batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l657-l748
---
record_id: batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l657-l748
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 657-748
start: '657'
end: '748'
translation: 'Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told
to the Piccaninnies'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage first reports Byamee's statement that dry land and stones would
become water and water-fowl when the Narran ran into a hole, producing Narran
Lake. It then begins the tale of Gooloo the Magpie, an old wicked woman who persuades
women of a neighboring camp to leave their children with her while they gather
food. After feeding the children, Gooloo takes them to her real home in a hollow
tree and secures them there. The mothers return, hear children crying, fail to
find the children or Gooloo, and report the loss to their husbands.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Byamee says that a place formerly dry with stones will in the future become
water and water-fowl, with the Narran running into a hole and making a large lake.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The narrator says Byamee's statement has come to pass in Narran Lake, which
is described as a large sheet of water and a home of many wild fowl.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Gooloo is introduced as a very old and very wicked woman.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Gooloo has gathered doonburr seed, crushed some into meal, and stored some
whole for later grinding.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A neighboring tribe camps nearby; the men go hunting, leaving women and children
in camp.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Gooloo tells the women to go gather honey, fruit, yams, and other foods, and
offers to take care of their children.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The women first say they will take their children with them, but Gooloo argues
that the children would tire them and promises to feed them durrie.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The women leave their children with Gooloo and go out with food-gathering
containers and tools.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: After the women leave, Gooloo feeds the children durrie, honey, and ripened
bumbles.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Gooloo hurries the children to her real home, built in a hollow tree, thrusts
them inside, follows them, and makes the place secure.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The children miss their mothers and begin crying; the returning women hear
the crying.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The mothers reach camp but cannot find either their children or Gooloo, although
they sometimes hear children wailing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: The mothers tell their husbands that Gooloo persuaded them to go gathering,
promised to care for the children, and disappeared with the children.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Byamee
description: A named speaker whose statement about the future formation of Narran
Lake is said to have come to pass.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Gooloo the Magpie
description: A very old and very wicked woman who stores seed, persuades women to
leave their children with her, feeds the children, and takes them to her hollow-tree
home.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Women / mothers of the neighboring tribe
description: Women who are left in camp with children, are persuaded by Gooloo to
gather food, return with gathered foods, and search for their missing children.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Wahroogahs / children
description: Children left with Gooloo, fed by her, taken to her hollow-tree home,
and later heard wailing by their mothers.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Men / husbands / black fellows
description: Men who go hunting and later return to hear the mothers' report about
the missing children.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: authoritative predictor of landscape change
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Byamee's statement about water filling the place and forming a lake is reported
as fulfilled by Narran Lake.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: deceptive caretaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Gooloo promises to care for and feed the children while the women gather
food, then removes the children to her own home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: abductor or concealer of children
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Gooloo thrusts the children into her hollow-tree house and makes it secure;
the mothers cannot find them afterward.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: persuaded food-gatherers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The women accept Gooloo's advice, leave with containers and tools, and gather
fruits and other foods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: bereaved searchers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The mothers search for their children and Gooloo, hear wailing, and return
sorrowfully to camp.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: hidden missing children
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The children are taken into Gooloo's hollow-tree home and are later heard
crying but not found by the mothers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: returning husbands and hunters
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The men leave to hunt and return after the children have disappeared.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: water and lake
literal_form: Narran water running into a hole and forming Narran Lake
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: water-fowl
literal_form: black swans, pelicans, ducks, and wild fowl associated with the new
lake
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: stored seed and ground meal
literal_form: doonburr seed crushed on grinding stones and made into durrie
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: cooking fire
literal_form: durrie cooking on bark between two fires and later given hot from
the coals
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: hollow tree home
literal_form: Gooloo's real home built in a hollow tree
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: food-gathering containers and tools
literal_form: comebees, goolays, combos, wirrees, and yam sticks used or mentioned
in gathering food
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Byamee's lake prediction fulfilled
summary: Byamee says dry land will become water and water-fowl when the Narran runs
into a hole, and the narrator identifies this with Narran Lake.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Gooloo persuades the mothers to leave camp
summary: Gooloo visits the camp while the men are hunting, urges the women to gather
nearby food, and persuades them to leave the children in her care.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Children taken to the hollow tree
summary: After the women go, Gooloo feeds the children and carries them off to her
secure hollow-tree home.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Mothers search for missing children
summary: The mothers hear crying, return to camp, search unsuccessfully for the
children and Gooloo, then tell the returning men what happened.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: spoken prediction of local landscape formation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Byamee's speech explains how a dry place would become Narran Lake, and the
narrator states that this has happened.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a local etiological explanation but does not provide
broader comparative framing.
- id: motif:2
label: deceptive caretaker abducts children
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Gooloo gains the mothers' trust by promising food and care, then hides the
children in her hollow-tree home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not yet state Gooloo's motive or the tale's resolution.
- id: motif:3
label: children hidden inside a tree dwelling
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Gooloo's real home is built in a hollow tree, and she thrusts the children
into it and secures it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The hollow tree is clearly a setting and object in the action; any symbolic
interpretation requires later or external evidence.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 657-663
quote_or_summary: Byamee says dry land and stones will become water and water-fowl
when the Narran runs into a hole; the narrator says this has come to pass as Narran
Lake.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 665-674
quote_or_summary: The tale of Gooloo the Magpie begins; Gooloo is described as very
old and wicked, and as having gathered, ground, and stored doonburr seed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 676-690
quote_or_summary: A neighboring tribe camps nearby; men go hunting; Gooloo visits
the women and urges them to gather foods while offering to care for their children.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 692-710
quote_or_summary: The women first plan to take their children, but Gooloo argues
against it and says she has durrie cooking between two fires to feed the children.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 712-716
quote_or_summary: The women follow Gooloo's advice, leave their children with her,
and go out with containers and tools for food gathering.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 718-725
quote_or_summary: Gooloo feeds the children durrie, honey, and bumbles, then hurries
them to her real home in a hollow tree, thrusts them inside, follows them, and
secures the place.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 725-739
quote_or_summary: The children begin crying; returning mothers hear them, reach
camp, fail to find the children or Gooloo, and continue to hear occasional wailing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 740-748
quote_or_summary: The mothers wait for the men, then report that Gooloo persuaded
them to gather food, promised care for the children, and that both Gooloo and
the children are gone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is strong for the provided passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and passage-bound; no external comparisons are made because the passage itself
does not support them.
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 and metadata were used. The passage includes the end of one etiological lake episode and the beginning of the Gooloo the Magpie tale.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg__l657-l748
passage_sha256=6c00b6832391012061eb0b591567a5fecf2838dc6c9c6a16693312932ebee6a0