batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l1044-l1127
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l1044-l1127
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE DISHONEST FRIEND / THE MOUSE AND THE FARMER / THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE
/ THE MONKEYS AND THE GARDENER; lines 1044-1127
start: '1044'
end: '1127'
translation: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“You ought to have known better than to put monkeys in charge of a garden”"
summary: A gardener leaves his park to attend a fair and entrusts the watering to
monkeys. The Monkey chief, fearing the water will not be enough, tells the monkeys
to measure roots so each plant receives an appropriate amount. The monkeys pull
up the plants, water them according to root length, and replace them. When the
gardener returns, the garden is ruined. The master faults the gardener more than
the monkeys and dismisses him.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The setting is a beautiful park with trees, shrubs, flower beds, and fruit-trees
cared for by a gardener.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The gardener wants to attend a fair in the city but worries about the garden
being left unattended.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Troops of monkeys live in the park trees, and the gardener has previously
allowed them to eat nuts and apples.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The gardener asks the monkeys to water the garden while he is away, and they
agree.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The gardener gives watering-pots to the monkeys and leaves for the fair.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The monkeys hold a council around the Monkey chief.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The Monkey chief says they must avoid harming anything and must not waste
water.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The water source is described as a well that is small at the top, very deep,
and supplied with running water at the bottom.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The monkeys think the small round opening means the well cannot hold much
water.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The Monkey chief proposes measuring root length to decide how much water each
plant should receive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: The monkeys pull up plants and bushes, measure the roots, water according
to root length, and put the plants back.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: When the gardener returns, many plants are drooping, dead, or dying while
monkeys continue pulling up others.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:13
text: The gardener laments that the garden is ruined.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:14
text: The Monkey chief is surprised and says he thought the root-measuring method
was clever.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:15
text: The master says the monkeys acted according to their nature, but the gardener
should have known better; he dismisses the gardener and hires another.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: gardener
description: The caretaker of the park and garden who leaves for a fair and entrusts
the watering to monkeys.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:13
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: monkeys
description: Troops of monkeys living in the park trees who agree to water the garden
and then uproot plants to measure roots.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Monkey chief
description: The leader of the monkeys who convenes the council and proposes measuring
roots to ration water.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: master
description: The gardener’s master, who arrives after the damage, judges the gardener
at fault, dismisses him, and gets another gardener.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: garden caretaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The gardener prunes, digs, waters, and is responsible for the park and garden.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: entrusted but destructive helpers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The monkeys accept charge of watering but damage the garden by pulling up
plants.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:3
label: mistaken animal leader
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Monkey chief leads the council and recommends the root-measuring method
that leads to damage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:4
label: unwise delegator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The master says the gardener should have known better than to put monkeys
in charge of a garden.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:5
label: corrective master
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The master identifies the gardener as more at fault and replaces him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: garden plants
literal_form: trees, shrubs, flowers, fruit-trees, bushes, and plants in the park
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:2
label: well water
literal_form: water from a well that is small at the top, very deep, and running
at the bottom
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: roots
literal_form: plant roots measured after the plants are pulled up
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: watering-pots
literal_form: watering-pots handed over by the gardener to the monkeys
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Gardener entrusts the garden to monkeys
summary: The gardener wants to go to the fair, calls the monkeys, asks them to water
the garden, gives them watering-pots, and leaves.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:2
label: Monkey council about water
summary: The monkeys sit in council around their chief, who warns them not to harm
the garden or waste water and suggests measuring roots.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:3
label: Plants uprooted and watered by root length
summary: The monkeys pull up each plant, measure its roots, water according to root
length, and replace it.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:4
label: Garden ruined and gardener judged
summary: The gardener returns to find the plants drooping, dead, or dying. He laments
the ruin, the Monkey chief explains his reasoning, and the master blames and dismisses
the gardener.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Foolish helpers ruin the task entrusted to them
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monkeys are entrusted with watering the garden but damage it through
an imprudent method.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a moral tale rather
than a technical mythic motif.
- id: motif:2
label: Mistaken cleverness produces harm
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Monkey chief believes measuring roots is clever, but the method ruins
the garden.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: This is inferred from the narrative outcome and explicit rebuke, not labeled
as a motif in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: Greater blame falls on the one who delegates unwisely
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The master says the monkeys act according to their nature and that the gardener
is the greater fool for putting them in charge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: This candidate captures the explicit moral judgment of the episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1044-1050
quote_or_summary: The park is full of trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit-trees; a
gardener prunes, digs, and waters it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1052-1057
quote_or_summary: A fair is to be held in the city; the gardener wants to go but
worries about the garden if his master comes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1059-1068
quote_or_summary: The park contains monkeys in the trees; the gardener has been
kind to them and thinks they should return the favor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 1074-1079
quote_or_summary: The gardener asks, “Will you water my garden while I am away?”
and the monkeys cry, “Oh yes, yes, yes!”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1081-1083
quote_or_summary: The gardener hands his watering-pots to the monkeys, dresses for
the holiday, and goes to the fair.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 1085-1092
quote_or_summary: The monkeys sit in a ring around the Monkey chief; he says they
have charge of the garden and must not hurt anything or waste water.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 1094-1099
quote_or_summary: The well is small at the top but very deep, with running water
at the bottom; the monkeys wrongly think the small opening means little water.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: 1101-1104
quote_or_summary: The Monkey chief says each plant should get just enough water
and proposes “to see how long the roots are.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 1106-1111
quote_or_summary: Each monkey takes a watering-pot; they pull up plants, measure
roots, water more for long roots and less for short roots, then put the plants
back.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 1113-1117
quote_or_summary: The gardener returns after a day or two and finds many plants
drooping, dead, or dying while monkeys are still pulling up the rest.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: quote
locator: 1119-1120
quote_or_summary: The gardener cries, “My garden is ruined, my garden is ruined!”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 1122-1124
quote_or_summary: The Chief Monkey is surprised and says he thought he had been
clever to give water according to root size.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: quote
locator: 1124-1127
quote_or_summary: The master says the gardener “ought to have known better than
to put monkeys in charge of a garden” and sends him away.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The narrative actions and moral judgment are explicit. Motif labels are candidate
abstractions from the passage and should be reviewed by a human. No comparison
claims were made because the supplied passage does not itself support a specific
cross-textual 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: |-
Only the provided passage and metadata were used. The passage label includes several tale titles, but the supplied passage text covers only “THE MONKEYS AND THE GARDENER.”
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l1044-l1127
passage_sha256=f32e1d9c299d04d24ca683419ae8b5c7198d391da3172bb12cf8849324251815