batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l763-l845
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l763-l845
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE OX WHO WON THE FORFEIT / THE SANDY ROAD / THE QUARREL OF THE QUAILS /
THE MEASURE OF RICE; lines 763-845
start: '763'
end: '845'
translation: Jataka tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A dishonest king dismisses an honest court valuer and appoints a foolish
miserly peasant as valuer. The new valuer prices five hundred horses at one measure
of rice. The horse-dealer consults the honest former valuer, who advises him to
ask publicly what that measure of rice is worth. After receiving a present, the
foolish valuer tells the king that the measure of rice is worth the whole city.
The ministers laugh, the king is ashamed, and the foolish valuer is driven out.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The king is described as dishonest and as dissatisfied with an honest and
just Valuer.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The king appoints a stupid, miserly peasant as Valuer and sends away the honest
Valuer.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The new Valuer sets prices without knowing the value of the goods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A horse-dealer brings five hundred horses to the king's court.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The new Valuer declares the five hundred horses to be worth one measure of
rice, and the king orders the exchange on that basis.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The horse-dealer consults the honest former Valuer after losing the horses
for a measure of rice.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The honest former Valuer advises the horse-dealer to give the new Valuer a
present and ask him publicly to value the measure of rice.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: After taking the present, the new Valuer agrees to tell the king what a measure
of rice is worth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: In front of the king and ministers, the new Valuer repeats that five hundred
horses are worth a measure of rice.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The new Valuer then says that the measure of rice is worth the king's whole
city.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The ministers laugh and call the Valuer foolish.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The king is ashamed and drives out the foolish Valuer.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: dishonest king
description: A king who wants a less honest Valuer so that he might gain more riches.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: honest former Valuer
description: The original court Valuer, described as honest and just; he later advises
the horse-dealer.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: foolish peasant Valuer
description: A stupid, miserly peasant appointed as Valuer; he sets arbitrary prices
and later values a measure of rice as the whole city.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: horse-dealer
description: A dealer who brings five hundred horses to the king's court and seeks
advice after they are priced at a measure of rice.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: ministers
description: The king's ministers are present when the foolish Valuer publicly gives
the absurd valuation, and they laugh.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: corrupt ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king dislikes the honest Valuer because honesty prevents him from gaining
more riches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: honest official
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The original Valuer is explicitly described as honest and just.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: wise adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He gives the horse-dealer a plan that exposes the foolish Valuer before the
court.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:4
label: unfit official
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He does not know values, says anything he chooses, and is publicly mocked
as foolish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: role:5
label: bribe-taking official
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He accepts the horse-dealer's present and agrees to say what is wanted before
the king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: wronged merchant
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: His five hundred horses are taken into the palace stables for only a measure
of rice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: public witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They are present when the Valuer gives his answer and respond with laughter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: measure of rice
literal_form: A measure of rice used as the supposed value of five hundred horses,
then valued as the whole city.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: five hundred horses
literal_form: Five hundred horses brought by the horse-dealer to the king's court.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: whole city
literal_form: The king's whole city, named by the foolish Valuer as the value of
one measure of rice.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: present to the Valuer
literal_form: A fine present given by the horse-dealer to the new Valuer before
the public valuation.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Replacement of the honest Valuer
summary: The king removes the honest Valuer and appoints a foolish peasant because
he hopes to gain more riches through a different official.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Undervaluation of the horses
summary: The horse-dealer brings five hundred horses, and the new Valuer prices
them at one measure of rice; the king has the horses put in the palace stables.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Advice from the former Valuer
summary: The horse-dealer tells the former Valuer what happened, and the former
Valuer advises him to induce the new Valuer to state publicly what the measure
of rice is worth.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Public exposure before the court
summary: Before the king and ministers, the foolish Valuer says five hundred horses
are worth a measure of rice and that the measure of rice is worth the whole city.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Laughter and expulsion
summary: The ministers laugh at the foolish valuation, the king becomes ashamed,
and the foolish Valuer is driven out.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wise counsel exposes foolish judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The honest former Valuer devises a public test that reveals the absurdity
of the foolish Valuer's pricing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a practical wisdom episode rather than an explicitly
supernatural or ritual wisdom motif.
- id: motif:2
label: corrupt appointment leads to public humiliation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The king replaces an honest official with an unfit one for gain, and the
resulting absurd public valuation brings shame and expulsion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a narrative pattern inferred from the tale sequence, not a supplied
taxonomy family.
- id: motif:3
label: absurd valuation as moral exposure
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The equivalence between five hundred horses, a measure of rice, and the whole
city exposes the Valuer's incompetence and the king's poor choice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The symbolic function of the valuations is interpretive; the literal passage
only reports the valuations and reactions.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The tale can be cautiously compared to a wisdom-tale pattern in which a clever
question or public test reveals folly in authority.
claim_level: same_function
target: wisdom motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage does not itself compare this tale to other traditions or
give a taxonomy label; the comparison is functional and limited to the available
motif family 'wisdom'.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 765-775
quote_or_summary: The king has an honest and just Valuer but dislikes him because
his honesty prevents the king from gaining more riches.
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 777-782
quote_or_summary: The king sees a stupid, miserly peasant, appoints him Valuer,
and sends the honest Valuer away from the palace.
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 784-787
quote_or_summary: The peasant Valuer begins setting prices on animals, gold, and
jewels, but does not know their value and says whatever he chooses.
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 789-793
quote_or_summary: A horse-dealer brings five hundred horses; the Valuer says they
are worth a mere measure of rice, and the king orders that payment and the stabling
of the horses.
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 795-799
quote_or_summary: The horse-dealer goes to the honest former Valuer, tells him what
happened, and asks what he should do.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 801-807
quote_or_summary: The former Valuer advises the horse-dealer to give the Valuer
a fine present and ask him to state before the king what a measure of rice is
worth.
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 809-815
quote_or_summary: The horse-dealer gives the Valuer a fine present; the Valuer says
he can go before the king and value the measure of rice.
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 817-824
quote_or_summary: The horse-dealer and Valuer go before the king and ministers;
the horse-dealer asks the king to ask the Valuer the value of the measure of rice.
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 826-834
quote_or_summary: The Valuer says five hundred horses are worth a measure of rice
and then says the measure of rice is worth the king's whole city.
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 836-839
quote_or_summary: The ministers clap their hands, laugh, call the Valuer foolish,
and say the city had been thought beyond price but he equates it with a measure
of rice.
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 841-844
quote_or_summary: The king is ashamed and drives out the foolish Valuer, who says
he tried to please the king by setting a low price on the horses.
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: medium
notes: The literal episode is clear. Motif labeling is limited to practical wisdom
and public exposure patterns supported by the passage; no supernatural or cosmological
motifs are present.
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 refs apply directly to the literal objects in this passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l763-l845
passage_sha256=608cf0a157df35ccec2485aba6217a719e988aea9bfd5f150b2e1277b0999b8f