batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4863-l4875
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4863-l4875
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE EAGLE AND THE FOX / THE BUTCHER AND HIS CUSTOMERS / HERCULES AND MINERVA
/ THE FOX WHO SERVED A LION; lines 4863-4875
start: '4863'
end: '4875'
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: Better servitude with safety than freedom with danger.
summary: A fox serving a lion receives a small share of their hunting spoils, chooses
to hunt independently, attempts to steal a lamb, and is killed by dogs set on
him by the shepherd. The fable closes with a moral favoring safe servitude over
dangerous freedom.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A lion has a fox attending on him during hunting.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The fox finds prey, and the lion attacks and kills it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The lion receives a very large share of the divided prey, while the fox receives
a very small share.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The fox is displeased with the arrangement and decides to act on his own.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The fox tries to steal a lamb from a flock of sheep.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The shepherd sees the fox and sets dogs on him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The fox, formerly a hunter, becomes the hunted and is caught and killed by
the dogs.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The stated moral contrasts safe servitude with dangerous freedom.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Lion
description: A lion who is attended by a fox, kills prey found by the fox, and takes
the larger share.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Fox
description: A fox who serves the lion, receives a small share, attempts independent
theft of a lamb, and is killed by dogs.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Shepherd
description: The shepherd who sees the fox attempting to steal from the flock and
sets dogs on him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Dogs
description: Dogs set on the fox by the shepherd; they catch and kill the fox.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Lamb and flock of sheep
description: The lamb is the object the fox tries to steal from the flock of sheep.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: dominant hunting partner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lion kills the prey found by the fox and receives a very large share.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: subordinate attendant
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The fox attends on the lion and receives a small share of the divided prey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: failed independent predator
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After deciding to act on his own, the fox attempts to steal a lamb but is
caught and killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: guardian of flock
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The shepherd sees the theft attempt and uses dogs against the fox.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: pursuers and killers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The dogs are set on the fox, catch him, and dispatch him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: intended stolen prey
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The fox begins his independent action by trying to steal a lamb from the
flock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lion
literal_form: Lion
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: fox
literal_form: Fox
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: lamb from flock
literal_form: lamb from a flock of sheep
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: dogs
literal_form: dogs set on the fox
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Unequal hunting partnership
summary: The fox finds prey for the lion; the lion kills it, and the spoils are
divided so that the lion gets a large share and the fox a small one.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Independent theft attempt
summary: Displeased with his small share, the fox decides to act independently and
tries to steal a lamb from a flock of sheep.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Hunter becomes hunted
summary: The shepherd sees the fox and sets dogs on him; the dogs catch and kill
the fox.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Stated moral
summary: The fable concludes that safe servitude is preferable to dangerous freedom.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: safe subordination versus dangerous independence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fox leaves a safe but unequal service relationship and dies when attempting
to act independently; the closing moral explicitly contrasts servitude with safety
and freedom with danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-specific fable motif label rather than a supplied taxonomy
category.
- id: motif:2
label: hunter becomes hunted
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states that the fox, after attempting to steal a lamb, becomes
the hunted and is killed by the dogs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is extracted from the explicit reversal in the passage; no broader
historical comparison is asserted.
- id: motif:3
label: failed theft punished by guardians
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The fox attempts to steal a lamb from a guarded flock and is punished when
the shepherd sets dogs on him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: 'The taxonomy reference is approximate: the passage contains animal cunning
and a boundary violation, but it does not explicitly name the fox as a trickster.'
- id: motif:4
label: didactic fable wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: 'The passage ends with an explicit moral lesson: “Better servitude with safety
than freedom with danger.”'
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is general and based on the explicit moral rather
than a developed wisdom tradition within the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4863-4867
quote_or_summary: A lion has a fox to attend him; when hunting, the fox finds prey
and the lion kills it, after which they divide it.
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: 4867-4870
quote_or_summary: The lion always receives a very large share and the fox a very
small one; the fox is displeased and decides to act on his own.
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: 4870-4872
quote_or_summary: The fox tries to steal a lamb from a flock, but the shepherd sees
him and sets dogs on him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4872-4874
quote_or_summary: The hunter becomes the hunted and is soon caught and killed by
the dogs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: '4875'
quote_or_summary: Better servitude with safety than freedom with danger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal narrative elements and moral are explicit. Motif taxonomy matches
are limited because the supplied taxonomy is broad and the passage is a brief
fable.
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 support a cautious comparison to another text, tradition, or motif family beyond local candidate motif labeling.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4863-l4875
passage_sha256=c09a10c1982bfcba8f0efc76ecb8afa732e1b679e879e0b2d2256f001c6bb490