batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l203-l280
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l203-l280
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: XVIII WHY THE OWL IS NOT KING OF THE BIRDS 90 / PUBLISHER'S NOTE
/ THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILE / PART I; lines 203-280
start: '203'
end: '280'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A monkey lives in a tree on a riverbank near crocodiles. A mother crocodile
asks her son to obtain a monkey's heart for her to eat. The young crocodile lures
the monkey onto his back with the promise of ripe fruit on an island, then dives
and reveals his intent to kill him. The monkey claims he left his heart in the
tree, persuades the crocodile to return, and escapes back into the branches.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A monkey lives in a great tree on a river bank, and many crocodiles live in
the river.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A mother crocodile tells her son to get one of the monkeys because she wants
to eat a monkey's heart.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The young crocodile identifies a monkey who wants to cross the river to an
island with ripe fruit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The crocodile invites the monkey to ride on his back because the monkey cannot
swim.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The monkey jumps onto the crocodile's back because he wants the ripe fruit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: While carrying the monkey, the crocodile dives under the water, causing the
monkey to sputter and choke.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The crocodile says he intends to kill the monkey by keeping him underwater
and take his heart to his mother.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The monkey says that he left his heart in the tree and that they must go back
to get it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The crocodile returns the monkey to the riverbank so the monkey can get his
heart.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The monkey runs up into the tree and calls down that his heart is up there.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Monkey
description: A monkey living in a great tree on a river bank; he wants ripe fruit
on the island and later escapes back into the tree.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: young Crocodile
description: The crocodile son who cannot travel on land, offers to carry the monkey,
reveals his plan to kill him, and takes him back to the tree.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: mother Crocodile
description: A crocodile who tells her son to get a monkey because she wants to
eat a monkey's heart.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: targeted prey
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The mother crocodile wants a monkey's heart, and the young crocodile attempts
to kill the monkey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: clever escapee
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The monkey claims his heart was left in the tree and uses the return to escape
into the branches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:3
label: predatory deceiver
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The young crocodile lures the monkey with the offer of transport to ripe
fruit but intends to kill him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: duped captor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The crocodile believes the monkey's claim that his heart is in the tree and
returns him to the bank.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: instigator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The mother crocodile initiates the plot by telling her son to get a monkey
for its heart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree refuge
literal_form: great tree on the river bank
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: sym:2
label: river water boundary
literal_form: river and water between the tree and the island
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: ripe fruit lure
literal_form: ripe fruit on the island
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: monkey heart
literal_form: heart of a monkey
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: island destination
literal_form: island where the fruit is ripe
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Riverbank habitat
summary: The monkey lives in a large tree on a riverbank, while crocodiles live
in the river.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Mother's demand
summary: The mother crocodile instructs her son to obtain a monkey because she wants
a monkey's heart to eat.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Lure to the island
summary: The young crocodile tempts the monkey with ripe fruit on an island and
offers to carry him over the river on his back.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Threat revealed in the water
summary: During the crossing, the crocodile dives and then tells the monkey he plans
to drown him and take his heart to his mother.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: False heart claim and escape
summary: The monkey claims his heart is back in the tree, persuades the crocodile
to return, jumps to the bank, and climbs out of reach.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Clever prey escapes predator through deceptive speech
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- trickster_boundary
basis: The monkey avoids being killed by inventing the claim that his heart is in
the tree, leading the crocodile to return him to safety.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the monkey's deception as practical escape rather
than an explicit moral statement in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Predator lures victim across a dangerous boundary
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The crocodile uses the promise of transport across the river to ripe fruit
as a lure, then reveals the intent to kill the monkey in the water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The boundary is literal river water; broader boundary symbolism should
be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: Externalized heart as escape ruse
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monkey claims that his heart is not in his body but left in the tree,
and this claim enables his escape.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: Within this passage the externalized heart is a false statement, not an
actual magical or soul-object condition.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 203-207
quote_or_summary: A monkey lives in a great tree on a river bank, and many crocodiles
are in the river.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 208-211
quote_or_summary: The mother crocodile says, "My son, get one of those Monkeys for
me. I want the heart of a Monkey to eat."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 218-222
quote_or_summary: The young crocodile decides to get the monkey who lives in the
big tree and wants to go across the river to the island with ripe fruit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 226-233
quote_or_summary: The crocodile calls to the monkey to come to the island, and when
the monkey says he cannot swim, the crocodile offers to carry him on his back.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 234-237
quote_or_summary: Because the monkey is greedy for ripe fruit, he jumps onto the
crocodile's back.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 240-247
quote_or_summary: The crocodile dives with the monkey on his back; the monkey goes
underwater, is afraid to let go, and later sputters and chokes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 249-252
quote_or_summary: The crocodile says he will kill the monkey by keeping him underwater
because his mother wants monkey-heart.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 253-262
quote_or_summary: The monkey says that if the crocodile had told him, he could have
brought his heart; he then claims he left it in the tree and asks to return for
it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 264-269
quote_or_summary: The crocodile refuses to go first to the fruit island and instead
takes the monkey straight back to the tree to get his heart.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: lines 271-280
quote_or_summary: 'The monkey jumps to the riverbank, runs up the tree, and calls
down: "My heart is way up here! If you want it, come for it, come for it!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal plot extraction is straightforward. Motif labeling is limited to
available taxonomy references and should be reviewed for fit; no cross-text comparison
is made from this passage alone.
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 and metadata. The passage label includes adjacent or previous table-of-contents wording, but the extracted content is from 'THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILE / PART I' in the supplied lines.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l203-l280
passage_sha256=723222424afdff2fad4428dd61677d1fb4f33be44150e3ad8afc21dc392152fc