batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l10618-l10728
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l10618-l10728
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
passage_locator:
label: The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 10618-10728
start: '10618'
end: '10728'
translation: The Arabian Nights Entertainments
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'Princess Parizade hospitably receives an old woman regarded as holy. The
old woman praises the house and garden but says they lack three marvels: the Talking
Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water. She gives directions toward the
borders of the kingdom near India. Parizade tells her brothers Bahman and Perviz
that she cannot be content without these things. Bahman claims the right to attempt
the quest first, departs armed on horseback, and leaves Parizade a knife whose
condition will signal whether he lives or dies. After twenty days on the road
he reaches the frontier region and sees a strange old man under a tree.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Princess Parizade invites the old woman to sit beside her, orders refreshments,
and questions her about her life and pious exercises.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The old woman says the house and garden are beautiful but lack three things
needed for perfection.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The three named things are the Talking Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden
Water, each described with extraordinary properties.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The old woman says all three things are in one place on the borders of the
kingdom toward India, reached by following the road for twenty days and asking
the first person met.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Princess Parizade tells her brothers that she will not be content until she
has obtained the three things.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Prince Bahman, as the elder brother, claims the right to make the first attempt
to obtain the three things.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Prince Perviz objects that Bahman, as head of the family, should not expose
himself to danger.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Before departing, Prince Bahman gives Parizade a sheathed knife and says its
clean blade will mean he is alive, while a blood-spotted blade will mean he is
dead.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Prince Bahman rides straight for twenty days and near the frontiers of Persia
sees a hideous old man seated under a tree by the wayside.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Princess Parizade
description: The princess who receives the old woman, desires the three marvels,
and is sister to Bahman and Perviz.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: old woman / pilgrim / Mussulman devotee
description: An old woman treated as holy who tells Princess Parizade about the
three lacking marvels and where they may be found.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Prince Bahman
description: Princess Parizade's elder brother, who undertakes the first attempt
to seek the three marvels and leaves a life-sign knife with her.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Prince Perviz
description: Princess Parizade's brother, who objects to Bahman exposing himself
to danger.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: hideous old man by the wayside
description: A strange old man with long white moustache, very long beard, enormous
nails, and a huge hat, seated under a tree near the frontiers of Persia.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: host
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She invites the old woman to sit beside her and orders refreshments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: informant about marvels
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She names the three lacking things, describes their properties, and gives
directions to find them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: desirer of quest objects
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She says she will never be content until she has obtained the Talking Bird,
Singing Tree, and Golden Water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: elder brother
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Bahman claims, as the elder, the right to make the first attempt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: quest undertaker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He prepares for the journey, departs armed on horseback, and rides twenty
days toward the frontier.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: concerned brother
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Perviz objects that Bahman should not expose himself to danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: encountered roadside figure
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Bahman sees him seated under a tree by the wayside near the frontier after
twenty days' travel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Talking Bird
literal_form: A bird whose voice draws all other singing birds to join in chorus.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: Singing Tree
literal_form: A tree where every leaf is a song that is never silent.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: Golden Water
literal_form: Water of which a single drop in a basin shoots up into a never-exhausted
fountain that does not overflow.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: life-sign knife
literal_form: A sheathed knife whose blade, if bright and clean, indicates Bahman
is alive, but if spotted with blood indicates he is dead.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hospitality to the old woman
summary: Princess Parizade honors the old woman as a holy person, seats her beside
herself, orders refreshments, and asks about her life and practices.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Revelation of the three marvels
summary: 'The old woman says the house lacks three things to be perfect: the Talking
Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water, and she explains their properties
and location.'
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Siblings decide on a quest
summary: Parizade tells Bahman and Perviz that she wants the three marvels; Bahman
claims the first attempt, while Perviz objects to the danger.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Bahman's departure and life token
summary: Bahman prepares to leave, reassures Parizade, gives her a knife as a sign
of his life or death, and departs armed on horseback.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Twenty-day journey to the frontier
summary: Bahman rides straight for twenty days and near the Persian frontier notices
a strange old man seated beneath a tree by the road.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: quest for three marvelous objects
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: The passage names three extraordinary objects, gives a distant location for
them, and has Bahman depart to seek them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The wider outcome of the quest is outside this passage.
- id: motif:2
label: departure of the questing hero
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Bahman accepts the undertaking, prepares, bids farewell, receives warnings,
and leaves armed on horseback.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This passage includes departure but not the subsequent trials.
- id: motif:3
label: life-token indicating the absent hero's fate
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Bahman gives Parizade a knife whose blade will remain clean if he lives and
become blood-spotted if he dies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly names this token pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: magical inexhaustible water
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Golden Water is described as producing a fountain from one drop that
is never exhausted and never overflows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: Classified here as a local candidate motif because the available taxonomy
lists water as a symbol but not this specific motif.
- id: motif:5
label: marvelous singing tree and bird
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Talking Bird attracts other singing birds, and the Singing Tree has leaves
that are continually songs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents their properties but not their origin or later function.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 10618-10631
quote_or_summary: Princess Parizade treats the old woman as holy, seats her beside
herself, orders refreshments, and asks about her life and pious exercises.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 10632-10649
quote_or_summary: 'The old woman says the house lacks three things: the Talking
Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water, and describes their special properties.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation/summary permitted.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 10650-10660
quote_or_summary: The old woman says the three things are in one place on the borders
of the kingdom toward India; the messenger must follow the road for twenty days
and ask the first person met.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 10661-10686
quote_or_summary: After the old woman leaves, Parizade tells her brothers about
the three things and says she will never be content until she has them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 10687-10696
quote_or_summary: Bahman claims the right as elder to make the first attempt; Perviz
objects because Bahman is head of the family and should not face danger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 10697-10718
quote_or_summary: Bahman departs early on horseback; when Parizade fears he may
not return, he gives her a knife whose clean blade means life and blood-spotted
blade means death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 10719-10728
quote_or_summary: Bahman rides straight for twenty days toward the frontiers of
Persia and sees a hideous old man with long hair and nails seated under a roadside
tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage clearly identifies figures, objects, departure, and the life-token
knife. Motif labels are candidate classifications based only on this passage and
the supplied taxonomy list; 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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly support a comparison beyond candidate motif-family classification.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg__l10618-l10728
passage_sha256=fd2ebe2534e63868f9cf1134026421cf588a13a31d1d32f2ba1a2ad95f3ce2ae