batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4663-l4678
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4663-l4678
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW / THE PLOUGHMAN AND THE WOLF / MERCURY AND THE MAN
BITTEN BY AN ANT / THE WILY LION; lines 4663-4678
start: '4663'
end: '4678'
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 desires to eat a fat bull but fears the bull's horns. Since direct
force seems unlikely to succeed, the lion flatters the bull and persuades him
that his horns are ugly and unnecessary. After the bull has his horns cut off,
he loses his only defense and is easily taken by the lion.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A lion watches a fat bull feeding in a meadow and wants to eat him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The lion does not attack the bull directly because he fears the bull's sharp
horns.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The lion chooses artifice rather than force because force does not promise
success.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The lion approaches the bull in a friendly manner and praises the bull's body.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The lion calls the bull's horns ugly, awkward, and unnecessary, and advises
that the bull would be better without them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The bull is persuaded by the flattery to have his horns cut off.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: After losing his horns, the bull loses his only means of defense and becomes
easy prey for the lion.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Lion
description: A hungry lion who wants to eat the bull, fears the bull's horns, and
uses flattery to remove the bull's defense.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Bull
description: A fat bull feeding in a meadow, possessing sharp horns that serve as
his only defense until he is persuaded to have them cut off.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: predator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lion wants to make a feast of the bull and the bull becomes his prey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: deceiver by flattery
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lion uses friendly speech and praise to persuade the bull to remove his
horns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: prey
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The bull is desired as food and finally falls an easy prey to the lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: deceived possessor of defense
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The bull's horns are his defense, but he is persuaded by flattery to remove
them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: horns as defense
literal_form: sharp horns
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: meadow
literal_form: meadow
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Lion observes bull in meadow
summary: A lion sees a fat bull feeding in a meadow and wants to eat him, but does
not attack because of the bull's horns.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Lion uses flattery
summary: Because force seems unlikely to work, the lion approaches the bull in a
friendly way, praises him, and argues that the horns are ugly and unnecessary.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Bull loses defense and becomes prey
summary: The bull is persuaded to have his horns cut off, loses his only means of
defense, and becomes easy prey for the lion.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: deceiver persuades victim to surrender protection
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The lion cannot safely use force, so he uses flattery to induce the bull
to remove the horns that protect him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is an animal fable rather than an explicit mythic trickster
episode; the taxonomy reference is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: flattery leading to self-endangerment
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The bull accepts flattering speech and, through foolish persuasion, gives
up the defense that kept him safe.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a moral-pattern extraction; the supplied passage does not state
a separate explicit moral.
- id: motif:3
label: force replaced by cunning
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The lion determines to use artifice because direct force does not promise
success against the horned bull.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The lion is not named as a trickster figure; the motif is inferred from
the action pattern.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4663-4665
quote_or_summary: A lion watches a fat bull feeding in a meadow and desires to make
a feast of him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4665-4666
quote_or_summary: The lion does not dare attack because he fears the bull's sharp
horns.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4666-4668
quote_or_summary: Hunger compels the lion to act; since force does not promise success,
he decides to use artifice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 4668-4671
quote_or_summary: The lion approaches the bull in a friendly fashion and praises
his figure, head, shoulders, and thighs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 4671-4675
quote_or_summary: The lion asks why the bull wears ugly horns and says he would
do better without them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 4675-4677
quote_or_summary: The bull is foolishly persuaded by the lion's flattery to have
his horns cut off.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4677-4678
quote_or_summary: After losing his only means of defense, the bull falls easy prey
to the lion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are cautious and based
on the fable's action pattern. No comparison claims are made because the passage
itself does not support a specific cross-text 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: |-
Only the supplied passage text was used. No figures or claims were added from adjacent fables mentioned in the broader locator label.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4663-l4678
passage_sha256=a9ba90729fc9be92aaca095452e767676d017600837bfacaaefa291afd2ca785