batch.motif.buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l624-l671
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg-l624-l671
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
passage_locator:
label: THE STUPID MONKEYS / THE CUNNING WOLF / THE PENNY-WISE MONKEY / THE RED-BUD
TREE; lines 624-671
start: '624'
end: '671'
translation: More Jataka Tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'Four young princes each visit the same Red-Bud Tree at different times
of the year and report different appearances: bare, red-budded, green-leaved,
and pod-covered. The king explains that all saw the same tree at different times.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Four young princes hear about a wonderful tree called the Red-Bud Tree and
each wants to be first to see it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The eldest prince visits the tree early in spring and sees it black and bare,
without leaves or buds.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The second son visits later in spring and sees the tree covered with red buds.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The third son visits later and sees the tree covered with green leaves.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The youngest prince visits still later and sees the tree covered with little
bean-pods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The princes disagree about what the tree looks like based on their separate
visits.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The king tells them they have all seen the same tree at different times of
the year.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: four young princes
description: Four sons who each go to see the Red-Bud Tree at different times.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: eldest prince
description: The prince who sees the tree early in spring when it is black and bare.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: second son
description: The prince who sees the tree later in spring when it has red buds.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: third son
description: The prince who sees the tree when it is covered with green leaves.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: youngest prince
description: The prince who sees the tree when it is covered with little bean-pods.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: king
description: The father who hears the princes' disagreement and explains that each
saw the same tree at a different time of the year.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: driver of the king's chariot
description: The driver who takes the eldest and second princes to the woods where
the tree grows.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: partial observer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Each prince sees the same tree at one seasonal stage and reports that stage
as the tree's appearance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: explaining authority
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The king resolves the disagreement by explaining that all four saw the same
tree at different times of the year.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: guide to the tree
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The driver takes princes to the woods where the Red-Bud Tree grows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Red-Bud Tree
literal_form: tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: seasonal transformations of the tree
literal_form: bare tree, red buds, green leaves, little bean-pods
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Princes seek the Red-Bud Tree
summary: Four young princes hear of the Red-Bud Tree and each wishes to see it first.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Four visits at different times
summary: 'The princes visit the same tree at different points in the year and see
different forms: bare, red-budded, green-leaved, and pod-covered.'
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Dispute and explanation
summary: The princes argue about the tree's appearance, and the king explains that
all saw the same tree at different times of the year.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: partial perspectives on one reality
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Each prince reports a different appearance of the same tree from a single
visit, and the king explains the difference as a matter of timing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a moral lesson through
perception and explanation rather than an explicitly named wisdom motif.
- id: motif:2
label: seasonal transformation of a tree
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: 'The same tree is observed in successive seasonal states: bare, budding,
leafed, and bearing pods.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage treats the seasonal cycle as the basis for a teaching tale;
no ritual or cosmological seasonal cycle is stated.
- id: motif:3
label: instructive resolution by a king
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The king listens to the princes' conflicting claims and resolves them with
an explanation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The king's role is explanatory, but the passage gives only a brief closing
statement and no extended teaching discourse.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 624-629
quote_or_summary: Four young princes hear of a wonderful Red-Bud Tree and each wishes
to be the first to see it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 629-634
quote_or_summary: The eldest prince is taken deep into the woods early in spring;
the tree has no leaves or buds and appears black and bare like a dead tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 635-637
quote_or_summary: The next son visits later in spring and sees the tree covered
with red buds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 638-641
quote_or_summary: The third son later sees the tree covered with green leaves and
sees no reason for the name Red-Bud Tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 642-644
quote_or_summary: The youngest prince later visits and sees the tree covered with
little bean-pods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 645-666
quote_or_summary: 'The princes report conflicting descriptions of the tree: dead-looking
and bare, red-budded, green-leaved, or covered in bean-pods.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 667-671
quote_or_summary: '"My sons, you have all four seen the same tree, but each of you
saw it at a different time of the year."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/more-jataka-tales-babbitt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The literal sequence and figures are explicit. Motif labels are candidate
abstractions based on the passage's structure and available taxonomy, with no
external comparisons 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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata; no comparison claims added because the passage itself does not support a specific cross-text comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-more-jataka-tales-babbitt-gutenberg__l624-l671
passage_sha256=a152bb2ae830e52131b9eb6d45470114fe64c2ddd742f7326a2266439be4bcd2