batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l1605-l1645
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l1605-l1645
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FOOLISH FARMER AND THE KING / THE PIOUS WOLF / BIRDS OF A FEATHER / SPEND
A POUND TO WIN A PENNY; lines 1605-1645
start: '1605'
end: '1645'
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 monkey steals cooked peas from people under a tree. When one pea falls,
he becomes distressed and searches for it, failing to notice that he loses the
rest. The people return and drive him away with stones. He realizes too late that
he has lost all the peas and goes hungry, with an explicit moral against greed.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: People are steaming peas under a tree as food for their horses while a monkey
watches from the branches.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The monkey descends from the tree when the people turn away, takes peas into
his mouth and hands, and climbs back to his perch.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: One pea falls, and the monkey cries out about the lost pea.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: While focusing on the single fallen pea, the monkey lets the other peas fall
from his mouth and hands.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The monkey descends and searches on the ground for the lost pea but cannot
find it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The men return, see the monkey near their cooking-pots, shout at him, and
throw stones at him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The monkey flees back into the tree and later realizes that all the other
peas are gone too.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The passage ends by saying the monkey had only the smell of boiled peas for
dinner and expressing hope that the loss taught him not to be greedy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Monkey
description: A monkey in the tree branches who steals peas, loses them while seeking
one fallen pea, and is driven away.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: People or men
description: People steaming peas for horses; they return, shout at the monkey,
and throw stones.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Horses
description: Horses for whom the peas are being prepared as a meal.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: greedy taker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The monkey takes the peas while the people are away and fills his mouth and
hands with them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: foolish loser of greater gain
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The monkey loses the rest of the peas while concentrating on the single fallen
pea and later realizes all are gone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: owners or preparers of the peas
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The people steam the peas and later return to their cooking-pots, driving
the monkey away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: intended recipients of the meal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The peas are being steamed to make a meal for the horses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree
literal_form: Tree with branches and trunk where the monkey sits, descends, and
flees.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: peas
literal_form: Steamed peas, including one fallen pea and the larger quantity lost
from the monkey's mouth and hands.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: stones
literal_form: Stones picked up and thrown at the monkey by the men.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: cooking-pots
literal_form: Cooking-pots associated with the peas and noticed by the men when
they return.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Peas prepared under a tree
summary: People steam peas beneath a tree for their horses while a monkey watches
from the branches.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Monkey steals and hoards peas
summary: When the people turn aside, the monkey descends, grabs peas into his mouth
and hands, and climbs back into the tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: One pea sought, many peas lost
summary: After one pea falls, the monkey laments it and searches for it, while the
other peas fall from his mouth and hands.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Men drive the monkey away
summary: The men return, shout at the monkey, throw stones, and frighten him back
into the tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Late realization and moral loss
summary: The monkey reflects that the lost pea was only one pea, but realizes that
all the others are also gone and must go without the peas.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Losing much while trying to recover little
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: 'The title and plot present a disproportionate loss: the monkey pursues one
fallen pea and loses all the other peas.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is a didactic animal tale
rather than an explicit sacred or cosmological wisdom scene.
- id: motif:2
label: Greed punished by loss
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monkey steals more peas than he can securely hold, loses them, is driven
off, and the closing sentence explicitly frames the loss as a lesson against greed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The punishment occurs through ordinary consequences and human reaction,
not through divine judgment.
- id: motif:3
label: Animal fable with explicit moral
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: An animal protagonist's actions lead to a practical moral lesson stated at
the end of the passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: No wider comparative animal-fable tradition is named in the passage metadata
or text.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1605-1610
quote_or_summary: People steam peas under a tree to feed horses; a monkey sits in
the branches watching.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1611-1619
quote_or_summary: The monkey thinks he has found dinner, descends when the people
turn away, fills his mouth and both hands with peas, and climbs back to his perch.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1620-1627
quote_or_summary: One pea falls; the monkey cries over it, and while he does so,
peas fall from his mouth and hands without his noticing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1628-1631
quote_or_summary: The monkey climbs down and searches the ground for the lost pea,
but cannot find it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1632-1638
quote_or_summary: The men return, see the monkey near their cooking-pots, shout
at him, pick up stones, and throw them; the monkey flees into the tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1639-1645
quote_or_summary: The monkey says it was only one pea, then realizes all the other
peas are gone; the passage concludes that he had only the smell of boiled peas
for dinner and may learn not to be greedy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is straightforward and contains an explicit title and moral.
No external comparisons are made because only the provided passage and metadata
were used.
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: |-
Extraction limited to the supplied passage text and available taxonomy references.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l1605-l1645
passage_sha256=b763c3e239476c5f37db16a473c03bf4a43a5c07666d424a7909b4b1f3922e6a