batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l700-l761
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l700-l761
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE TURTLE WHO COULDN'T STOP TALKING / THE OX WHO WON THE FORFEIT / THE SANDY
ROAD / THE QUARREL OF THE QUAILS; lines 700-761
start: '700'
end: '761'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Many quails live in a forest under a wise leader. A fowler learns to imitate
the leader's call, gathers the quails, nets them, and sells them. The leader devises
a plan for the trapped birds to lift the net together, carry it to a thorn-bush,
and escape. This works repeatedly until a quarrel divides the quails; when the
fowler nets them again, they refuse to cooperate, and he captures and sells them
all.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Many quails live together in a forest, and the wisest quail is their leader.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A fowler lives near the forest, catches quails, and sells them for a living.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The fowler learns the leader's call, uses it to gather the quails, throws
a net over them, and takes caught quails to town to sell.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The wise leader tells the quails to put their heads through the net holes,
fly together to a thorn-bush, leave the net there, and free themselves.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The quails follow the leader's plan and carry the net to a thorn-bush, leaving
it there.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The fowler states that the quails are working together and that he will catch
them when they begin to quarrel.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: One quail accidentally steps on another quail's head, and the second quail
responds angrily.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The quarrel spreads until the quails take sides.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: When the fowler nets the divided quails, each side tells the other to lift
the net, and neither side begins.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: While the quails are quarreling, the fowler catches them all in his net, takes
them to town, and sells them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: quails
description: A group of many quails living together in a forest.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: wise leader of the quails
description: The wisest of the quails and their leader; he identifies the fowler's
method and gives the birds an escape plan.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: fowler
description: A man near the forest who catches quails with a net and sells them
in town.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: fowler's wife
description: The fowler's wife is angry because he brings home no money during the
period when the quails escape.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: first quail in the quarrel
description: A quail who accidentally treads on another quail's head and says he
did not mean to do it.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: second quail in the quarrel
description: A quail whose head is trodden on and who responds angrily with mean
words.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wise leader and strategist
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He is described as the wisest quail and gives the group a plan to escape
the net.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: hunter-captor and seller
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He catches quails with a net and sells them in town.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: role:3
label: cooperating captives
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The quails together lift and carry away the net when they follow the leader's
plan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: divided captives
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The quails take sides in a quarrel and fail to lift the net together.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:5
label: complaining household figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: She is angry because the fowler has not brought home money.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: quarrel initiators
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Their accidental contact and angry exchange begin the quarrel that spreads
to the group.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: net
literal_form: fowler's net used to trap quails
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:2
label: thorn-bush
literal_form: nearest thorn-bush on which the quails leave the net
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: leader's call
literal_form: the note or call that gathers the quails
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: forest
literal_form: forest where the quails live and near which the fowler lives
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Forest community of quails
summary: Many quails live together in a forest under the leadership of the wisest
quail.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Fowler learns the call and catches quails
summary: The fowler learns to imitate the leader's call, gathers the quails, nets
them, and sells them in town.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Leader's cooperative escape plan
summary: The wise leader tells the quails how to use coordinated flight to carry
the net to a thorn-bush and escape.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Successful collective escape
summary: The quails lift the fowler's net together, fly with it to a thorn-bush,
leave it there, and return to their leader.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Fowler anticipates discord
summary: After repeated failures, the fowler tells his wife that the quails are
working together and that he can catch them once they quarrel.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Accidental insult and spreading quarrel
summary: One quail accidentally steps on another's head; anger follows, and the
quarrel spreads until the quails take sides.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Failure to lift the net and final capture
summary: The divided quails refuse to begin lifting the net; while they quarrel,
the fowler captures them all and sells them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wise leader devises communal survival strategy
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wisest quail recognizes the fowler's method and instructs the group in
a successful escape plan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents practical wisdom
rather than a doctrinal exposition.
- id: motif:2
label: unity enables escape from captivity
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: When the quails act together, they lift the net and escape from the fowler.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family specifically names collective action or unity.
- id: motif:3
label: discord causes collective downfall
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: After the quails quarrel and divide into sides, they fail to cooperate and
are caught by the fowler.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The wisdom classification is inferential but directly supported by the
story's contrast between cooperative success and quarrelsome failure.
- id: motif:4
label: predator exploits division among prey
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fowler explicitly expects to catch the quails when they quarrel, and
succeeds after their dispute prevents them from lifting the net.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative pattern in the passage, not mapped to a supplied motif
family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 700-704
quote_or_summary: Many quails live together in a forest, and the wisest quail is
their leader.
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 705-711
quote_or_summary: A man near the forest earns his living catching and selling quails;
after listening to the leader's note, he can call the quails together, and they
think the leader has called.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 712-715
quote_or_summary: When the quails are crowded together, the fowler throws his net
over them and takes them to town to sell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 716-726
quote_or_summary: The wise leader tells the birds that the fowler is carrying many
away and instructs them to put their heads through the holes of the net, fly together
to a thorn-bush, leave the net there, and be free.
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 729-735
quote_or_summary: The fowler throws the net over the quails; they lift it, fly to
a thorn-bush, leave it there, and return to tell their leader the plan worked.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 737-746
quote_or_summary: The fowler says, "The fact is those quails are working together
now... As soon as the quails begin to quarrel I shall be able to catch them."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 748-752
quote_or_summary: One quail accidentally steps on another's head; the second asks
angrily who did it, the first apologizes, and the second remains angry and says
mean things.
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 754-755
quote_or_summary: All the quails take sides in the quarrel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: lines 755-760
quote_or_summary: When the fowler nets them, one side says, "Now, you lift the net,"
and the other replies, "Lift it yourself"; neither side begins.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 761
quote_or_summary: While the quails quarrel, the fowler catches them all in his net,
takes them to town, and sells them for a good price.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied public-domain passage. Motif candidates
are limited to patterns directly present in the narrative; no external comparisons
are asserted.
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 explicitly support a comparison to another named tradition, text, or motif family beyond broad candidate motif classification.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l700-l761
passage_sha256=3208bee39083e87f74d66d5273f619d4f49cb5b70e564aef3465accd6b61f266