batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l507-l608
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l507-l608
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GIANT CRAB / THE HYPOCRITICAL CAT / THE CROCODILE AND THE MONKEY / THE
AXE, THE DRUM, THE BOWL, AND THE DIAMOND; lines 507-608
start: '507'
end: '608'
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 young traveller carrying a magic diamond reaches two forest huts. At
the first, a legless man who is a man-eating magician offers hospitality and trades
a magic axe for the diamond; the traveller uses the axe to behead him and retrieves
the diamond. At the second, an armless man with a magic bowl creates a river barrier
and offers the bowl in exchange for the diamond; the traveller again trades, uses
the axe to behead him, retrieves the diamond, and now possesses three magic objects.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The traveller sees smoke, approaches a hut, and finds a legless man sitting
by a fire where a young kid is roasting.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The legless man offers to share what he has, and the two eat together.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that the legless man is a magician who eats travellers
and intends to eat this traveller later.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The traveller says he flew over the sea and shows a diamond that gives the
power to fly through the air.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The legless man says his axe can cut wood and kindle fire when commanded,
and can cut off the head of an animal when commanded.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The traveller exchanges the diamond for the axe, then commands the axe to
cut off the legless man's head and takes back the diamond.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The next evening the traveller reaches another hut where an armless old man
sits by a fire with a bowl of milk on a stump.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The armless old man tips over the bowl with his chin, and a deep roaring river
surrounds him and his hut.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The traveller wishes himself over the river, and the armless old man asks
how he did it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The armless old man says the bowl can produce food or drink when wished upon,
and can pour out a river or flood a country and drown living things when turned
over.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The traveller exchanges the diamond for the bowl, then uses the axe to cut
off the armless old man's head and retrieves the diamond.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: 'After the second killing, the traveller has three wonderful things: the diamond,
the axe, and the bowl.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: young man / traveller
description: A young traveller carrying a magic diamond, later also carrying a magic
axe and bowl.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: old man with no legs
description: A legless old man at a hut; the passage identifies him as a magician
who eats travellers.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: old man without arms
description: An armless old man at a second hut who possesses a bowl of milk with
magical powers.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: traveller
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He walks toward the smoke, asks for shelter, and later sets out on his travels
through the forest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: acquirer of magic objects
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He obtains the axe and bowl through exchanges and retrieves the diamond after
each killing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: man-eating magician
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage states that he is a magician who eats travellers and plans to
eat this traveller later.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: isolated hut-dweller host
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Each old man is found seated at or before a forest hut and interacts with
the traveller there.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: owner of magic axe
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He offers the axe and explains its powers before exchanging it for the diamond.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: owner of magic bowl
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He uses the bowl to create a river and later offers it in exchange for the
diamond while explaining its powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: magic diamond
literal_form: diamond
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: magic axe / hatchet
literal_form: axe or hatchet
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: wishing bowl
literal_form: bowl of milk / bowl
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: fire at the hut
literal_form: fire
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: roaring river from the bowl
literal_form: deep roaring river
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: forest huts
literal_form: huts in the forest
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: first hut and the magic axe
summary: The traveller reaches a hut, receives food from a legless magician, hears
about the axe's powers, trades the diamond for it, then uses the axe to behead
the magician and recover the diamond.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: second hut and the wishing bowl
summary: The traveller reaches a second hut, sees the armless old man use the bowl
to create a river, trades the diamond for the bowl, then uses the axe to behead
the old man and recover the diamond.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: exchange of magic objects followed by violent recovery
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: In both encounters, the traveller exchanges the diamond for another magic
object and then kills the new owner to take the diamond back while keeping the
acquired object.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents magical exchange and recovery, but does not explicitly
frame the exchange as sacred.
- id: motif:2
label: accumulation of wonderful objects
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The traveller begins with the diamond, gains the axe, and then gains the
bowl, with the passage marking that he has two and then three wonderful things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No wider narrative function beyond this passage is inferred.
- id: motif:3
label: dangerous hospitality from a man-eating host
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The legless old man welcomes the traveller and shares food, while the narration
says he eats travellers and intends to eat this one later.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This motif is explicit for the first host only; the second host is not
described as man-eating in the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: commanded weapon that performs tasks and beheading
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The axe obeys verbal and physical commands to cut wood, kindle fire, and
cut off heads; the traveller uses it to behead both old men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explain the origin of the axe.
- id: motif:5
label: vessel that provides nourishment and releases destructive water
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The bowl can provide food or drink when wished upon and can also produce
a river or flood that drowns living things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes the bowl's powers but does not show a countrywide
flood actually occurring.
- id: motif:6
label: flight-granting jewel
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The diamond is described as giving anyone the power to fly through the air,
and the traveller says he used it to fly over the sea.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The actual flight over the sea is reported in dialogue rather than narrated
directly in this passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 507-516
quote_or_summary: The traveller sees a thin column of smoke, approaches a hut, and
finds a legless man by a fire with a young kid roasting on a spit.
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: 518-530
quote_or_summary: The legless man offers to share what he has; the two eat. The
narrator says the old man is a magician who eats travellers and intends to eat
this traveller when hungry again.
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: 532-548
quote_or_summary: The traveller says he flew over the sea and shows the diamond,
which gives power to fly. The old man offers an axe that can cut wood, kindle
fire, and cut off heads when commanded.
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: 550-559
quote_or_summary: The traveller trades the diamond for the axe, commands the axe
to cut off the old man's head, then retrieves the diamond and sleeps in the hut
with two magic things.
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: 561-575
quote_or_summary: The traveller reaches another hut; an armless old man sits by
a fire with a bowl of milk. When he tips the bowl, a deep roaring river surrounds
him and his hut; the traveller wishes himself over 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:6
type: summary
locator: 579-595
quote_or_summary: The armless old man asks to buy the diamond and offers the bowl,
explaining that it can produce food or drink and can pour out a river or flood
a country.
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: 597-608
quote_or_summary: The traveller trades the diamond for the bowl, commands the axe
to cut off the armless old man's head, retrieves the diamond, wishes wine into
the bowl, and sleeps with three wonderful things.
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: Extraction uses only the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive and
passage-level; taxonomy mapping is limited because the passage does not explicitly
frame the objects or exchanges as sacred.
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: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a cautious comparison to another tradition, corpus, or named motif family beyond descriptive passage-level patterns.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l507-l608
passage_sha256=5cf72d7cd7169ae7a341fcf1f68e9e8e45734b135daa9b13ac740225edf87256