Comparative mythology corpus
batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1392-l1424
batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1392-l1424
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1392-l1424
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BANYAN DEER / THE PRINCES AND THE WATER-SPRITE / THE KING'S WHITE ELEPHANT
/ THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG; lines 1392-1424
start: '1392'
end: '1424'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“That little Pig is eating the food of death!”"
summary: Two ox brothers work on a farm while a pig is fed choice food for an upcoming
wedding feast. The younger ox envies the pig, but the elder ox explains that the
pig is being fattened for slaughter. After the pig is killed and cooked, the younger
ox accepts that plain food and long life are better than rich food that ends in
death.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An ox named Big Red has a younger brother named Little Red, and the two brothers
do the carting on a large farm.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The farmer has an only daughter who is soon to be married, and the daughter’s
mother orders that the Pig be fattened for the wedding feast.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Little Red observes that the Pig receives choice food while the oxen receive
straw and grass despite doing hard work.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Big Red tells Little Red not to envy the Pig because the Pig is being fattened
for the wedding feast and is eating “the food of death.”
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The fattened Pig is later killed and cooked for the wedding feast.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Little Red concludes that plain food can be eaten for years, while the Pig’s
fine feed lasted only a short time and ended in death.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Big Red
description: An ox and elder brother of Little Red; he does carting on the farm
and counsels Little Red not to envy the Pig.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Little Red
description: A younger ox, brother of Big Red; he envies the Pig’s choice food and
later recognizes the danger behind it.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the Pig
description: A pig fed choice food because he is being fattened for a wedding feast;
he is later killed and cooked.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the farmer’s daughter
description: The farmer’s only daughter, soon to be married.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the daughter’s mother
description: She orders that the Pig be fattened for the wedding feast.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: elder brother
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Big Red is named as having a younger brother, Little Red.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: advisor against envy
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Big Red tells Little Red not to envy the Pig and explains the Pig’s fate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: younger brother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Little Red is identified as Big Red’s younger brother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: envier who learns
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Little Red first complains about the Pig’s better food, then later accepts
the lesson after the Pig’s death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: fattened feast animal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Pig is fattened for the wedding feast and later killed and cooked.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: bride-to-be
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The farmer’s only daughter is soon to be married.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: feast arranger
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The mother gives orders that the Pig be fattened for the wedding feast.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: choice food
literal_form: choice food given to the Pig
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: food of death
literal_form: Big Red’s phrase for the Pig’s rich feed before slaughter
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: plain food
literal_form: straw and grass eaten by the oxen
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: wedding feast
literal_form: feast for the farmer’s daughter’s marriage
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Farm and wedding preparation
summary: Big Red and Little Red work as carting oxen on a farm, while the household
prepares for the farmer’s daughter’s wedding by fattening the Pig.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Envy and warning
summary: Little Red envies the Pig’s choice food, but Big Red explains that the
Pig’s food is connected with his coming death at the feast.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Death of the Pig and lesson learned
summary: After the Pig is killed and cooked, Big Red prompts Little Red to notice
what happened, and Little Red states the contrast between long life on plain food
and brief pleasure ending in death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: envy of apparent good fortune that conceals danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Little Red envies the Pig’s rich food, but Big Red reveals that this advantage
is a sign of impending slaughter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference “wisdom” is broad; the passage presents a moral
lesson but does not name an abstract wisdom category.
- id: motif:2
label: plain sustenance preferred to luxurious but fatal reward
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Little Red concludes that the oxen can live for years on plain food, while
the Pig’s fine feed ends quickly in death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level moral pattern rather than an explicitly named
motif in the text.
- id: motif:3
label: animal fattened for celebratory slaughter
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Pig is fattened for the wedding feast and then killed and cooked for
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No sacred or ritual interpretation is stated in the passage; it is only
described as preparation for a wedding feast.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1392-1396
quote_or_summary: The tale is titled “THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG”; Big Red and his
younger brother Little Red are oxen who do carting on a large farm.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1398-1399
quote_or_summary: The farmer’s only daughter is soon to be married, and her mother
orders that the Pig be fattened for the wedding feast.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1401-1405
quote_or_summary: Little Red notes that the Pig gets choice food while the oxen
receive straw and grass despite doing the farm’s hard work.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 1407-1410
quote_or_summary: 'Big Red says not to envy the Pig: “That little Pig is eating
the food of death!” and is being fattened for the wedding feast.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1412-1413
quote_or_summary: The fattened Pig is killed and cooked for the wedding feast.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1415-1422
quote_or_summary: Big Red asks what became of the Pig, and Little Red answers that
plain food can sustain them for years while the Pig’s good feed did not last long
and ended in death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The narrative details are explicit. Motif labels are inferred cautiously
from the passage’s moral contrast between envied luxury and fatal consequence.
No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does not support a specific
cross-text 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: |-
Used only the provided passage and metadata. No external tale classification or comparative claims added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l1392-l1424
passage_sha256=5f3f19804c228cc63c0f4f02ffb97d05b7252b98a0c2464b56363981dac6e6e1