batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4793-l4803
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4793-l4803
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE ASS / THE FOWLER, THE PARTRIDGE, AND THE COCK
/ THE GNAT AND THE LION / THE FARMER AND HIS DOGS; lines 4793-4803
start: '4793'
end: '4803'
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 farmer trapped at his farmstead by a severe snowstorm cannot obtain provisions.
He kills and eats his sheep, then goats, then oxen. His dogs observe the sequence
and decide to flee before they are next.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A severe storm snows a farmer into his farmstead.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer cannot go out to procure provisions for himself and his family.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The farmer kills his sheep and uses them for food.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: When the storm continues, the farmer kills his goats.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: When the weather still does not improve, the farmer kills and eats his oxen.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The dogs see the animals being killed and eaten in turn.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The dogs say to one another that they had better leave or they will be next.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Farmer
description: A farmer snowed up in his farmstead who kills livestock for food during
the storm.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Farmer's family
description: The farmer's family, for whom provisions are needed.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Sheep
description: Animals first killed and used for food.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Goats
description: Animals killed after the sheep when the storm continues.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Oxen
description: Animals killed and eaten last when the weather does not improve.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Dogs
description: Dogs who observe the killings and decide they should leave before they
are killed next.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: trapped provider
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer is snowed up and cannot procure provisions, so he kills his animals
for food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: dependents needing provisions
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage states that provisions are needed for the farmer and his family.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: successive food victims
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The sheep, goats, and oxen are killed and eaten in sequence during the storm.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: observers of danger
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The dogs see the animals being killed and eaten in turn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: self-preserving speakers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The dogs say they should get out or they will be next.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Storm confinement and lack of provisions
summary: A severe storm traps the farmer at the farmstead and prevents him from
getting provisions for himself and his family.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Successive slaughter of livestock
summary: The farmer kills and eats sheep, then goats, then oxen as the storm continues
and the weather does not improve.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Dogs infer their danger
summary: The dogs observe the animals being killed and eaten in turn and say they
should leave before they are next.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: animals infer danger from successive victims
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The dogs draw a practical conclusion from watching other farm animals killed
one after another, deciding to flee before they are killed too.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is a fable about prudential
inference rather than an explicit wisdom myth.
- id: motif:2
label: survival under scarcity leads to killing domestic animals
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The farmer, trapped by a storm and unable to obtain provisions, kills his
domestic animals for food in escalating sequence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local narrative pattern in the fable and is not tied to an available
taxonomy family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4793-4796
quote_or_summary: A severe storm snows the farmer into his farmstead, leaving him
unable to go out for provisions for himself and his family.
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: 4796-4801
quote_or_summary: The farmer kills sheep for food, then goats as the storm continues,
and finally oxen when the weather does not improve.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 4801-4803
quote_or_summary: The dogs see the animals killed and eaten in turn and say, "We
had better get out of this or we shall be the next to go!"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from public domain text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labeling is cautious because
the available taxonomy only loosely fits the fable's prudential lesson.
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 was used; no comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support cross-textual comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4793-l4803
passage_sha256=60db3adf150be7f28279c5b9fdb94e318431ddca7edfc0a738ac5fcf5c097f3e