batch.motif.buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l264-l305
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l264-l305
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: XX BEAUTY AND BROWNIE / XXI THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOG / THE GIRL MONKEY AND
THE STRING OF PEARLS / THE THREE FISHES; lines 264-305
start: '264'
end: '305'
translation: More Jataka Tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Three named fishes leave a remote river country for waters near a town.
Very-Thoughtful warns that fishermen and nets make the place dangerous, but the
other two delay returning. When Thoughtful and Thoughtless enter a fisherman's
net, Very-Thoughtful imitates escaping fish on both sides of the net, causing
the fisherman to loosen it. The trapped fishes escape, thank him for saving their
lives, and all three return to their old home, where they live safely.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Three fishes named Thoughtful, Very-Thoughtful, and Thoughtless live in a
far-away river.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The fishes leave a wild country without men and move downriver to live near
a town.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Very-Thoughtful warns the other fishes that fishermen catch fish there with
nets and lines and urges them to return to the wild country.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The other two fishes delay leaving because they are described as lazy and
greedy.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Thoughtful and Thoughtless swim ahead, fail to see the fisherman's net, and
rush into it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Very-Thoughtful says he must save the two trapped fishes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Very-Thoughtful splashes first in front of the net and then behind it, like
fish that had broken through and gone upriver and downriver.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The fisherman believes the fishes have broken through the net and pulls the
net in by one corner, allowing the two fishes to escape.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The rescued fishes thank Very-Thoughtful and agree to return to the wild country.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: All three fishes return to their old home and live safely there.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Very-Thoughtful
description: One of the three fishes; he warns of danger, notices the others trapped,
and acts to save them.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Thoughtful
description: One of the three fishes; he delays returning and is trapped in the
fisherman's net before escaping.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Thoughtless
description: One of the three fishes; he delays returning and is trapped in the
fisherman's net before escaping.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Fisherman
description: A human with a net who believes the splashing means the fish have broken
through and pulls in the net by one corner.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: danger-warner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Very-Thoughtful explicitly warns that fishermen, nets, and lines make the
town waters dangerous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: clever rescuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Very-Thoughtful creates misleading splashing around the net, causing the
fisherman to release the trapped fishes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: trapped companions
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Thoughtful and Thoughtless swim into the fisherman's net and are released
through Very-Thoughtful's action.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: human catcher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage describes fishermen catching fish with nets and the fisherman
drawing in the net.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: river water
literal_form: far-away river; water near a town; splashing water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: fisherman's net
literal_form: net used to catch fish
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: wild country
literal_form: wild country where no men lived; old home
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: town waters
literal_form: river near a town where fishermen come
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Leaving the wild river country
summary: The three fishes leave a remote, manless wild country and move downriver
to live near a town.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Warning ignored
summary: Very-Thoughtful warns that fishermen use nets and lines near the town and
advises returning, but the other two fishes keep delaying.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Net entrapment
summary: Thoughtful and Thoughtless swim ahead of Very-Thoughtful and enter the
fisherman's net without seeing it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Rescue by misleading splashing
summary: Very-Thoughtful splashes on both sides of the net as if fish have broken
through; the fisherman misreads the splashing and loosens the net, freeing the
trapped fishes.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Return to safety
summary: The rescued fishes thank Very-Thoughtful, agree to go back, and all three
return to their old home where they live safely.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: prudent warning against danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Very-Thoughtful recognizes danger from fishermen and urges a return to safer
waters before the danger occurs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage frames practical foresight
rather than doctrinal wisdom.
- id: motif:2
label: clever rescue of trapped companions
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Very-Thoughtful devises an action that deceives the fisherman and frees the
two fishes from the net.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The rescue involves deception, but the passage does not explicitly identify
a trickster figure.
- id: motif:3
label: return from dangerous place to safe home
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: After the trap and rescue, all three fishes go back to their old home and
live safely.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The return is a simple narrative outcome, not necessarily a ritual or
heroic return.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 264-272
quote_or_summary: Three fishes named Thoughtful, Very-Thoughtful, and Thoughtless
live in a far-away river, then leave the wild country where no men live and move
downriver near a town.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 273-277
quote_or_summary: Very-Thoughtful says there is danger because fishermen come to
catch fish with nets and lines, and urges the others to go back to the wild country.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short passage summarized with minimal quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 278-280
quote_or_summary: The other two fishes are described as lazy and greedy and keep
putting off their departure.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 281-284
quote_or_summary: Thoughtful and Thoughtless swim ahead of Very-Thoughtful, do not
see the fisherman's net, and rush into it; Very-Thoughtful sees this happen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: line 285
quote_or_summary: "“I must save them,” said Very-Thoughtful."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 287-291
quote_or_summary: Very-Thoughtful swims around the net and splashes first in front
and then behind it, imitating fish that have broken through and gone upriver and
downriver.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 292-296
quote_or_summary: The fisherman thinks the fish have broken through the net, one
going upriver and one downriver, so he pulls in the net by one corner and lets
the two fishes out.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 298-300
quote_or_summary: The rescued fishes say that Very-Thoughtful saved their lives
and that they are now willing to go back to the wild country.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with brief quotation context.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 302-303
quote_or_summary: All three fishes return to their old home and live safely ever
after.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif labels are
descriptive and limited to broad available taxonomy references. No comparison
claims are made because the passage itself does not provide comparative evidence.
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: |-
JSON extraction uses only the provided passage and metadata; no external Jataka parallels or tale-type comparisons are asserted.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l264-l305
passage_sha256=787f517ffa1fc974e2e6be9526310f7ad96dff091f888248eb756f518e53ac9f