batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1626-l1660
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l1626-l1660
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: GRANNY'S BLACKIE / THE CRAB AND THE CRANE / XVIII / WHY THE OWL IS NOT KING
OF THE BIRDS; lines 1626-1660
start: '1626'
end: '1660'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: '"From that time on the Crows and the Owls have been enemies."'
summary: The passage explains why crows and owls are enemies and why the owl did
not become king of the birds. In a primordial time, different groups choose kings;
the birds consider the owl, but an old crow objects to the owl's sour appearance.
The owl pursues the crow, hostility begins between crows and owls, and the birds
choose a Turtle Dove as king instead.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage opens with a question about crows tormenting owls in the daytime
and owls trying to kill crows at night.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: In the time described as when the world was young, humans, four-footed animals,
and fish each chose or had a king.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The birds gathered on a great flat rock and said that they also ought to have
a king.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The birds proposed the Owl as their king.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: An old Crow objected to the Owl becoming king, saying the Owl looked sour
even when the birds were praising him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The Crow flew away crying that he did not like the choice, and the Owl rose
and followed him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The passage states that from then on Crows and Owls have been enemies.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: After the Owl was not accepted, the birds chose a Turtle Dove as their king
and went home.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Crows
description: Birds described as tormenting owls while the owls sleep in the daytime;
represented in the tale by an old Crow who objects to the Owl.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Owls
description: Birds described as trying to kill crows while the crows sleep at night;
represented in the tale by the Owl proposed as king.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Birds
description: A collective assembly that gathers to choose a king.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Owl
description: The bird proposed by the assembly as king, rejected after the old Crow's
objection, and then shown following the Crow.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: old Crow
description: An old crow who rises and speaks against choosing the Owl as king.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Turtle Dove
description: The bird ultimately chosen by the birds to be their king.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: people
description: People who lived together when the world was young and took a certain
man for their king.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: four-footed animals
description: Animals who took one of their number for their king.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: fish in the ocean
description: Fish who chose a king to rule over them.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: electing assembly
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The birds gather, discuss their lack of a king, and choose a ruler.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: proposed but rejected king
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
basis: The birds say they want the Owl as king, but the old Crow objects and the
Owl is not the final choice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: objector to proposed ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:5
basis: The old Crow publicly says he does not want the Owl to be king and criticizes
the Owl's look.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: chosen king
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The birds choose the Turtle Dove to be their king after the conflict with
the Owl and Crow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: enemy groups
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage states reciprocal hostility between crows and owls and explains
its origin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: groups with kings
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: Humans, four-footed animals, and fish are each described as having chosen
or taken a king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Present animal hostility introduced
summary: The narrator asks why crows torment owls by day and owls attack crows by
night, then introduces an old tale as the explanation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Kings chosen among other beings
summary: In the young world, humans, four-footed animals, and fish each have a king.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Bird assembly on the rock
summary: The birds gather on a great flat rock, note that other groups have kings,
and decide that they should choose one too.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Owl proposed and Crow objects
summary: The birds propose the Owl as king, but an old Crow rejects the choice because
of the Owl's sour-looking face.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Pursuit, enmity, and replacement king
summary: The Crow flies away declaring disapproval, the Owl follows, enmity between
crows and owls begins, and the birds choose a Turtle Dove as king.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Origin of enmity between animal groups
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage explicitly explains present hostility between crows and owls
by narrating an earlier quarrel during the election of a bird king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level etiological motif; no broader taxonomy reference
is asserted.
- id: motif:2
label: Election and rejection of an animal king
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The birds assemble to choose a king, initially select the Owl, reject him
after objection, and choose the Turtle Dove instead.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy label 'royal_legitimacy' is broader than the animal-fable
election scene and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: Warning against an unsuitable ruler
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The old Crow argues against the Owl's kingship by judging the Owl's expression
and warning how he might look when angry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents practical objection or counsel, but does not explicitly
label it as wisdom.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1629-1634
quote_or_summary: The narrator asks why crows torment sleeping owls by day and why
owls try to kill sleeping crows by night, then says an old tale will explain it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1636-1640
quote_or_summary: When the world was young, people took a man for king, four-footed
animals took one of their number for king, and fish chose a king.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1640-1648
quote_or_summary: The birds gather on a great flat rock, say that humans, beasts,
and fish have kings, and decide to choose the Owl as their king.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1650-1656
quote_or_summary: An old Crow says he does not want the Owl as king, pointing to
the Owl's sour look and asking how he would look when angry.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 1658-1660
quote_or_summary: The Crow flies up crying that he does not like it; the Owl follows.
"From that time on the Crows and the Owls have been enemies." The birds choose
a Turtle Dove as king.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation and summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is clear for literal extraction and etiological motif identification.
Taxonomy mapping is tentative because the available motif families are broad.
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 support a specific cross-text or cross-tradition comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l1626-l1660
passage_sha256=b5a74d61b0a3f22df372c60895f8fe06f2e471ca07e9ee5cc5f33f385bff2037