batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l2108-l2152
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l2108-l2152
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GREAT YELLOW KING AND HIS PORTER / THE QUAIL AND THE FALCON / PRIDE MUST
HAVE A FALL / THE BOLD BEGGAR; lines 2108-2152
start: '2108'
end: '2152'
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 lavish king publicly eats expensive meals. A hungry man gains access
by shouting that he has news, feigns collapse, is fed from the king's own dish,
and then reveals that his news is simply that he was hungry before and is not
hungry now. The king laughs, warns him not to repeat the trick, and lets him go.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The king is described as fond of good eating and drinking and as spending
large sums on single dishes.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The king eats in a public tent outside his door, seated on a golden throne
under a white silk umbrella while people watch.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A man who has watched the king eat wants to taste the king's choice food.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The man runs toward the crowd shouting that he has news, and the crowd lets
him approach because news-bringers receive attention.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The man falls before the king as if faint with hunger.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The king orders that the man be given food, and the man is fed from the king's
own dish and given wine.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: When asked for his news, the man says that an hour earlier he was hungry and
now he is not.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The people are shocked, but the king laughs, lets the man go free, and advises
him not to try the trick again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The narrator states that the man went away happy in the success of his trick.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: King Dainty
description: A king known for lavish eating and drinking who publicly eats expensive
meals.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the bold beggar / hungry man
description: A man who wants to taste the king's food and gains a meal by claiming
to bring news.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the crowd / people watching
description: People who watch the king eat and make way for the man when he shouts
that he has news.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: lavish public eater
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king spends extravagantly on dishes and eats before spectators in a prepared
tent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: merciful royal host
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king has the apparently faint man fed, laughs at the revelation, and
releases him with a warning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: hungry petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The man seeks a taste of the king's food and appears faint with hunger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: trickster beggar
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The man uses a claim of news to gain access and later leaves happy in the
success of his trick.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: public spectators
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The people gather to watch the king eat and react to the man's behavior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: golden throne
literal_form: golden throne
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: white silk umbrella
literal_form: white silk umbrella
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: king's own dish
literal_form: dish from which the king feeds the man
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: news cry
literal_form: shouted word "News!"
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Public royal meal
summary: King Dainty eats costly food outside his door in a tent, seated on royal
furnishings while spectators watch.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Approach by false news
summary: The hungry man runs toward the crowd crying out that he has news; the crowd
allows him through, and he falls before the king as if faint.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Feeding from the king's dish
summary: The king pities the man and has him fed from his own dish with wine until
the man finishes a large meal.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Revealed news and release
summary: The man states that his news is his change from hunger to satisfaction;
the crowd is shocked, but the king laughs and releases him with a warning.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Trickster gains food by deceptive access
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The man crosses from spectator to recipient of the royal meal by crying out
that he has news, feigning distress, and then revealing the practical result of
his ruse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the act as a successful trick but does not describe
supernatural trickster traits.
- id: motif:2
label: Bold beggar rewarded and warned
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The king feeds the man and, after hearing the impertinent explanation, laughs,
allows him to go free, and warns him not to repeat it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a narrative pattern within the tale rather than a mapped taxonomy
motif.
- id: motif:3
label: Comic truth after deceptive announcement
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: 'The promised news turns out to be a literal truth: the man was hungry before
the meal and is no longer hungry afterward.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The connection to the broad wisdom family is tentative; the passage emphasizes
wit and boldness more than formal instruction.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2108-2119
quote_or_summary: King Dainty is lavishly fond of eating and drinking, spends heavily
on food, and eats publicly in a tent on a golden throne under a white silk umbrella.
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 2120-2132
quote_or_summary: A man who wants a taste of the king's food runs toward the watching
crowd shouting 'News!', gains access, and falls before the king as if faint with
hunger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quoted word included.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2133-2139
quote_or_summary: The king says to give the man food; the attendants seat him, and
the king feeds him from his own dish and gives him wine until he has eaten a large
meal.
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: lines 2140-2145
quote_or_summary: When the king asks for the news, the man replies that an hour
ago he was hungry and now he is not.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than directly quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2146-2152
quote_or_summary: The people are shocked; the king laughs, calls him bold, lets
him go free with a warning, and the man leaves happy in the success of his trick.
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: high
notes: The literal sequence is clear. Motif labeling is cautious because the passage
is a short comic tale and available taxonomy categories are broad. No comparison
claims were made.
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.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l2108-l2152
passage_sha256=40eb59b57131ca868ceaf9aa665b15734e18e083ff9d6faa3241922a41125899