batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l9249-l9360
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l9249-l9360
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
passage_locator:
label: The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 9249-9360
start: '9249'
end: '9360'
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: Ali Cogia travels as a merchant-pilgrim from Bagdad to Mecca and then through
Cairo, Damascus, Persia, and India, remaining away seven years. In his absence,
the Bagdad merchant who holds Ali's sealed vase of olives opens it despite his
wife's warning, discovers gold hidden beneath the olives, steals the gold, and
replaces the old olives with fresh ones. When Ali returns, he retrieves the vase,
finds the gold missing, and confronts the merchant.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ali Cogia mounts a camel loaded with merchandise, joins a caravan, arrives
at Mecca, visits the sacred Mosque, and performs religious duties.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Two merchants examine Ali Cogia's goods at Mecca, and one says that Cairo
would bring a better price.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Ali Cogia follows the advice, sells his goods at Cairo, buys Egyptian curiosities,
and later visits places including the Pyramids and cities by the Nile.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Ali Cogia continues through Damascus, Mossoul, Persia, and India, so that
seven years pass after his departure from Bagdad.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The merchant holding Ali Cogia's vase recalls it only after his wife says
she would like olives.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The wife warns her husband not to break the seal of the vase or betray the
trust, saying Ali Cogia may return.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The merchant opens the vase, finds rotten olives on top, shakes some into
a dish, and sees gold pieces fall out.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The merchant sees that the bottom of the vase is filled with gold, then tells
his wife he has recorked the vase so Ali Cogia will not know it was touched.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The merchant buys fresh olives, throws away the old olives, removes and hides
the gold, fills the vase with the new olives, recorks it, and replaces it where
Ali left it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Ali Cogia returns to Bagdad, asks for the vase, receives the key to the shop,
and retrieves it from the place where he had put it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Ali Cogia opens the vase at the inn, empties out the olives, finds no gold,
and expresses horror that his old friend may have committed a crime.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Ali Cogia confronts the merchant and says he had placed a thousand pieces
of gold at the bottom of the vase under the olives.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The merchant replies by asking whether he ever touched the vase when Ali Cogia
brought it to him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ali Cogia
description: A Bagdad merchant-pilgrim who travels with merchandise, deposits a
vase of olives with a friend, returns after seven years, and discovers his gold
missing.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Two merchants at Mecca
description: Merchants who examine Ali Cogia's goods and advise that Cairo would
bring a better price.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Bagdad merchant friend
description: The man entrusted with Ali Cogia's vase; he opens it, discovers the
gold, hides it, replaces the olives, and later answers Ali's complaint defensively.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Merchant's wife
description: The wife of the Bagdad merchant; she asks for olives, then warns him
not to open Ali Cogia's vase or betray the trust.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Persian merchants
description: Merchants befriended by Ali Cogia at Mossoul who persuade him to accompany
them to Persia and India.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: travelling merchant-pilgrim
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ali Cogia travels by caravan with merchandise to Mecca, visits the sacred
Mosque, and trades goods during his journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: returning depositor and claimant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ali Cogia had left the vase with the merchant, later retrieves it, and claims
the missing thousand pieces of gold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: commercial advisers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They say Ali Cogia would obtain a better price by taking his goods to Cairo.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: entrusted custodian who violates the deposit
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The merchant was entrusted with the vase, opens it, removes the gold, and
replaces the olives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: moral warning voice
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The wife warns that opening the vase would be base, shameful, and a betrayal
of trust.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: travel persuaders
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Persian merchants persuade Ali Cogia to accompany them to Persia and
India.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: vase of olives
literal_form: A vase containing olives, with gold hidden at the bottom, left in
another merchant's care.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: gold pieces beneath olives
literal_form: Gold pieces hidden at the bottom of the vase under the olives; Ali
later identifies the amount as a thousand pieces.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: broken seal or recorked vessel
literal_form: The wife refers to the shame of breaking the seal, and the merchant
later recorks the vase to conceal that it was touched.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: fresh olives replacing old olives
literal_form: New olives bought by the merchant and used to fill the vase after
the old olives and the gold are removed.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: caravan route
literal_form: Caravans by which Ali Cogia travels to Mecca and then Cairo during
his commercial pilgrimage.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Pilgrimage and commercial advice at Mecca
summary: Ali Cogia reaches Mecca with merchandise, completes religious duties, displays
his goods, and hears two merchants advise that Cairo would bring a better price.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Extended mercantile journey and seven-year absence
summary: Ali Cogia follows trading opportunities through Cairo, Damascus, Mossoul,
Persia, and India, so that seven years pass after his departure from Bagdad.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Wife warns against opening the entrusted vase
summary: The merchant recalls Ali Cogia's vase after his wife mentions olives; he
proposes opening it, and she warns him that this would betray the trust and that
Ali may return.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Discovery and theft of the concealed gold
summary: The merchant opens the vase, discovers gold under the olives, later removes
and hides the gold, replaces the old olives with fresh ones, and recorks the vase.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Return, discovery of loss, and confrontation
summary: Ali Cogia returns to Bagdad, retrieves the vase, discovers the missing
gold, and confronts the merchant, who begins to deny touching the vase.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Departure and delayed return from a commercial pilgrimage
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- return
basis: Ali Cogia leaves Bagdad for Mecca, extends his travels through several regions,
and returns only after seven years.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a mercantile and devotional journey rather than an
explicitly supernatural quest.
- id: motif:2
label: Entrusted object violated during owner's absence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The vase is left in the merchant's care; despite warnings, he opens it and
conceals the tampering.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy reference precisely names a trust-deposit or violated-custody
motif.
- id: motif:3
label: Hidden treasure discovered inside an ordinary container
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The merchant finds gold pieces at the bottom of a vase whose visible contents
are olives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage treats the hidden gold as property concealed for safekeeping,
not as a magical treasure.
- id: motif:4
label: Theft concealed by substitution of similar contents
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The merchant removes the gold and old olives, buys fresh olives, fills the
vase, recorks it, and puts it back in place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative action pattern rather than a named taxonomy family
in the supplied list.
- id: motif:5
label: Ignored prudent warning
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wife gives sensible advice not to open the vase or betray the trust,
but the merchant refuses to listen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broad; the passage shows prudent counsel
but not a formal wisdom teaching.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 9249-9253
quote_or_summary: Ali Cogia travels by camel and caravan to Mecca, visits the sacred
Mosque, performs religious duties, and displays his goods for sale.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 9254-9268
quote_or_summary: Two merchants advise that Ali would get a better price in Cairo;
Ali follows the advice, sells his goods, buys Egyptian curiosities, and visits
the Pyramids and Nile cities while waiting for another caravan.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 9269-9280
quote_or_summary: Ali is delayed by Damascus, then reaches Mossoul, befriends Persian
merchants, travels with them to Persia and India, and seven years pass since he
left Bagdad.
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: 9281-9299
quote_or_summary: The merchant remembers Ali's vase when his wife mentions olives;
he assumes Ali must be dead, but his wife warns that opening the sealed vase would
be shameful and a betrayal of trust because Ali may return.
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: 9300-9315
quote_or_summary: The merchant ignores his wife, opens the vase, finds rotten olives
on top, shakes some into a dish, sees gold pieces fall out, and discovers the
bottom filled with gold.
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: 9316-9325
quote_or_summary: The merchant thinks all night about keeping the gold, buys fresh
olives, throws away the old ones, removes and hides the gold, fills the vase with
new olives, recorks it, and restores it to the same place.
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: 9326-9335
quote_or_summary: Ali returns to Bagdad, visits the merchant, asks for the vase,
receives the key of the shop, and is told the vase remains where he put it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 9336-9355
quote_or_summary: Ali opens the vase at the inn, cannot find the money, empties
out the olives, finds no gold, expresses horror, returns to the merchant, and
says he had placed a thousand pieces of gold at the bottom under the olives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: 9356-9360
quote_or_summary: '"Ali Cogia," he said, "when you brought me the vase of olives
did I ever touch it?"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal sequence and figures are clear in the passage. Motif labels are cautious
because the available taxonomy does not include a precise trust-deposit/theft
category. No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not
explicitly support cross-text 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: |-
Used only the provided passage and supplied taxonomy references; comparison_claims left empty.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg__l9249-l9360
passage_sha256=85e64f16d79b41048c6f36ea5045a9eea1c4566ec8efc4f9a362b03140001b63