batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5320-l5341
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5320-l5341
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: PROMETHEUS AND THE MAKING OF MAN / THE SWALLOW AND THE CROW / THE HUNTER
AND THE HORSEMAN / THE GOATHERD AND THE WILD GOATS; lines 5320-5341
start: '5320'
end: '5341'
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 goatherd shelters wild goats with his own flock during bad weather and
feeds the wild goats better in hopes they will stay. When released to pasture,
the wild goats flee to the hills. The goatherd accuses them of ingratitude, and
one wild goat replies that his preferential treatment of newcomers showed that
they too might later be neglected for newer arrivals.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A goatherd sees wild goats approach and mingle with his flock while he is
tending goats at pasture.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: At day's end, the goatherd drives both his own goats and the wild goats home
and puts them together in a pen.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Bad weather prevents the goatherd from taking the goats out the next day,
so he keeps them in the pen and feeds them there.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The goatherd gives his own goats only enough food to keep them from starving,
but gives the wild goats more than enough food because he wants them to stay.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: When the weather improves and the goats are taken near the hills, the wild
goats break away and run off.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The goatherd verbally accuses the wild goats of ingratitude for leaving after
his treatment of them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: One wild goat answers that being treated better than the goatherd's own flock
made them cautious, because they might later be neglected in favor of newer strangers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Goatherd
description: A keeper of goats who tends his flock, pens the goats, feeds them,
and tries to retain the wild goats.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Goatherd's own goats
description: The goatherd's existing flock, fed only enough to keep them from starving
while the wild goats receive more.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Wild Goats
description: A group of wild goats that join the flock, receive abundant food, then
flee when taken near the hills.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: One wild goat
description: A member of the wild goats who turns back and explains why they distrusted
the goatherd's preferential treatment.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: herder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The figure tends goats, drives them home, pens them, and takes them out to
pasture.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: would-be captor or retainer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He feeds the wild goats well because he wants them to stay with him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: neglected original flock
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The goatherd gives his own goats only enough food to keep them from starving
while favoring the wild goats.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: newcomers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wild goats approach and mingle with the established flock, and are described
in the speech as newcomers or strange goats.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: fleeing animals
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: When near the hills, they break away from the flock and run off.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: speaking explainer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: One wild goat turns around and states the reason for the group's distrust.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: goat pen
literal_form: pen
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: hills
literal_form: hills
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: unequal food portions
literal_form: food given sparingly to the old flock and abundantly to the wild goats
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Wild goats join the flock
summary: While the goatherd is tending his goats at pasture, wild goats approach
and mingle with his flock.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Penning and unequal feeding
summary: The goatherd pens all the goats together during bad weather, feeding his
own goats minimally and the wild goats abundantly so they will remain with him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Wild goats flee to the hills
summary: After the weather improves, the goatherd takes all goats to pasture, but
the wild goats break away near the hills and run off.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Accusation and reply
summary: The goatherd calls the wild goats ungrateful, and one wild goat replies
that his excessive favor toward newcomers warned them they could later be displaced
by newer arrivals.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: preferential treatment of newcomers exposes future unreliability
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wild goat explains that being favored over the goatherd's own flock made
them suspect they would be neglected if later newcomers appeared.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact fable-specific motif for ingratitude
or mistrust; 'wisdom' is a broad family reference.
- id: motif:2
label: animals speak to reveal the practical moral
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A wild goat answers the goatherd and articulates the reasoning behind the
group's flight.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents animal speech as a fable device, but no explicit
moral sentence outside the dialogue is supplied.
- id: motif:3
label: attempt to gain loyalty through excessive favors fails
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The goatherd overfeeds the wild goats to make them stay, but they leave as
soon as they return near the hills.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a plain narrative pattern rather than a matched taxonomy motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5320-5323
quote_or_summary: The goatherd tends goats at pasture and sees wild goats approach
and mingle with his flock.
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 5323-5324
quote_or_summary: At the end of the day he drives all the goats home and puts them
together in the pen.
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 5324-5327
quote_or_summary: Bad weather prevents normal pasturing the next day, so the goats
remain in the pen and are fed there.
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 5327-5332
quote_or_summary: The goatherd gives his own goats only survival rations, but feeds
the wild goats abundantly because he wants them to stay.
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: lines 5332-5334
quote_or_summary: When the weather improves and the goats are near the hills, the
wild goats break away and run off.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 5334-5337
quote_or_summary: 'The goatherd is disgusted and calls them ungrateful: "Rascals!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 5337-5341
quote_or_summary: One wild goat replies that the goatherd's very good treatment
put them on guard, since favoring newcomers over his own flock suggested they
could later be neglected for still newer arrivals.
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: uncertain
notes: The narrative actions and dialogue are clear. Motif labels are derived from
the supplied passage and broad taxonomy only; no external motif index was used.
No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does not compare to another
tradition or corpus.
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 provided passage was used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l5320-l5341
passage_sha256=a885dc05ccb266ed28f8f3f446c302390597401bdb8f0c9f84f5e2f30aa7cbd9