batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l540-l606
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l540-l606
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: HOW THE TURTLE SAVED HIS OWN LIFE / THE MERCHANT OF SERI / THE TURTLE WHO
COULDN'T STOP TALKING / THE OX WHO WON THE FORFEIT; lines 540-606
start: '540'
end: '606'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A proud owner wagers that his strong ox can pull one hundred carts. When
the owner whips and insults the ox, the ox refuses to move and the owner loses
his forfeit. The ox later speaks, explaining that he had never before been treated
harshly. The owner apologizes. The next day he feeds, garlands, praises, and gently
touches the ox, who successfully pulls the carts, restoring the owner’s loss and
honor.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A man owns a very strong ox and boasts about the ox’s strength.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The owner wagers a forfeit of one thousand pieces of silver that the ox can
draw a line of one hundred wagons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The ox is yoked to the first wagon while a crowd gathers to watch.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The owner whips the ox and calls him insulting names; the ox stands still
despite blows and hard names.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: After losing the forfeit, the owner goes home sadly and wonders why the ox
shamed him before the people.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: That night the ox speaks to the owner and asks why he was whipped and called
hard names.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The owner apologizes and promises not to treat the ox badly again.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The ox promises to return to the village and draw the one hundred carts, saying
the owner had usually been kind.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The next morning the owner feeds the ox well and hangs a garland of flowers
around his neck.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The owner wagers two thousand pieces of silver and addresses the ox with praise
while patting and stroking him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The ox pulls the carts until the last cart reaches the place where the first
had been.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The crowd praises the ox’s strength and repays the lost forfeit; the ox and
man return home happy.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: the ox’s owner
description: A man who owns a very strong ox, boasts of the ox’s strength, wagers
silver, first treats the ox harshly, then apologizes and treats him kindly.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the strong ox
description: A very strong ox who refuses to move when whipped and insulted, speaks
to his owner, and later pulls one hundred carts after being treated kindly.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: village men and crowd
description: Men in the village who accept the owner’s wager, watch the test, mock
him on the second day, and finally praise the ox and repay the forfeit.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: boastful owner and wager-maker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The man boasts of the ox’s strength and offers a silver forfeit if the ox
cannot draw the wagons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: powerful working animal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The ox is described as very strong and is expected to pull one hundred wagons
or carts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: repentant master
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After the ox explains the wrong, the owner apologizes and promises not to
treat him badly again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: speaking moral agent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The ox directly questions the owner about the whipping and insults, then
agrees to help after the apology.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: public witnesses to the wager
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The village men and gathered crowd watch the trial, mock the owner, and later
acknowledge the ox’s strength.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: one hundred carts
literal_form: A line of one hundred wagons or carts yoked to the ox as a test of
strength.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: sym:2
label: silver forfeit
literal_form: A wager of one thousand pieces of silver, later raised to two thousand
pieces of silver.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: sym:3
label: whip and hard names
literal_form: The owner’s blows and insulting address to the ox.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: garland of flowers
literal_form: A garland hung about the ox’s neck before the successful second trial.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: praise and gentle touch
literal_form: The owner calls the ox good and fine, pats his neck, and strokes his
sides.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Boast and first wager
summary: The owner boasts of his ox’s strength and offers a thousand pieces of silver
if the ox cannot pull one hundred wagons.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Harsh command and refusal
summary: Before the crowd, the owner whips and insults the yoked ox; the ox refuses
to move, and the owner loses the forfeit.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Night conversation and apology
summary: At feeding time the ox speaks, asking why he was treated harshly; the owner
apologizes and promises better treatment, and the ox promises to pull the carts
the next day.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Honored ox and successful trial
summary: The owner feeds and garlands the ox, speaks kindly, and makes a larger
wager; the ox pulls the hundred carts successfully, and the crowd praises him
and repays the lost forfeit.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Kind speech and respectful treatment enable cooperation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The ox refuses to work when beaten and insulted, explains the cause, and
later succeeds after apology, feeding, garlanding, praise, and gentle handling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a practical moral
pattern rather than a formal doctrinal exposition.
- id: motif:2
label: Speaking animal corrects human conduct
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The ox speaks to the owner, identifies the owner’s harsh treatment as the
problem, and agrees to help after the owner repents.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explicitly label the ox as supernatural; the extraction
only records the narrative fact that the animal speaks.
- id: motif:3
label: Public test of strength after failed first attempt
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A first public trial fails after harsh treatment; a second public trial succeeds
after the owner changes his treatment of the ox.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a narrative pattern within the passage and is not tied to an available
named taxonomy family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 540-551
quote_or_summary: The tale introduces a man with a very strong ox; the owner boasts
and wagers one thousand pieces of silver that the ox can draw one hundred wagons.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 552-556
quote_or_summary: The ox is brought into the village, a crowd gathers, one hundred
carts are placed in line, and the ox is yoked to the first wagon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 557-562
quote_or_summary: The owner says, “Get up, you wretch! Get along, you rascal!”;
the ox stands still, and neither blows nor hard names make him move.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 563-568
quote_or_summary: After paying the forfeit, the owner goes home sadly and asks why
the ox shamed him, since the ox had often moved heavier loads.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 569-574
quote_or_summary: At feeding time, the ox asks why he was whipped and called “wretch”
and “rascal,” saying this had never happened before.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with short quoted words.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 575-578
quote_or_summary: The man says he will never treat the ox badly again, apologizes
for the whipping and name-calling, and asks forgiveness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 579-583
quote_or_summary: The ox accepts and says that the next day he will draw the one
hundred carts, noting that the man had always been a kind master until that day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 584-586
quote_or_summary: The next morning the owner feeds the ox well and hangs a garland
of flowers about his neck before returning to the village.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 587-596
quote_or_summary: The village men mock the owner; he raises the forfeit to two thousand
pieces of silver, then praises the ox and pats and strokes him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 597-599
quote_or_summary: The ox pulls with all his strength, moving the carts until the
last cart stands where the first had been.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 600-604
quote_or_summary: The crowd shouts, calls the ox the strongest they have seen, repays
the lost forfeit, and the ox and man return home happy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are straightforward
but broad; no passage-internal comparative claims were made.
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 available symbol taxonomy item clearly applies to this passage; literal symbol entries therefore have empty taxonomy references.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l540-l606
passage_sha256=c7e6a3949ee2afc1ace5af216dda416aba638fe72cc14ee55931edd3991dc68e