batch.motif.buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l505-l550
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l505-l550
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE TRICKY WOLF AND THE RATS / THE WOODPECKER, TURTLE, AND DEER / THE GOLDEN
GOOSE / THE STUPID MONKEYS; lines 505-550
start: '505'
end: '550'
translation: More Jataka Tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A gardener wants to join a city holiday and asks the monkeys in the king's
garden to water the young trees. The chief agrees. When the monkeys do not know
how to judge the right amount of water, the chief tells them to pull up each tree
and inspect its roots. The monkeys uproot all the young trees, and the trees are
dead when the gardener returns.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A king gives a holiday to the people in one of his cities.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The gardener wants to go to the city for the holiday and asks the monkeys
in the king's garden to water the young trees for him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The chief of the monkeys agrees that the monkeys will water the young trees.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The gardener instructs the monkeys to give the trees plenty of water but not
too much, shows them the watering-pots, and leaves.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: At sunset the monkeys take the watering-pots and begin watering the young
trees.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: When asked how to know whether each tree has enough water, the chief tells
the monkeys to pull up each young tree and judge by the length of its roots.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The monkeys pull up all the young trees to inspect their roots.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: When the gardener returns the next day, all the young trees are dead.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: king
description: Ruler who gives a holiday to the people in one of his cities.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: gardener
description: Worker responsible for watering the young trees in the king's garden.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Chief of the Monkeys
description: Leader of the monkeys living in the king's garden; agrees to water
the trees and gives the root-inspection instruction.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: tribe of Monkeys
description: Monkeys living in the king's garden who water and uproot the young
trees.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: holiday-granting ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king initiates the setting by giving a holiday to the people in the city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: delegating caretaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The gardener is responsible for the young trees but delegates the watering
to the monkeys so he can attend the holiday.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: misguided animal leader
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The chief gives the instruction to pull up each young tree and judge water
by root length.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: obedient but destructive helpers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The monkeys accept the task and carry out the chief's method, resulting in
the trees' death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: young trees
literal_form: young trees in the king's garden
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: water
literal_form: water for the young trees
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: watering-pots
literal_form: watering-pots shown by the gardener and used by the monkeys
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: roots
literal_form: long and short roots of the young trees
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Gardener delegates the watering
summary: During a city holiday, the gardener asks the monkeys in the king's garden
to water the young trees so he can leave, and the chief agrees.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Monkeys follow the chief's root test
summary: At sunset the monkeys begin watering. Unable to know how much water is
enough, they follow the chief's order to pull up each tree and inspect its roots.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: Dead young trees
summary: The gardener returns the next day and finds that the young trees have died.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Foolish helpers destroy what they are asked to preserve
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monkeys accept a caretaking task but use a destructive method, uprooting
the young trees they are supposed to water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a specific 'foolish helper' or
'folly' category; the 'wisdom' reference is used as a negative wisdom-exemplum
pattern.
- id: motif:2
label: Misguided literal test leads to ruin
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The chief proposes judging water needs by physically pulling up the trees
to inspect root length, and this procedure kills the trees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an interpretive motif label derived from the passage sequence
rather than an explicit comparison in the text.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 505-520
quote_or_summary: A king gives a city holiday; the gardener wants to attend and
decides to ask the monkeys living in the king's garden to water the young trees.
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 521-524
quote_or_summary: '"Oh, yes!" said the Chief of the Monkeys. "We shall be glad to
do that."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 526-529
quote_or_summary: The gardener tells the monkeys to water the trees at sunset, giving
plenty of water but not too much; he shows them the watering-pots and leaves.
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 531-533
quote_or_summary: At sunset the monkeys take the watering-pots and begin watering;
the chief tells them to make sure each tree has enough water.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 535-540
quote_or_summary: When the monkeys ask how to know each tree has enough water, the
chief says to pull up each young tree, look at root length, and water long-rooted
trees more than short-rooted ones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 542-544
quote_or_summary: The monkeys pull up all the young trees to see which roots are
long and which are short.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 546-547
quote_or_summary: '"When the gardener came back the next day, the poor young trees
were all dead."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal sequence and figures are clear. Motif labeling is somewhat constrained
by the available taxonomy, which lacks a precise folly/foolish-helper category.
No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does not support an explicit
comparison.
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: |-
Only the provided passage and metadata were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l505-l550
passage_sha256=18efc7d8754120d4799d84c7d5d048d36aebea8b83d38911bd40b72bc03930a5