batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5144-l5163
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5144-l5163
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE STAG / THE MAN WHO LOST HIS SPADE / THE PARTRIDGE
AND THE FOWLER / THE RUNAWAY SLAVE; lines 5144-5163
start: '5144'
end: '5163'
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: In one fable, a captured partridge asks a fowler to spare it and promises
to lure other partridges into the nets; the fowler refuses, saying the treacherous
offer makes it deserve death. In the next fable, a runaway slave is pursued by
his master, hides in a treadmill, and is told by the master that this is the very
place for him.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A fowler catches a partridge in nets and is about to wring its neck.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The partridge appeals for its life and offers to decoy other partridges into
the fowler's nets.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The fowler refuses to spare the partridge and says its treacherous speech
makes it deserve its fate.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A discontented slave runs away from his master.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The master mounts a horse and pursues the runaway slave.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The slave hides in a treadmill in the hope of avoiding capture.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The master identifies the treadmill as the very place for the slave.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Fowler
description: A bird-catcher who catches a partridge, considers killing it, and rejects
its appeal.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Partridge
description: A captured bird that begs for life and offers to lure other partridges
into the nets.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Slave
description: A discontented runaway who hides in a treadmill while being pursued.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Master
description: The slave's master, who pursues the fugitive and comments on his hiding
place.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: captor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The fowler catches the partridge in his nets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: judge of fitting consequence
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: The fowler rejects the treacherous appeal as deserving its fate; the master
declares the treadmill the fitting place for the runaway.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: captured supplicant
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The partridge makes a piteous appeal to be spared.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: would-be betrayer of its own kind
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The partridge offers to decoy other partridges into the nets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: fugitive
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The slave runs away and hides to avoid capture.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The master mounts his horse and pursues the fugitive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: nets
literal_form: fowler's nets
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: treadmill
literal_form: treadmill used as a hiding place
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: horse
literal_form: horse mounted by the master during pursuit
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Captured partridge offers betrayal for survival
summary: A partridge caught in nets begs the fowler to spare it and promises to
lure other partridges into the same nets.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Fowler rejects the partridge's appeal
summary: The fowler refuses mercy and says the partridge's treacherous speech makes
it deserve its fate.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Runaway slave pursued and hidden in treadmill
summary: A slave runs away from his master; the master pursues him on horseback,
and the slave hides in a treadmill.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Master comments on the hiding place
summary: The master finds or addresses the slave in the treadmill and says it is
the very place for him.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: captured animal offers to betray its own kind
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The partridge asks for life in exchange for decoying other partridges into
the fowler's nets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a compact fable action rather than an explicit comparative
motif label.
- id: motif:2
label: treacherous plea rejected by captor
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fowler refuses to spare the partridge because its offer is treacherous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: Interpretation is limited to the explicit rejection of the speech as treacherous.
- id: motif:3
label: fugitive hides in a place that fits his punishment or labor
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The runaway slave hides in a treadmill, and the master says that is the very
place for him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The treadmill's punitive or labor-related appropriateness is implied by
the master's statement, not explained at length in the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 5144-5147
quote_or_summary: A fowler catches a partridge in his nets and is about to wring
its neck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 5147-5150
quote_or_summary: 'The partridge says: "Do not kill me, but let me live" and promises
to repay the fowler by "decoying other partridges into your nets."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 5150-5153
quote_or_summary: The fowler refuses and says that after the partridge's "treacherous
speech" it deserves its fate.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 5155-5157
quote_or_summary: A slave, discontented with his lot, runs away from his master.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 5157-5159
quote_or_summary: The master notices the slave is missing, mounts his horse, and
pursues him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 5159-5162
quote_or_summary: The slave hopes to avoid capture by slipping into a treadmill
and hiding there.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 5162-5163
quote_or_summary: The master says, "that's the very place for you, my man!"
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: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are descriptive and not
matched to supplied taxonomy families. No comparison claims are made because the
passage itself does not support a cross-text or cross-tradition 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 text and metadata were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l5144-l5163
passage_sha256=a5c0877eeb9c5033b8604b7655839f1ab703f81654816c5d7ab409dd94de2b24