.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The bees attack the bee-keeper with their stings.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The bee-keeper angrily says that the bees allowed the thief to escape and
then stung the one who cared for them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The closing moral says that one should make sure of the right target before
striking back.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Thief
description: A person who enters the apiary during the bee-keeper’s absence and
steals all the honey.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Bee-keeper
description: The keeper of the apiary who returns to find the hives empty and is
later stung by the bees.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Bees
description: Bees that return from gathering honey, find their hives overturned,
and sting the bee-keeper.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: honey thief
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The figure steals all the honey from the apiary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: apiary caretaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The bee-keeper is described as the one who has taken care of the bees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: wrongly attacked bystander
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The bees sting the bee-keeper after the thief has already escaped.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: misdirected retaliators
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The bees attack the bee-keeper rather than the thief who stole the honey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: apiary
literal_form: apiary
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: honey
literal_form: stolen honey
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: hives
literal_form: empty and overturned hives
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: stings
literal_form: bees’ stings
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Theft from the apiary
summary: While the bee-keeper is absent, a thief enters the apiary and steals all
the honey.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Bee-keeper discovers the empty hives
summary: The bee-keeper returns, finds the hives empty, becomes upset, and stands
looking at them.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Bees sting the wrong person
summary: The bees return, see the hives overturned and the bee-keeper nearby, and
sting him.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Complaint and moral
summary: The bee-keeper complains that the bees let the thief escape and attacked
their caretaker, and the moral warns against striking back at the wrong person.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: retaliation against the wrong target
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The bees respond to the damage by stinging the bee-keeper, while the thief
who stole the honey escapes; the stated moral generalizes this into advice about
identifying the correct target before striking back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad and based on the explicit moral
instruction, not on a named mythological taxonomy item in the passage.
- id: motif:2
label: theft from a guarded or tended store
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A thief steals all the honey from an apiary maintained by the bee-keeper.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage treats the theft mainly as the setup for the mistaken retaliation
moral.
- id: motif:3
label: caretaker harmed by those he cares for
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The bee-keeper says he has always taken care of the bees, yet they sting
him after the theft.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a relational pattern within the fable rather than an explicitly
named motif family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4323-4326
quote_or_summary: A thief finds his way into the apiary while the bee-keeper is
away and steals all the honey.
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: 4326-4328
quote_or_summary: The bee-keeper returns, finds the hives empty, becomes upset,
and stands staring at them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4328-4331
quote_or_summary: The bees return from gathering honey, find the hives overturned
and the keeper standing by, and attack him with their stings.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4331-4334
quote_or_summary: The bee-keeper angrily says that the bees let the thief escape
and then stung the one who had always cared for them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: '4336'
quote_or_summary: When you hit back make sure you have got the right man.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The narrative sequence and moral are explicit. Motif labels are candidate
analytical summaries and should be reviewed for alignment with the Atlas taxonomy.
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 provided passage does not itself identify a specific external comparative tradition or named motif beyond its general moral pattern.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4323-l4336
passage_sha256=e63b9be775afd77c508d703dc310b67c803b4f1331f4f7117cb29a295267c0a4