batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1426-l1521
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1426-l1521
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE PRINCES AND THE WATER-SPRITE / THE KING'S WHITE ELEPHANT / THE OX WHO
ENVIED THE PIG / GRANNY'S BLACKIE; lines 1426-1521
start: '1426'
end: '1521'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A baby elephant is given to an old woman called Granny and becomes fond
of her and the village children. Seeing that Granny is old and burdened with work,
Blackie seeks work, helps a man pull heavily loaded wagons across shallow river
water, insists on the promised payment, and brings the silver home to Granny.
Thereafter he does the hard work so Granny can rest.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A rich man gives a baby elephant to a woman, who cares for him and becomes
fond of him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Village children call the woman Granny and the elephant Granny's Blackie.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Blackie carries children on his back, plays with them, and swings them with
his trunk carefully.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Blackie initially does no work, spending time eating, sleeping, playing with
children, and visiting Granny.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Blackie notices that Granny is becoming old and feeble and decides to find
work to bring money home to her.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: At the river bank, a man has heavily loaded wagons that oxen cannot draw through
shallow water.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The man promises to pay two pieces of silver for each wagon Blackie draws
across the river.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Blackie draws the wagons across the river one after another.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: When offered only one piece of silver per wagon, Blackie refuses the money
and blocks the wagons from passing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The man adds the missing silver and puts the payment in a bag tied around
Blackie's neck.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: Blackie returns home with the money for Granny and tells her he earned it
for her.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: Afterward Blackie does the hard work, Granny rests, and both are happy.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Granny
description: An old woman who receives and cares for the baby elephant; later she
is described as growing old and feeble.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:12
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Granny's Blackie
description: An elephant raised by Granny, playful with children, young and strong,
who earns silver by pulling wagons and brings it home to Granny.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Village children
description: Children who name the elephant Granny's Blackie, play with him, and
look for him when he is gone.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Wagon owner
description: A man at the river bank whose oxen cannot pull heavily loaded wagons
through shallow water; he hires Blackie and finally pays the promised amount.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Oxen
description: Draft animals unable to draw the heavily loaded wagons through the
shallow water.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: caregiver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Granny takes care of the baby elephant and becomes fond of him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: helpful animal companion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Blackie plays carefully with children and later works to help Granny.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:12
- id: role:3
label: provider for elder
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Blackie decides to find work so Granny will not have to work so hard and
brings her earned money.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:11
- id: role:4
label: elder dependent on aid
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Blackie sees Granny is old and feeble, and after his work she rests.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:12
- id: role:5
label: fair-payment enforcer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Blackie refuses the underpayment and blocks the wagons until the promised
payment is completed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: playmates and witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The children play with Blackie, identify him as Granny's Blackie, and meet
him on his return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: role:7
label: hirer of labor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The man asks to hire Blackie to help pull wagons and promises payment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: insufficient draft animals
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The oxen cannot draw the heavily loaded wagons through the shallow water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: elephant
literal_form: Granny's Blackie, a baby elephant who becomes young and strong
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: river crossing
literal_form: shallow river water crossed by loaded wagons
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: silver payment
literal_form: pieces of silver paid per wagon and placed in a bag around Blackie's
neck
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: loaded wagons
literal_form: a long line of heavily loaded wagons
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Blackie raised among Granny and children
summary: A rich man gives a baby elephant to a woman; she cares for him, children
name him Granny's Blackie, and he plays with the children.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Blackie decides to work for Granny
summary: After noticing Granny's age and weakness, Blackie decides to seek work
so he can bring her money and reduce her labor.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Wagons drawn through the river
summary: At the river bank, Blackie is hired to pull heavily loaded wagons through
shallow water after oxen cannot move them.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:4
label: Promised payment enforced
summary: Blackie rejects underpayment, blocks the wagons, and receives the full
promised silver in a bag around his neck.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:5
label: Silver brought home to Granny
summary: Blackie returns home and gives Granny the money he earned; thereafter he
does the hard work while she rests.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: grateful or devoted animal supports human caregiver
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Blackie, raised by Granny, notices her weakness, seeks paid work, and brings
the earnings home so she can rest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents an exemplary animal-helper tale; no external folktale
type is assigned from the supplied taxonomy.
- id: motif:2
label: animal performs labor beyond ordinary draft animals
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The oxen cannot move the loaded wagons through the shallow water, but Blackie
pulls them across one after another.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is described at the passage level without assigning a broader
taxonomy family.
- id: motif:3
label: enforcement of promised reward
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: A promised payment of two silver pieces per wagon is only partly paid; Blackie
refuses the underpayment and blocks the wagons until the full payment is given.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy term sacred_exchange is only a broad fit because
the exchange here is practical labor-for-wages, not explicitly sacred.
- id: motif:4
label: river crossing aided by powerful helper
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Blackie helps move a line of loaded wagons across shallow river water when
the oxen cannot do so.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The crossing is literal and practical; the passage does not mark it as
an initiatory or supernatural crossing.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1426-1432
quote_or_summary: A rich man gives a baby elephant to a woman; she cares for him
and grows fond of him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1434-1436
quote_or_summary: Village children call the woman Granny and call the elephant Granny's
Blackie.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1438-1446
quote_or_summary: Blackie carries children, shares play with them, and carefully
swings them with his trunk.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1448-1452
quote_or_summary: Blackie does no work, but eats, sleeps, plays with children, and
visits Granny.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1454-1464
quote_or_summary: Blackie wants Granny to go to the woods, sees she is old and feeble,
and decides to find work to bring money home so she need not work so hard.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1466-1472
quote_or_summary: At the river bank, a man is troubled because heavily loaded wagons
cannot be drawn by oxen through the shallow water.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1474-1482
quote_or_summary: The man asks to hire the elephant and promises two pieces of silver
for each wagon the elephant draws across the river.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1484-1486
quote_or_summary: Blackie goes into the river and draws the wagons across one after
another.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1488-1496
quote_or_summary: When the man counts only one piece of silver per wagon, Blackie
will not touch the money and blocks the wagons from passing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 1498-1502
quote_or_summary: The man adds another piece of silver for each wagon and puts the
silver in a bag tied around Blackie's neck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 1504-1516
quote_or_summary: Blackie returns home with the bag, goes straight to Granny, and
tells her he earned money for her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 1518-1521
quote_or_summary: Granny praises Blackie; afterward Blackie does the hard work,
Granny rests, and both are happy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is straightforward and internally coherent. Motif candidates
are descriptive and passage-level; broader taxonomy mapping is limited because
few supplied taxonomy families directly fit this practical moral animal tale.
No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does not explicitly compare
to other traditions or motif families.
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 supplied passage and metadata were used. No external Jataka identification or tale-type classification was added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l1426-l1521
passage_sha256=3495c900976c32f0d008152eab095b35345f55e1cd5aacfece01dd8e1f7cbde1