batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l707-l823
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l707-l823
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE HYPOCRITICAL CAT / THE CROCODILE AND THE MONKEY / THE AXE, THE DRUM,
THE BOWL, AND THE DIAMOND / THE WISE PARROT AND THE FOOLISH PARROT; lines 707-823
start: '707'
end: '823'
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 man leaves two talking parrots to watch a thievish maid. One parrot openly
threatens to report her thefts and is lured with stolen sugar, caught, and plucked
bald. The other remains silent until the master returns, then indirectly reveals
the truth through a mocking refrain and a verse about wise creatures shutting
their eyes when needed. The master understands and dismisses the maid.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A man owns two talking pet parrots named Beaky and Tweaky.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The man instructs both parrots to watch the maid while he is away and report
any theft when he returns.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The maid picks locks and consumes stored sugar, biscuits, and wine after the
master leaves.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Beaky openly warns the maid that the master will know and she will be sent
away.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The maid offers Beaky a lump of sugar, catches him when he comes near, and
plucks feathers from his head until he is bald.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Tweaky sees what happens to Beaky but says nothing, and the maid leaves him
alone because she thinks he is too stupid to tell.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The maid tells the returning master that she found Beaky stealing sugar and
plucked him as punishment.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Tweaky later connects the master's bald head with Beaky's plucked head by
repeating a mocking question about missing feathers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: After the maid goes to bed, Tweaky recites a verse contrasting foolish and
wise parrots and saying the wise can shut their eyes when it is best not to see.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The master understands what happened, wakes the maid, and turns her out of
the house.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: the master
description: The owner of Beaky and Tweaky, described as a man who talks with the
parrots and later understands Tweaky's indirect report.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Beaky
description: One of the two talking parrots; he threatens to report the maid, accepts
stolen sugar, and is plucked bald.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tweaky
description: One of the two talking parrots; he remains silent while the maid steals
and later reveals the truth indirectly through repeated words and a verse.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the maid-servant
description: A thievish maid-servant who steals from the master, punishes Beaky,
falsely accuses him, and is expelled.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: owner and householder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He owns the parrots, stores household goods, and gives the parrots instructions
before leaving.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: appointed watcher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The master explicitly asks both parrots to watch the maid and report theft.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: rash telltale and victim
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Beaky immediately threatens to tell and is caught and plucked by the maid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: silent witness and indirect revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Tweaky witnesses the event silently, avoids punishment, and later uses repeated
speech and verse to disclose what happened.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: judge of the household report
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The master interprets Tweaky's words and acts by dismissing the maid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: thief
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The maid picks locks and consumes the master's stored food and wine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: false accuser and punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: She plucks Beaky and later claims she punished him for stealing sugar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: talking parrots
literal_form: Two pet parrots who can speak and are asked to observe and report.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: stolen sugar
literal_form: Sugar taken from the master's cupboard and a lump offered to Beaky.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: plucked feathers and bald head
literal_form: Beaky's head is plucked bald; the master's bald head prompts Tweaky's
comparison.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: shut eyes
literal_form: Tweaky's verse says wise parrots can shut their eyes when it is best
to have no sight.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Commission to watch the maid
summary: Before leaving on a journey, the master places the two parrots on his fists
and orders them to watch the maid and report theft.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Theft and open warning
summary: After the master leaves, the maid steals food and wine. Beaky openly warns
her that the master will know.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Temptation and plucking of Beaky
summary: The maid tempts Beaky with sugar, catches him, and plucks feathers from
his head while calling him a telltale.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Tweaky's silence
summary: Tweaky sees the punishment but remains silent; the maid decides he is too
stupid to tell and does not harm him.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: False report to the master
summary: When the master returns, the maid claims Beaky had been stealing sugar
and that she plucked him as punishment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Indirect revelation and expulsion
summary: Tweaky mocks the master's bald head with the phrase used against Beaky,
then recites a verse about wise silence. The master understands and expels the
maid.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Wise silence versus rash speech
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The tale explicitly contrasts the foolish and wise parrots, presenting silence
at the dangerous moment and later indirect disclosure as the safer course.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level moral pattern; no external motif index number
is provided.
- id: motif:2
label: Animal witness exposes household wrongdoing
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Talking parrots are appointed to observe the maid's conduct, and one parrot's
later speech enables the master to identify the maid's theft and false accusation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The animals are literal figures in the tale rather than symbolic identifications
supplied by the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: Temptation defeats duty
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Beaky intends to report the theft but accepts stolen sugar and is captured
as a result.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states Beaky wanted to do his duty but wanted the sugar more;
broader motif classification is not specified.
- id: motif:4
label: False accusation overturned by indirect clue
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The maid falsely says Beaky stole sugar, but Tweaky's repeated phrase and
verse lead the master to infer the true sequence of events.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The story does not name a formal riddle or trial; the exposure occurs
through comic repetition and inference.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 707-714
quote_or_summary: The tale introduces a man with two pet parrots that can talk and
converse with him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 719-723
quote_or_summary: Before a journey, the master tells Beaky and Tweaky to watch the
maid and report any theft when he returns.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 738-741
quote_or_summary: Once the master is gone, the maid picks cupboard locks and consumes
sugar, biscuits, and wine.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 741-746
quote_or_summary: 'Beaky warns: "Master shall know, / And you shall go!"'
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: lines 752-768
quote_or_summary: The maid coaxes Beaky with a lump of sugar, catches him by the
neck when he pecks at it, calls him a telltale, and plucks feathers from his head
until he is bald.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 770-774
quote_or_summary: Tweaky witnesses the treatment of Beaky but says nothing; the
maid assumes he is too stupid to tell and leaves him alone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 776-778
quote_or_summary: The maid tells the returning master that she found Beaky stealing
sugar and plucked him as punishment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 786-792
quote_or_summary: 'Seeing the master''s bald head, Tweaky cries: "Where''s your
feathers, / Tell-tale tit?"'
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: quote
locator: lines 798-807
quote_or_summary: 'Tweaky recites: "But the wise can shut them tight / When ''tis
best to have no sight. / Wisdom has the best of it".'
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:10
type: summary
locator: lines 809-814
quote_or_summary: The master understands, runs upstairs, wakes the maid, makes her
dress, and turns her out of the house.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 816-823
quote_or_summary: Afterward Beaky no longer talks, while Tweaky repeats the feather
question when he sees bald or high-foreheaded people.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and use available taxonomy only where directly supported, especially the passage's
explicit contrast between wisdom and foolishness. No comparison claims are made
because the passage itself does not support 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: |-
No available symbol taxonomy references apply directly; symbols are recorded as passage-internal literal forms.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l707-l823
passage_sha256=0b62d014b7d17f7e9096701d9957d15c22c5999f3d2a21518d22488d0e15c21e