batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4373-l4389
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4373-l4389
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BEE-KEEPER / THE WOLF AND THE HORSE / THE BAT, THE BRAMBLE, AND THE SEAGULL
/ THE DOG AND THE WOLF; lines 4373-4389
start: '4373'
end: '4389'
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 wolf prepares to eat a dog lying by a farmyard gate. The dog persuades
the wolf to wait until after an upcoming feast, when the dog claims he will be
fatter. The wolf leaves and later returns, but finds the dog safely on a stable
roof. The dog tells the wolf not to wait for any feast if he ever catches him
by the gate again. The appended moral is: once bitten, twice shy.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A dog lies in the sun before a farmyard gate.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A wolf pounces on the dog and is about to eat him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The dog begs for his life and says he is too thin to make a good meal.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The dog says his master is going to give a feast and that scraps will make
him fat.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The wolf accepts the dog's proposal and goes away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: When the wolf returns, the dog is lying out of reach on the stable roof.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The wolf reminds the dog of their agreement and tells him to come down to
be eaten.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The dog replies that if the wolf ever catches him at the gate again, he should
not wait for a feast.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The stated moral is that one who has been harmed or threatened before becomes
cautious afterward.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Dog
description: A farmyard dog who is first found lying by a gate and later out of
reach on a stable roof.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A wolf who pounces on the dog, agrees to wait, and later returns to
eat him.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Master
description: The dog's master, mentioned as the person who is going to give a feast.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: threatened prey
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The dog is seized by the wolf and nearly eaten.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: speaker using delay to escape danger
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The dog persuades the wolf to wait and is later positioned safely out of
reach.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: predator deceived by postponed reward
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The wolf agrees to postpone eating the dog and later finds him inaccessible.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: offstage feast-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The master is only mentioned as planning a feast whose scraps would fall
to the dog.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: farmyard gate
literal_form: gate
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: stable roof
literal_form: roof
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: feast scraps
literal_form: feast scraps and pickings
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Wolf threatens dog at the farmyard gate
summary: The dog lies by the gate, the wolf pounces, and the dog pleads that he
is too thin to eat now.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Dog proposes delay until after a feast
summary: The dog tells the wolf that upcoming feast scraps will make him fat, and
the wolf leaves after accepting the plan.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Wolf returns to find dog out of reach
summary: The wolf returns to claim the agreement, but the dog is on the stable roof
and says the wolf should not wait next time.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: escape from predator by persuading delay
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The dog avoids immediate death by persuading the wolf to postpone eating
him, then relocates to a safe place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate; the passage presents a clever escape
rather than an explicit mythic trickster figure.
- id: motif:2
label: lesson learned after danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The closing moral states that prior harm or danger leads to later caution,
and the dog avoids repeating his vulnerable position.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: This is a fable moral rather than a mythological wisdom episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4373-4375
quote_or_summary: A dog is lying in the sun before a farmyard gate.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4375-4376
quote_or_summary: A wolf pounces on the dog and is about to eat him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4376-4378
quote_or_summary: The dog begs for his life and says he is thin and would make a
poor meal at present.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4378-4381
quote_or_summary: The dog says his master will hold a feast, after which scraps
and pickings will make him fat enough to eat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4381-4382
quote_or_summary: The wolf considers the proposal good and leaves.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 4382-4384
quote_or_summary: Later the wolf returns to the farmyard and finds the dog lying
out of reach on the stable roof.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 4384-4386
quote_or_summary: The wolf calls for the dog to come down and be eaten, reminding
him of their agreement.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 4386-4388
quote_or_summary: The dog answers that if the wolf ever catches him lying by the
gate again, he should not wait for a feast.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: '4389'
quote_or_summary: Once bitten, twice shy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; brief quotation used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy assignments
are limited because the available taxonomy is oriented toward broader mythic patterns
rather than fable-specific plot types.
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 support a specific comparison beyond its own fable pattern.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4373-l4389
passage_sha256=11735a978093abd41ad2214b2f3babcad0070aac7b2fe46830b36eb8ee531bf0