batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l897-l991
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l897-l991
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE AXE, THE DRUM, THE BOWL, AND THE DIAMOND / THE WISE PARROT AND THE FOOLISH
PARROT / THE DISHONEST FRIEND / THE MOUSE AND THE FARMER; lines 897-991
start: '897'
end: '991'
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 mouse lives in a hole above buried gold on a farmer's land. The kind
farmer feeds the mouse, and the grateful mouse gives him golden sovereigns; the
farmer then gives the mouse meat daily. A black cat named Grimalkin catches the
now-fat mouse and extorts the meat from him. When the farmer notices the mouse
becoming thin, he learns of the bargain and places the mouse inside a transparent
glass inkstand. The cat swallows the mouse with the inkstand, dies because it
cannot digest the glass, and the mouse escapes and resumes his exchange with the
farmer.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The mouse has a hole where thousands of golden sovereigns are buried in the
ground.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer owns the land but does not know about the buried treasure; he does
not hurt the mouse and sometimes feeds it cheese.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The mouse gives the farmer a golden sovereign, and the farmer buys meat for
the mouse; this becomes a daily exchange.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The mouse grows fat from the daily meat.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The farmer's black cat, Grimalkin, catches the fat mouse and accepts the mouse's
offer of daily meat instead of eating him immediately.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Grimalkin threatens that the mouse will die if he leaves out one day of bringing
meat.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The mouse gives the farmer's meat to Grimalkin and becomes thin.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The farmer asks why the mouse is thin, and the mouse tells him about Grimalkin's
taking the dinner.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The farmer places the mouse inside a piece of glass, described as possibly
an inkstand, and turns it upside down near the mouse's hole.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The farmer tells the mouse to refuse Grimalkin the next time the cat comes
for meat.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Grimalkin demands meat; the mouse refuses and calls him a thief.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Grimalkin pounces and swallows the mouse together with the glass inkstand,
not recognizing the inkstand because it is transparent.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Grimalkin cannot digest the glass inkstand, feels worsening pain, and dies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: The mouse crawls out through Grimalkin's throat, returns to his hole, and
continues giving the farmer a golden sovereign in exchange for meat.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Mousie / the Mouse
description: A mouse living in a hole above buried golden sovereigns; he gives gold
to the farmer, is coerced by the cat, survives inside the glass inkstand, and
returns to his hole.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the Farmer
description: A kind owner of the land who feeds the mouse, receives sovereigns from
him, gives him meat, and devises the glass-inkstand protection.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Grimalkin / the black Cat
description: The farmer's black cat, who catches the fat mouse, demands the mouse's
meat, swallows the mouse and glass inkstand, and dies.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: grateful giver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The mouse responds to the farmer's kindness by bringing him golden sovereigns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: kind provider
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The farmer avoids harming the mouse and gives him cheese and then meat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: predator and coercer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The cat catches the mouse, threatens to kill him if he misses a daily meat
payment, and later swallows him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: small-animal survivor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The mouse survives being swallowed because he is inside the glass inkstand
and then exits through the cat's throat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: planner and rescuer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The farmer places the mouse inside the glass inkstand and instructs him how
to confront Grimalkin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: buried golden sovereigns
literal_form: thousands and thousands of golden sovereigns buried in the ground
beneath the mouse's hole
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: food exchange
literal_form: cheese and meat given to the mouse, and meat extorted by the cat
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: transparent glass inkstand
literal_form: a beautiful piece of glass with a hole in the middle, possibly an
inkstand, turned upside down over the mouse
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: mouse hole
literal_form: the mouse's hole in the ground, near the buried treasure
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: fire
literal_form: the fire beside which Grimalkin likes sitting
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Kindness and reciprocal treasure-gift
summary: The farmer spares and feeds the mouse; the mouse responds by bringing golden
sovereigns, and the farmer begins giving him meat daily.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Cat's coercive bargain
summary: Grimalkin catches the fat mouse and agrees not to eat him in exchange for
daily meat, under threat of death if the mouse misses a day.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Mouse's hunger revealed
summary: The mouse surrenders his food to Grimalkin and becomes thin; when the farmer
asks about it, the mouse explains the bargain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Glass-inkstand stratagem
summary: The farmer places the mouse inside a transparent glass object and tells
him to refuse the cat's demand for meat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Predator swallows hidden glass and dies
summary: Grimalkin swallows the mouse and the transparent inkstand without recognizing
the glass; the indigestible object kills him, and the mouse escapes and resumes
his life with the farmer.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: animal gratitude rewarded through reciprocal exchange
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The farmer's kindness to the mouse is answered by the mouse's gift of gold,
followed by a daily exchange of sovereigns and meat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is moral and domestic rather than explicitly sacred; the
taxonomy reference is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: small animal survives predator through clever stratagem
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: After the cat coerces the mouse, the farmer uses a glass inkstand to protect
the mouse; the cat swallows the hidden object and dies, allowing the mouse to
escape.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The successful plan is chiefly devised by the farmer, though the mouse
carries it out.
- id: motif:3
label: hidden treasure revealed by grateful animal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The mouse knows of buried gold beneath his hole and brings sovereigns to
the farmer who had treated him kindly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this motif.
- id: motif:4
label: predator destroyed by swallowing an indigestible concealed object
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Grimalkin unknowingly swallows a transparent glass inkstand together with
the mouse and dies because he cannot digest the glass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the event as a plot device rather than an explicitly
named motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 897-907
quote_or_summary: A mouse lives in a hole above buried golden sovereigns on the
farmer's land. The farmer does not know of the treasure, does not hurt the mouse,
and sometimes gives him cheese.
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: 908-922
quote_or_summary: The grateful mouse brings the farmer a golden sovereign; the farmer
buys meat for him. The mouse brings a sovereign every day, the farmer gives meat
every day, and the mouse becomes fat.
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: 923-943
quote_or_summary: The farmer's black cat Grimalkin catches the fat mouse. The mouse
offers to bring meat daily if released, and the cat agrees but threatens death
if a day is missed. The cat is described as lazy and fond of sitting by the fire.
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: 944-955
quote_or_summary: The mouse gives his meat to Grimalkin and grows thin. The farmer
asks if he is ill, and the mouse explains that Grimalkin eats all his dinner because
of their bargain.
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: 956-966
quote_or_summary: The farmer puts the mouse inside a beautiful piece of glass with
a hole in the middle, possibly an inkstand, turns it upside down before the mouse's
hole, and tells him to refuse Grimalkin's next demand.
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: 967-981
quote_or_summary: Grimalkin demands meat; the mouse refuses. In rage, Grimalkin
pounces and swallows the mouse, inkstand and all, not realizing the transparent
glass is there.
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: 982-991
quote_or_summary: The cat cannot digest the glass inkstand and dies from worsening
pain. The mouse exits through Grimalkin's throat, returns to his hole, and lives
happily, continuing to bring the farmer a sovereign each day for a meat dinner.
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 plot elements and figures are explicit. Motif labels are candidate abstractions
and require human review, especially the approximate use of the supplied sacred_exchange
taxonomy for a non-ritual exchange.
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 make an explicit cross-textual or cross-traditional comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l897-l991
passage_sha256=d5931ddd004f2dff62a550306f76cfc613239b0dd9d839feb03917f9dae0da17