batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l1397-l1486
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l1397-l1486
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GOBLIN AND THE SNEEZE / THE GRATEFUL BEASTS AND THE UNGRATEFUL PRINCE
/ THE GOBLIN IN THE POOL / THE FOOLISH FARMER AND THE KING; lines 1397-1486
start: '1397'
end: '1486'
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: ''
summary: A poor farmer loses one of his two oxen and needs another to plough. His
courtier son refuses to ask the king for him but trains him for a year to recite
a request. In the royal court the farmer accidentally asks the king to take his
remaining ox. The king laughs, the son answers cleverly, and the king sends several
fine oxen to the farmer’s house.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The farmer is described as foolish, poor, and dependent on a single pair of
oxen for ploughing.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: One of the farmer’s two oxen dies, leaving him without enough animal power
to draw the plough over heavy land.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The farmer asks his son, who serves at court, to request an ox from the king.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The son refuses to ask the king himself and tells the farmer he must make
the request personally.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The son trains the farmer by arranging bundles of grass to represent the king,
prime minister, general, and other grandees.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The son gives the farmer a verse asking the king to give him another ox.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The farmer practices the verse for a whole year before going to the palace.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: In the king’s presence, the farmer mistakenly says, “please take the other
one,” instead of asking for another ox.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The king laughs, recognizes that a mistake has occurred, and jokes about the
farmer having plenty of oxen at home.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The son answers that if there are plenty of oxen at home, the king must have
given them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The king decides to give oxen, and the farmer later finds six fine oxen in
his cowhouse.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Foolish Farmer
description: A poor farmer whose ox dies and who bungles his request before the
king.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Farmer’s son
description: A courtier serving the king who trains his father and later gives a
clever answer in court.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: King
description: The ruler seated on a throne with courtiers around him; he laughs at
the mistaken request and grants oxen.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Courtiers and grandees
description: The prime minister, general, and other grandees attending the king
in court.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: poor supplicant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The farmer lacks money to buy another ox and needs help from the king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: bungler of formal speech
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He fears he will muddle the request and later recites it incorrectly in court.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: court intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The son serves the king at court and accompanies his father to the palace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:12
- id: role:4
label: clever respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: His reply turns the king’s joke into a reason for royal generosity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:5
label: royal judge of request
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The farmer is brought before the king, who asks what he wants and responds
to the request.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: role:6
label: generous ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The king decides to give oxen after the son’s answer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:7
label: court audience
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The courtiers and grandees are present around the king when the farmer appears.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: oxen
literal_form: A pair of plough oxen, one dead ox, the remaining ox, and six fine
replacement oxen.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: sym:2
label: plough
literal_form: The agricultural implement the farmer cannot properly draw with only
one ox.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: bundles of grass as mock court
literal_form: Grass bundles arranged in rows to stand for the king, prime minister,
general, and other grandees during rehearsal.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: throne and court
literal_form: The king’s palace setting with the king on a throne in gorgeous robes
and courtiers around him.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:5
label: memorized verse
literal_form: A short petition in verse asking the king for another ox, later misrecited
by the farmer.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Loss of the plough ox
summary: The poor farmer has only two oxen for ploughing; one dies, leaving him
unable to work the heavy land and unable to buy a replacement.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Request for help through the son
summary: The farmer calls his courtier son home and asks him to request an ox from
the king, but the son says the farmer must ask personally.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Mock-court rehearsal
summary: The son uses bundles of grass to represent the royal court and teaches
the farmer a verse for requesting another ox.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Bungled petition before the king
summary: At the palace, the farmer grows confused and accidentally asks the king
to take his remaining ox.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: scene:5
label: Clever reply and royal gift
summary: The king laughs and jokes; the son answers neatly, prompting the king to
give oxen, which the farmer finds at home.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: bungled request gains reward
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The farmer mistakenly asks the king to take his remaining ox, yet the episode
ends with the king giving him several oxen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level comic pattern; no external tale-type identification
is asserted.
- id: motif:2
label: clever courtier turns joke into favor
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The son’s quick answer reframes the king’s joke and leads to the royal gift.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy reference ‘wisdom’ fits only broadly; the passage
emphasizes wit in a courtly exchange rather than an explicit wisdom contest.
- id: motif:3
label: mock rehearsal for royal audience
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The son stages a miniature court with grass bundles so the farmer can practice
addressing the king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local narrative device rather than a confirmed wider motif family.
- id: motif:4
label: generous ruler rewards poor petitioner
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The king responds to the poor farmer’s failed petition by giving him fine
oxen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the gift comically; it does not frame the king’s
act as divine judgment or sacred exchange.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1397-1403
quote_or_summary: A foolish poor farmer has only one pair of oxen for ploughing;
one of the two dies.
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: lines 1405-1408
quote_or_summary: The farmer despairs because one ox cannot draw the plough over
heavy land and he has no money to buy another.
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: lines 1410-1413
quote_or_summary: The son comes home, hears of the dead ox, and the farmer begs
him to ask the king for an ox.
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: summary
locator: lines 1415-1424
quote_or_summary: The son says he is always asking the king for things and that
his father must ask; the farmer fears he will muddle the request and give away
the remaining ox.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1426-1433
quote_or_summary: The son arranges grass bundles in rows and names them as the king,
prime minister, general, and other grandees for practice.
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: quote
locator: lines 1433-1439
quote_or_summary: 'The practice verse asks: “Now one is dead: O, mighty king, please
give me another one!”'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1441-1448
quote_or_summary: The farmer repeats the verse while bowing to the grass bundle
called the king and practices every day for a whole year.
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: lines 1468-1472
quote_or_summary: 'In court the farmer recites the ending as: “O, mighty king, please
take the other one!”'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1474-1475
quote_or_summary: The king laughs, sees there must be a mistake, and jokes about
there being plenty of oxen at home.
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: quote
locator: lines 1477-1478
quote_or_summary: The son replies, “If so, Sire… you must have given them.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 1480-1486
quote_or_summary: The king says he will give oxen now; when the pair return home,
the farmer finds six fine oxen in his cowhouse.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 1454-1464
quote_or_summary: Father and son go to the palace; the king sits on a throne in
gorgeous robes with the prime minister, general, and other courtiers around him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The narrative sequence, figures, and objects are explicit in the supplied
passage. Motif labels are descriptive and passage-level; no external tale-type
or historical comparison is 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: |-
Only the provided passage text was used. Available taxonomy references were applied sparingly; most symbols and motifs are local descriptive categories rather than taxonomy matches.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l1397-l1486
passage_sha256=2a342bb428af117dcfbd8414a8119f2a73741af1d24d13ecca74c0c63044bfb7