batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1088-l1149
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1088-l1149
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE MEASURE OF RICE / THE FOOLISH, TIMID RABBIT / THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH
MERCHANT / THE ELEPHANT GIRLY-FACE; lines 1088-1149
start: '1088'
end: '1149'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A gentle royal elephant hears robbers speak about cruelty and killing,
imitates their teaching, and kills his keepers. A wise man concludes that the
elephant has been influenced by bad talk and advises the king to send good men
to speak within the elephant’s hearing. After hearing their words about gentleness
and not killing, the elephant becomes tame and good again.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A king owns an elephant named Girly-face, described as gentle, good, kind-looking,
and harmless.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Robbers sit near Girly-face’s stall at night and speak about breaking into
houses, killing anyone who wakes, cruelty, lack of pity, and not being good.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Girly-face interprets the robbers’ words as instruction about how he should
act.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The next morning Girly-face kills his keeper and then kills another keeper
who comes to investigate.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: For days, no one dares go near Girly-face, and his food is left for him at
a distance.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The king sends a wise man to discover what is wrong with Girly-face.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The wise man finds no physical problem and infers that Girly-face must have
heard bad men talking.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: A keeper confirms that robbers had spoken near Girly-face’s sleeping place.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The wise man advises the king to send good men to speak where Girly-face can
hear them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Good men speak near Girly-face’s stall, saying that hurting and killing are
wrong and that everyone should be gentle and good.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Girly-face again interprets overheard speech as instruction and resolves to
be gentle, good, and harmless.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: After hearing the good men, Girly-face becomes tame and good again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Girly-face
description: A royal elephant first described as gentle and good, later violent
after hearing robbers, and finally tame again after hearing good men.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: king
description: The ruler who owns Girly-face and sends a wise man, then good men,
to address the elephant’s condition.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: keeper of the elephants
description: A keeper associated with Girly-face; one keeper says Girly-face never
hurts anyone, and a keeper is later killed when feeding him.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: another keeper
description: A second keeper runs to see what is wrong and is killed by Girly-face.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: robbers
description: A group of robbers who talk near Girly-face’s stall about cruelty,
killing, and having no pity.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: wise man
description: A man sent by the king who examines Girly-face, infers that bad talk
caused the change, and proposes corrective good talk.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: good men
description: A company of the best men sent to speak near Girly-face’s stall about
not hurting or killing and being gentle and good.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: gentle royal elephant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Girly-face belongs to the king and is initially described as gentle, good,
kind-looking, and harmless.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: imitator of overheard speech
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Girly-face treats both the robbers’ words and the good men’s words as teaching
for how he should act.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: temporary killer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After hearing the robbers, Girly-face kills two keepers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: royal owner and sender
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The king owns Girly-face and sends the wise man and later the good men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: victim keeper
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Girly-face kills the keeper who comes to feed him and another keeper who
comes to investigate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: bad speakers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The robbers speak about killing, cruelty, and having no pity near Girly-face’s
stall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: diagnostic wise adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The wise man examines Girly-face, infers the influence of bad talk, and advises
corrective speech by good men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: corrective moral speakers
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The good men speak within Girly-face’s hearing about non-harm, non-killing,
gentleness, and goodness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Gentle elephant introduced
summary: The king’s elephant Girly-face is introduced as gentle, good, kind-looking,
and harmless.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Robbers’ speech overheard
summary: Robbers talk near Girly-face’s stall about how robbers should kill, be
cruel, show no pity, and never be good; Girly-face decides to act according to
their words.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Girly-face becomes dangerous
summary: Girly-face kills two keepers, and afterward people avoid going near him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Wise diagnosis
summary: The king sends a wise man, who finds no physical ailment and concludes
that Girly-face has been influenced by bad men’s talk; a keeper confirms robbers
had spoken near the stall.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Corrective good speech
summary: On the wise man’s advice, the king sends good men to speak near Girly-face’s
stall about gentleness and not killing; Girly-face accepts this as instruction
and becomes tame and good again.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wise diagnosis of hidden moral cause
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wise man finds no bodily ailment, infers that Girly-face has been affected
by bad talk, and prescribes good talk as the remedy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy reference “wisdom” is broad; the passage supports
wisdom as practical diagnosis and counsel rather than a more specific named motif.
- id: motif:2
label: character shaped by overheard speech
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Girly-face first imitates the robbers’ cruel talk and later imitates the
good men’s moral talk, changing behavior in each case.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level pattern stated by the narrative; no external taxonomy
identifier is supplied.
- id: motif:3
label: moral reform through corrective instruction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After good men speak about not hurting or killing and being gentle and good,
Girly-face resolves to follow those teachings and becomes tame again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local narrative motif/pattern, not linked to a supplied comparative
motif family except indirectly through moral wisdom.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1088-1093
quote_or_summary: A king has an elephant named Girly-face, so called because he
is gentle, good, kind-looking, and known never to hurt anyone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1094-1103
quote_or_summary: Robbers speak near Girly-face’s stall about breaking into houses,
killing those who wake, being cruel, showing no pity, and never being good; Girly-face
decides they are teaching him how to act.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1104-1111
quote_or_summary: Girly-face kills the keeper who comes to feed him and then kills
another keeper; afterward no one dares go near him, though food is left for him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1112-1123
quote_or_summary: The king sends a wise man, who finds no physical problem, suspects
Girly-face heard bad men talking, and receives confirmation that robbers had talked
near the elephant’s sleeping place.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1124-1131
quote_or_summary: The wise man tells the king to send good men to talk where Girly-face
can hear; the men say it is wrong to hurt or kill and that everyone should be
gentle and good.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1132-1135
quote_or_summary: Girly-face thinks the good men are teaching him, resolves to be
gentle, good, and not to hurt or kill, and from then on is tame and good again.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The literal sequence is explicit. Motif labeling is moderately confident
because only broad taxonomy references were available; no comparison claims were
made because the passage itself does not support external 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: |-
Only the provided passage text was used. No symbols from the supplied symbol taxonomy were assigned because none of the listed symbol forms are present as salient passage symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l1088-l1149
passage_sha256=06c4d5373761827c255e69a65172e6a1b4b6f19f58a07b2fe105281ecbdf6de0