batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4757-l4772
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4757-l4772
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE IMPOSTOR / THE DOGS AND THE HIDES / THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE ASS /
THE FOWLER, THE PARTRIDGE, AND THE COCK; lines 4757-4772
start: '4757'
end: '4772'
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 fowler preparing a meager meal receives an unexpected guest. He first
chooses a tame partridge kept as a decoy, but spares her after she argues that
she is useful for attracting birds to his nets. He then chooses a young cock,
who pleads that he tells the time and wakes the fowler for work. The fowler acknowledges
the cock's usefulness but kills him to provide supper for the guest.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A fowler is sitting down to a scanty supper of herbs and bread when a friend
arrives unexpectedly.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The fowler's larder is empty, so he goes out and catches a tame partridge
kept as a decoy.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The partridge asks not to be killed and argues that she helps the fowler bring
birds to his nets.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The fowler releases the partridge and goes to the hen-house, where he has
a plump young cock.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The cock pleads for his life by saying he tells the time at night and wakes
the fowler in the morning.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The fowler acknowledges the cock's usefulness but says he cannot send his
friend to bed without supper.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The fowler catches the cock and wrings his neck.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Fowler
description: A bird-catcher who owns a tame decoy partridge and a young cock, and
who must provide food for an unexpected guest.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Friend
description: An unexpected visitor who arrives when the fowler's larder is empty.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tame Partridge
description: A tame partridge kept by the fowler as a decoy for catching birds.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Young Cock
description: A plump young cock kept in the fowler's hen-house; he says he tells
the time and wakes the fowler.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: host under food scarcity
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The fowler has only a scanty supper, an empty larder, and an unexpected guest
to feed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: killer/provider of meal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He catches the cock and wrings his neck after deciding not to send his friend
supperless to bed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: unexpected guest
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The friend drops in unexpectedly while the fowler is sitting down to supper.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: decoy animal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The partridge is described as tame and kept as a decoy for fowling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: pleading animal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Both birds plead for their lives by stating their usefulness to the fowler.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: timekeeper animal
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The cock claims he tells the time at night and wakes the fowler in the morning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: slain substitute meal
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: After the partridge is released, the cock is killed to provide supper for
the guest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: scanty supper
literal_form: herbs and bread
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: empty larder
literal_form: empty food storage
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: fowling nets
literal_form: nets used to catch birds
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: hen-house
literal_form: place where the cock is kept
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: cock as time signal
literal_form: cock who tells the time and wakes the fowler
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Unexpected guest and lack of food
summary: The fowler is about to eat a meager supper when a friend arrives and the
larder is empty.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Partridge pleads usefulness and is spared
summary: The fowler catches his tame decoy partridge to kill her, but she argues
that she is needed for catching birds, and he lets her go.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Cock pleads usefulness but is killed
summary: The fowler turns to the young cock; the cock argues that he tells time
and wakes the fowler, but the fowler kills him to feed the guest.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: animal pleads usefulness to avoid death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Both the partridge and the cock try to save their lives by explaining their
practical value to the fowler.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this as fable action rather than as a sacred or mythic
transformation.
- id: motif:2
label: substitution of one intended victim for another
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The partridge is first selected for killing and then spared; the fowler next
selects the cock, who is ultimately killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The substitution is practical and culinary, not ritualized in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: immediate need outweighs acknowledged usefulness
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fowler admits that the cock is useful for telling time but kills him
because he wants to feed his guest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an inferred narrative pattern from the fable's sequence, not an
explicitly named motif in the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4757-4760
quote_or_summary: A fowler sits down to a scanty supper of herbs and bread when
a friend unexpectedly arrives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4760-4763
quote_or_summary: Because the larder is empty, the fowler catches a tame partridge
kept as a decoy and is about to kill her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 4763-4766
quote_or_summary: The partridge asks, "Surely you won't kill me?" and says she helps
bring birds to the fowler's nets.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4766-4768
quote_or_summary: The fowler lets the partridge go and goes to the hen-house, where
he has a plump young cock.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4768-4770
quote_or_summary: The cock pleads that, if killed, he will no longer tell the time
at night or wake the fowler in the morning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: 4770-4771
quote_or_summary: The fowler replies that the cock is useful for telling time, but
he cannot send his friend "supperless to bed."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 4771-4772
quote_or_summary: The fowler catches the cock and wrings his neck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the provided fable. Motif labels
are descriptive and not tied to external taxonomy. No comparison claims were 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 and metadata were used; available taxonomy symbols and motif families were not applied because no listed taxonomy reference was directly supported in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4757-l4772
passage_sha256=1abb712bf4a00c01aa4322091206690ca670c8ebb6593e49d405ed942f2b36e3