batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5252-l5280
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5252-l5280
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE DOG CHASING A WOLF / GRIEF AND HIS DUE / THE HAWK, THE KITE, AND THE
PIGEONS / THE WOMAN AND THE FARMER; lines 5252-5280
start: '5252'
end: '5280'
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: One fable tells of pigeons who invite a hawk to defend them from a kite,
only to suffer greater losses from the hawk. Another tells of a widow mourning
at her husband's grave, a farmer who courts her by claiming similar grief, their
quick agreement to marry, and the farmer's later genuine lament when a thief steals
his oxen.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Pigeons in a dovecote are repeatedly attacked by a Kite, who carries off some
of them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Pigeons invite a Hawk into the dovecote to defend them against the Kite.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Hawk kills more Pigeons in one day than the Kite had killed in a year.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: A Woman who has recently lost her husband goes daily to his grave and laments.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A Farmer ploughing nearby sees the Woman, desires to marry her, leaves his
plough, sits beside her, and weeps.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The Farmer says he has recently lost his wife and that tears ease his grief.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Woman and Farmer agree that, being in a similar case, they should marry
and replace each other's dead spouses.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: While the Farmer is away from his plough, a thief steals the oxen left with
it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: After discovering the theft, the Farmer beats his breast and loudly bewails
the loss.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: When the Woman asks whether he is still weeping, the Farmer replies that he
means it this time.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Pigeons
description: A group living in a dovecote and persecuted by a Kite.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Kite
description: A bird that swoops down and carries off Pigeons.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Hawk
description: A bird invited into the dovecote as defender, who kills more Pigeons
than the Kite.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Woman
description: A widow who visits her husband's grave, laments, and agrees to marry
the Farmer.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Farmer
description: A ploughman who desires the Woman as wife, claims to grieve for his
own dead wife, proposes marriage, and later laments the theft of his oxen.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Thief
description: An unnamed thief who steals the Farmer's oxen.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Dead husband
description: The Woman's recently deceased husband, whose grave she visits.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Dead wife
description: The Farmer's claimed recently deceased wife.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Oxen
description: Animals left with the Farmer's plough and stolen by the thief.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: persecuted group
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Pigeons are persecuted by the Kite.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: unwise petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They invite the Hawk for defense and soon repent of the decision.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: predatory enemy
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Kite repeatedly swoops down and carries off Pigeons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: invited defender
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Hawk is invited into the dovecote to defend the Pigeons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: worse destroyer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Hawk kills more Pigeons in a day than the Kite had in a year.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: mourning widow
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: She visits her husband's grave daily and laments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: prospective bride
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: She consents to marry the Farmer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: ploughman
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: He is engaged in ploughing near the grave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:9
label: suitor using shared grief
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: He weeps, claims a similar loss, and proposes marriage on that basis.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:10
label: victim of theft
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: His oxen are stolen while he is away from the plough.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:11
label: thief
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The figure steals the oxen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:12
label: deceased spouse
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Each is described as the lost spouse of a living character.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:13
label: stolen property
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The oxen left with the plough are stolen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: dovecote
literal_form: dovecote
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: grave
literal_form: husband's grave
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: plough
literal_form: plough left by the Farmer
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: tears
literal_form: weeping and tears
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: breast-beating
literal_form: the Farmer beating his breast
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Pigeons seek a defender against the Kite
summary: The Pigeons suffer attacks from the Kite and invite a Hawk into their dovecote
for protection.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: The invited Hawk proves worse than the Kite
summary: After entering the dovecote, the Hawk kills more Pigeons in a day than
the Kite had killed in a year.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Mourning at the grave and courtship
summary: The Woman laments at her husband's grave; the Farmer leaves his plough,
sits with her, weeps, and claims a similar bereavement.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Agreement to remarry
summary: The Farmer proposes that he and the Woman marry and replace one another's
dead spouses, and the Woman consents.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:5
label: Theft of the oxen and genuine lament
summary: A thief steals the oxen left with the plough; the Farmer discovers the
loss, beats his breast, and says that this time his weeping is sincere.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: choosing a protector worse than the enemy
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Pigeons seek protection from the Kite by inviting a Hawk, but the Hawk
kills more of them than the Kite did.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy contains only broad motif-family references; this
is a fable-level prudential pattern rather than a mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: feigned grief exposed by material loss
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Farmer's earlier tears support his courtship, but after his oxen are
stolen he distinguishes the later lament as genuine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a comic moral pattern, not an explicit theological or
ritual symbol of grief.
- id: motif:3
label: quick replacement of dead spouses
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Woman and Farmer agree that each can take the place of the other's deceased
spouse after a brief exchange about shared bereavement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents this as a practical proposal inside a fable; broader
marriage or bereavement symbolism is not stated.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5252-5258
quote_or_summary: In “The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons,” a Kite repeatedly carries
off Pigeons; the Pigeons invite a Hawk as defender, but the Hawk kills more in
a day than the Kite had in a year.
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 5262-5267
quote_or_summary: A Woman recently widowed visits her husband's grave daily; a nearby
Farmer sees her, wants her as his wife, leaves his plough, sits beside her, and
weeps.
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 5267-5274
quote_or_summary: The Farmer claims he too has lost a dear spouse; he and the Woman
discuss their shared condition and agree to marry and replace one another's dead
spouses.
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: lines 5274-5280
quote_or_summary: A thief steals the oxen left with the Farmer's plough; the Farmer
laments loudly, and when the Woman asks if he is still weeping, he replies that
he means it this time.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is clear and literal. Motif assignments use the broad available
“wisdom” family because the episodes are didactic fables; no external comparisons
are asserted.
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 available taxonomy symbol refs apply directly to the literal objects in this passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l5252-l5280
passage_sha256=4a514ca060f2fda381275b6221364a4df48699ff23d2dea1f485e2d4e228ceff