batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l994-l1041
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg-l994-l1041
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE WISE PARROT AND THE FOOLISH PARROT / THE DISHONEST FRIEND / THE MOUSE
AND THE FARMER / THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE; lines 994-1041
start: '994'
end: '1041'
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: The talkative Tortoise lay dead, with his shell cracked in two.
summary: A talkative tortoise living in a pond is offered transport by two geese
to their mountain home. The geese carry him on a stick, warning him not to speak.
When boys mock the sight, the tortoise opens his mouth to answer, loses his hold,
falls onto stones, and dies.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A tortoise lives in a pond and talks continually, annoying the fish there.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Two young geese are friends of the tortoise and invite him to come to their
mountain home.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The tortoise says he cannot fly, and the geese offer to carry him if he keeps
his mouth shut.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The geese carry a stout stick between them, and the tortoise grips the middle
with his teeth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Boys see the geese carrying the tortoise on a stick and call attention to
it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The tortoise becomes angry, opens his mouth to reply, loses the stick, falls
onto stones, and dies with his shell cracked.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Tortoise
description: A worthy but excessively talkative tortoise who lives in a pond and
later falls when he opens his mouth during flight.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Pair of young Geese
description: Two geese who are friends of the tortoise and try to carry him to their
mountain home by means of a stick.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Fish
description: Fish in the pond who are tired of the tortoise's continual chatter.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Boys
description: Boys who look up, see the geese carrying the tortoise, and make a remark
that provokes the tortoise.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: talkative warned traveler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The tortoise is repeatedly described as talkative and is warned not to speak
while being carried.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: helpful carriers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The geese invite the tortoise to their home and carry him on a stick.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: annoyed pond inhabitants
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The fish object to the tortoise's chatter in the pond.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: mocking observers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The boys are amused by the sight and call out about the geese carrying the
tortoise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pond
literal_form: pond where the tortoise lives
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: mountain home
literal_form: beautiful home away in the mountains
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: carrying stick
literal_form: stout stick held by the geese and gripped by the tortoise
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: opened mouth
literal_form: the tortoise opens his mouth to answer and releases the stick
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: stones
literal_form: stones onto which the tortoise falls
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Talkative life in the pond
summary: The tortoise lives in a pond and talks so much that the fish complain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Geese propose escape to the mountains
summary: The two geese invite the tortoise to their mountain home and explain that
they can carry him if he does not speak.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Flight by stick
summary: The geese hold the ends of a stick while the tortoise grips the middle
with his teeth and is carried through the air.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Provocation and fatal fall
summary: Boys remark on the strange sight; the tortoise angrily opens his mouth
to answer, releases the stick, falls, and dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: talkative animal destroyed by failure to keep silent
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The tortoise is warned not to speak while being carried, but anger at the
boys' remark causes him to open his mouth, fall, and die.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a practical moral
about restraint rather than an explicit doctrinal explanation.
- id: motif:2
label: animal carried through the air by companions using a stick
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Two geese hold a stout stick by its ends while the tortoise grips the middle
and is carried in flight.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative device in the passage; no available taxonomy family
directly names it.
- id: motif:3
label: mockery provokes fatal self-betrayal
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The boys' amused comment provokes the tortoise to answer despite the danger,
causing him to lose his hold and fall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not state the moral explicitly in this excerpt; the motif
is inferred from the action sequence.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 994-1002
quote_or_summary: The tortoise lives in a pond, is described as worthy but excessively
talkative, and the fish are tired of his chatter.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1003-1010
quote_or_summary: Two young geese, friends of the tortoise, invite him to their
beautiful mountain home where he may talk without being worried.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 1011-1018
quote_or_summary: The geese say they will carry him, "if you can only keep your
mouth shut for a little while."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1019-1027
quote_or_summary: The geese take the two ends of a stout stick in their bills; the
tortoise grips the middle with his teeth, and they fly toward their home after
warning him not to talk.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 1028-1033
quote_or_summary: A boy cries, "two Geese carrying a Tortoise on a stick!"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 1034-1039
quote_or_summary: The tortoise becomes angry, forgets the danger, opens his mouth
to answer, loses the stick, drops, and falls with a crash on stones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 1040-1041
quote_or_summary: '"The talkative Tortoise lay dead, with his shell cracked in two."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/giant-crab-old-india-tales-rouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal sequence and figures are clear. Motif labels involving wisdom or
restraint are interpretive and require review; no passage-supported external comparison
claims are 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: |-
Used only the supplied passage text and metadata; available taxonomy references were applied only where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-old-india-tales-rouse-gutenberg__l994-l1041
passage_sha256=18d222986e0afccdc79e5fecacc73e5ac66ce627ae7d4a5932afe587458828e4