batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4831-l4844
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4831-l4844
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GNAT AND THE LION / THE FARMER AND HIS DOGS / THE EAGLE AND THE FOX /
THE BUTCHER AND HIS CUSTOMERS; lines 4831-4844
start: '4831'
end: '4844'
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: Two men buying meat at a butcher's stall conceal a stolen joint by having
one take it and the other hide it. Each denies the theft in a technically evasive
way. The butcher says they may deceive him with lying, but they cannot deceive
the gods. The moral states that prevarication often amounts to perjury.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Two men are buying meat at a butcher's stall in the market-place.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: When the butcher's back is turned, one man snatches up a joint of meat and
puts it under the other man's cloak.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The hidden joint cannot be seen under the cloak.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The butcher notices the missing meat and accuses the two men of stealing it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The man who took the meat says he has not got it, and the man who has it says
he has not taken it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The butcher believes the men are deceiving him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The butcher says the men may cheat him by lying, but cannot cheat the gods,
who will not let them off lightly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The stated moral is that prevarication often amounts to perjury.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Butcher
description: A market-place butcher whose stall sells meat and who notices that
meat has been stolen.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Man who takes the meat
description: One of two customers; he snatches a joint of meat and hides it under
the other man's cloak, then denies having it.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Man who hides the meat
description: One of two customers; he has the stolen joint under his cloak and denies
having taken it.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Gods
description: The gods are invoked by the butcher as beings who cannot be cheated
and who will not let the deceivers off lightly.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wronged owner or seller
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The butcher owns or sells the meat at the stall, notices it is missing, and
charges the customers with theft.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: deceptive customer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The two men coordinate the theft and each gives an evasive denial.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: thief or accomplice
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: One man takes the joint, and the other conceals it under his cloak.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: moral speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The butcher states that lying may deceive him but not the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: divine witnesses to deception
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The butcher says the gods cannot be cheated and will not let the deceivers
off lightly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: stolen joint of meat
literal_form: joint of meat
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: concealing cloak
literal_form: cloak
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: market-place butcher's stall
literal_form: butcher's stall in the market-place
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: gods as moral witnesses
literal_form: the gods
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Theft at the butcher's stall
summary: Two men buy meat at a butcher's stall; when the butcher turns away, one
steals a joint and hides it under the other's cloak.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Evasive denial and divine warning
summary: After the butcher notices the missing meat and accuses them, each man denies
a different part of the act. The butcher warns that their lying cannot deceive
the gods.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: technical truth used to conceal theft
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The two men divide possession and action so that one can deny having the
meat while the other can deny taking it, using evasive speech to conceal a theft.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a specific lying, perjury, or
theft-by-evasion motif; 'trickster_boundary' is a broad fit based on boundary-crossing
deception.
- id: motif:2
label: divine witnesses cannot be deceived by human lies
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The butcher explicitly warns that the men may cheat him with lying but cannot
cheat the gods, who will not let them off lightly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage invokes divine accountability but does not narrate an actual
divine punishment within the excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: prevarication equated with perjury
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The closing moral states that prevarication often amounts to perjury.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is an explicit moral statement rather than a narrative event.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4831-4833
quote_or_summary: Two men buy meat at a butcher's stall in the market-place.
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: lines 4833-4836
quote_or_summary: While the butcher's back is turned, one man snatches a joint and
puts it under the other's cloak where it cannot be seen.
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: lines 4836-4838
quote_or_summary: The butcher turns around, notices the meat is missing, and charges
the men with stealing it.
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: lines 4838-4840
quote_or_summary: '"the one who had taken it said he hadn''t got it, and the one
who had got it said he hadn''t taken it"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 4840-4843
quote_or_summary: '"You may cheat me with your lying, but you can''t cheat the gods"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: line 4844
quote_or_summary: '"Prevarication often amounts to perjury."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the provided passage. Motif mapping is limited
by the broad available taxonomy; no comparison claims are made because the passage
does not itself provide an explicit cross-textual 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 request label mentions multiple fables and lines 4831-4844, but the supplied passage text contains only 'THE BUTCHER AND HIS CUSTOMERS'; extraction is limited to the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4831-l4844
passage_sha256=081860092d7ad3d00baffed2d5de92ac4815b6ea53f5691605aed7eb4140c8ed