batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4517-l4534
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4517-l4534
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: DEMADES AND HIS FABLE / THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN / THE CROW AND THE SNAKE
/ THE DOGS AND THE FOX; lines 4517-4534
start: '4517'
end: '4534'
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: In one fable, a hungry crow carries off a sleeping poisonous snake and
is fatally bitten. In another, dogs tear at a lion's skin until a fox observes
that a living lion's claws would be sharper than their teeth.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A hungry crow sees a snake asleep in a sunny place.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The crow picks up the snake in its claws and carries it away to eat undisturbed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The snake raises its head and bites the crow.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The snake is poisonous and the bite kills the crow.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: The dying crow says that what seemed a lucky find has cost its life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Some dogs find a lion's skin and bite or tear it with their teeth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: A fox tells the dogs that a living lion would have claws sharper than their
teeth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Crow
description: A hungry crow that seizes a sleeping snake and dies from its bite.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Snake
description: A sleeping poisonous snake that bites the crow when carried off.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dogs
description: Dogs that find and worry a lion's skin with their teeth.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Fox
description: A fox that comments on the dogs' supposed bravery by contrasting the
skin with a live lion.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: hungry seeker of prey
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The crow is hungry and picks up the snake to make a meal of it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: victim of fatal reversal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The crow expects a lucky find but dies from the snake's bite.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: dangerous captured prey
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The snake is asleep when taken but proves poisonous and fatal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: poisonous defender
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The snake rears its head and bites the crow with a fatal poisonous bite.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: attackers of a harmless remnant
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The dogs worry a lion's skin rather than confronting a living lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: critical commentator
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The fox verbally exposes the difference between attacking a skin and facing
a live lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: serpent
literal_form: poisonous snake
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: lion's skin
literal_form: skin of a lion found by dogs
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: teeth and claws contrast
literal_form: dogs' teeth contrasted with a live lion's claws
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Crow seizes the sleeping snake
summary: A hungry crow takes a sleeping snake in its claws intending to eat it elsewhere.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Fatal bite and crow's lament
summary: The snake bites the crow; the poisonous bite kills it, and the crow laments
that its find has cost its life.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Dogs worry a lion's skin
summary: Dogs tear at a lion's skin with their teeth until a fox remarks that a
living lion would be far more dangerous.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: seeming gain becomes fatal danger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The crow treats the snake as food and a fortunate find, but the captured
snake fatally poisons it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level moral pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy
motif family.
- id: motif:2
label: dangerous serpent as concealed threat
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
basis: The snake appears vulnerable while asleep but is poisonous and kills the
predator that carries it away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is supported by the literal snake/serpent figure;
broader serpent symbolism is not inferred.
- id: motif:3
label: false courage against a powerless substitute
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The dogs attack only a lion's skin, and the fox contrasts this with the danger
of a living lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied motif-family taxonomy directly matches this pattern.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4517-4525
quote_or_summary: A hungry crow finds a sleeping snake in a sunny spot, carries
it away in its claws to eat it, and is fatally bitten by the poisonous snake.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 4525-4527
quote_or_summary: '"I thought I had made a lucky find, and it has cost me my life!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4531-4532
quote_or_summary: Some dogs find a lion's skin and worry it with their teeth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 4532-4534
quote_or_summary: '"if that were a live lion you''d find his claws a good deal sharper
than your teeth."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied English passage. No comparison claims
were added because the passage itself does not support cross-textual or historical
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: |-
The supplied locator label mentions additional fable titles, but the provided passage text contains only 'The Crow and the Snake' and 'The Dogs and the Fox'.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4517-l4534
passage_sha256=c37e30df9343caae4304a4be9bf6def2541dfad3a9d6bea31566efa2d60b2002