batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4775-l4790
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4775-l4790
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE DOGS AND THE HIDES / THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE ASS / THE FOWLER, THE
PARTRIDGE, AND THE COCK / THE GNAT AND THE LION; lines 4775-4790
start: '4775'
end: '4790'
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 gnat challenges a lion, claims superior strength, attacks the lion's
nose, and escapes while the lion injures himself trying to crush it. After celebrating
victory over the lion, the gnat becomes caught in a spider's web and is eaten
by the spider.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A gnat approaches a lion and says it is not afraid of him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The gnat disputes the lion's strength and proposes a fight.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The gnat sounds its horn, darts in, and bites the lion on the nose.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The lion scratches his own nose badly and makes it bleed while trying to crush
the gnat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The gnat is not hurt by the lion and leaves in triumph.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The gnat later becomes entangled in a spider's web.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The spider catches and eats the gnat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The lion is called the King of the Beasts in the passage.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Gnat
description: A small insect that challenges the lion, bites him, escapes unharmed,
triumphs, and is later caught and eaten by a spider.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lion
description: A powerful beast addressed by the gnat and described as the King of
the Beasts; he injures his own nose while trying to crush the gnat.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Spider
description: The creature whose web entangles the gnat and who catches and eats
it.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: boastful challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The gnat says it is not afraid, denies that the lion is a match for it, and
invites combat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: mighty opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The lion is the gnat's opponent and is later called the King of the Beasts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: initial victor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The gnat bites the lion, avoids harm, and departs in triumph.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: victim after reversal
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After its victory, the gnat is caught in a spider's web and eaten.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: final predator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The spider catches and eats the gnat after the gnat becomes entangled in
the web.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: spider's web as trap
literal_form: spider's web
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: lion as royal beast
literal_form: lion, called the King of the Beasts
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: wounded nose
literal_form: the lion's nose, bitten and scratched until it bleeds
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Gnat challenges the lion
summary: The gnat approaches the lion, declares that it is not afraid, belittles
the lion's strength, and calls for a fight.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Gnat's attack and lion's self-injury
summary: The gnat sounds its horn, bites the lion's nose, and avoids harm while
the lion scratches his own nose trying to crush it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Triumph followed by capture
summary: The gnat leaves in triumph but then becomes caught in a spider's web and
is eaten by the spider.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: small creature defeats mighty opponent
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The gnat defeats or at least overcomes the lion in their encounter, despite
the lion's superior status as King of the Beasts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a brief fable episode rather than an extended heroic
contest.
- id: motif:2
label: triumph followed by sudden downfall
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The gnat celebrates its victory over the lion but soon becomes trapped and
eaten by a spider.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not state a separate moral sentence; the motif is inferred
from the narrated sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: victor destroyed by lesser danger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After triumphing over the King of the Beasts, the gnat falls prey to what
the passage calls an insignificant insect.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The description of the spider as an insignificant insect is taken from
the translation's wording.
- id: motif:4
label: self-inflicted harm while attacking a smaller enemy
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The lion, trying to crush the gnat, scratches his own nose badly and makes
it bleed while failing to hurt the gnat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a local action pattern within the fable rather than the whole
narrative's final outcome.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4775-4782
quote_or_summary: The gnat approaches the lion, says it is not afraid, denies that
the lion matches it in strength, and challenges him to fight.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4782-4786
quote_or_summary: The gnat sounds its horn, darts in, bites the lion on the nose,
and the lion scratches his own nose bloody while failing to hurt the gnat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4786-4790
quote_or_summary: The gnat buzzes off in triumph, later becomes entangled in a spider's
web, and is caught and eaten by the spider.
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: 4789-4790
quote_or_summary: '"the King of the Beasts"'
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: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and not assigned to a supplied taxonomy family because no listed family is directly
supported by the passage.
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 explicitly support a comparison to another text, tradition, or motif family.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4775-l4790
passage_sha256=febf991dd631821b9c3937332f1dce41b875b247e76ae7dc1b76915fc8ad7496