Celtic Fairy Tales, Gorla of the Flocks, part 50: Covan feeds the raven, herds the cows through fire and flood, and is sheltered by two friends

Tests: 4 of 12 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 11 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1184 of the books course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗

yo Covan, were ur cows totally wild in that heather or what?

1. yeah, mental — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. nah, not really — score 1
3. totally wild, they just went through the blaze like it was normal — no support
4. dead wild, they just walked thru the fire like it was nothing — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 1, tied with another option at 1 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 94, line 1: «Wild Cow comes next and promises her milk every day for the wonderful grass; she becomes the Giver of Good Food. Then no one else comes, so the Cat walks up by…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «wild cow» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

bro, that raven was mental, right?

1. pretty mad, he asked for cake and then was like "all right mate" — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. proper mental, he begged for cake then turned into a right nosy bloke and followed Covan around the whole moor till dinner — no support
3. proper mental, he wanted a bit of cake and then he was like "hey mate" — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. proper mental, he wanted cake and then said "cheers mate" — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

how gutted was Covan when the rain came?

1. dead gutted, he was soaked to the bone and sure the cows had all wandered off over the hill for good — no support
2. dead gutted, he thought the cows would drown — no support
3. dead gutted, he thought he'd lose the cows — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
4. proper gutted, he sat down in the mud and cried for ages while the whole herd wandered off into the dark — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1184, line 3: «The cows burn through a moor and plunge across a river, and Covan follows them into a strange plain.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «cows» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

did the youth keep shouting at him, like, all day?

1. yeah, a few times, and Covan said "nah, you do it" — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. yeah, twice, and Covan was like "nah, you run them off" — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. yeah, loads, like every hour, and Covan just kept walking and ignored him totally the whole time — no support
4. yeah, all day long, from dawn till dusk, and the youth ended up hoarse and Covan just laughed at him and carried on walking — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

what's the deal with the foal on the bare field, was it chunky?

1. loads chunky, fatter than a pig after a feast — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. dead chunky, like a sack of potatoes with legs — no support
3. nah, skinny — no support
4. super round, like a bag of oats — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

and the boats, one full of happy peeps and one full of creepy black stuff?

1. yeah, bang on, one to Sunland and the other to Night — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. yeah, spot on, one to the Sun isle and one to the dark — no support
3. yeah, bang on, one full of happy youths sailing to Sunland and the other full of grim black shapes heading for Night — no support
4. yeah, spot on, the happy ones were rowing off to the sunny country while the creepy black things drifted slowly toward the cold land of Night across the lake — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

so the Dog of Maol-mor, was he sound or what?

1. totally sound, lamb for dinner and a nap, Covan woke up happy — no support
2. dead sound, mate — ← Mova's choice · score 9
3. pretty sound, had lamb and a sleep, Covan was up early — no support
4. totally sound, lamb for tea and a kip, Covan woke up buzzing — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 2 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 750, line 2: «The little man turns down every name she tries, from Timothy to Bandy-Legs.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «name» (+6); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

did Covan actually nick anything from the magic tree?

1. nah, he brushed the fruit off and kept going — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. yeah, he took one bite and ran off quick — ← Mova's choice · score 0
3. yeah, he pocketed a fruit and ran off with it hidden in his shirt for the whole trip home — no support
4. nah, he just brushed past it and moved on — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1184, line 8: «What does he take? His mother baked "two cakes, one large and one small", and Covan takes the small one.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «covan» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

is the cranny in the rock like a proper cave?

1. nah, it was just a tiny narrow crack in the rock with some scraps of food and damp moss tucked inside — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. nah, just a little crack with food and moss inside — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. nah, just a small crack with some moss inside — no support
4. it's way bigger than that, a huge cave with dry straw beds, a fire pit, and bags of food and tools inside for travellers — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1175, line 18: «Old word: "clefts" are narrow cracks in rocks, which we now call crevices.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «rocks» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); the same thing acted on «narrow cracks» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

so what do the raven and the Dog both say at the end?

1. wish for me — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. come back — no support
3. wish for me and I won't let you down — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. wish for me and I will help you out — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1154, line 4: «The girl shoos the three doves off the axe, and they plot a curse that means she can only say "dirty creatures."», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «curse» (+2); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, why does the raven help him in the end?

1. cos Covan fed him cake, so he's returning the favour — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. cos Covan fed him cake and tended his wing and let him sleep in his hood, so the raven is paying him back in full — score 4
3. cos Covan gave him a bit of cake, so he's paying him back — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. cos Covan gave him a bit of his cake when they first met by the rock, so now the raven is paying him back for the kindness — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 751, line 16: «Why did he turn back to the mill? The storm of rain and wind grew so bad that he "could go no farther".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «turn back» (+2); the same doer «raven» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · right ✓

did Covan still go after the cows the next morning?

1. nah, he stayed put — no support
2. yeah, he rose at sunrise and searched straight away — no support
3. yeah, he got up at dawn and went straight to find them — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
4. yeah, he woke early and hunted them down — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 0, tied with another option at 0 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1184, line 3: «The cows burn through a moor and plunge across a river, and Covan follows them into a strange plain.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «covan» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal act of Covan the Brown-haired upon encountering the raven of the wilderness.

1. He offered a portion of his small cake in charity to the bird. — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He offered a portion of his small cake in charity to the raven and then asked the bird to lead him to the cows he had lost in the wilderness. — score 0
3. He offered a portion of his small cake in charity to the bird, then turned his back and walked on toward the moor without a word. — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. He shared part of his little cake with the raven. — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 778, line 16: «The seven sons go to the spring, all drop their pitchers in the well, and their father wishes them turned into ravens.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «sons» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

State the reason the cows failed to be harmed by the burning moor and the flooding river.

1. The cows were protected by a spell cast by the golden-haired maiden who walked beside them through the fire and the flood. — score 1
2. They obeyed Covan's calm example and were led forward. — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. They followed Covan's steadfast example and were guided onward. — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. They copied Covan's steady lead and were guided on. — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 749, line 7: «Who: the cook put the hay into the cow's rick, and the cow took Tom up "in a mouthful of it".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «cow» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Describe the manner in which Covan responded to the youths who urged him to attend to the cows.

1. He refused to hurry, judging that the youth should act instead. — score 2
2. He declined to hasten, reasoning that the youth ought to act instead. — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. He declined to hasten, reasoning that the youth ought to act instead, and he sat down to rest in the shade of the great oak tree. — score 2
4. He declined to hasten at first, reasoning that the youth ought to act instead, and only later went after the cows when the rain began. — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1184, line 3: «The cows burn through a moor and plunge across a river, and Covan follows them into a strange plain.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «covan» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Explain the nature of the aid offered to Covan by the Dog of Maol-mor on the night of darkness.

1. He offered shelter, a meal of lamb, rest by the fire, and dry clothes, and he promised future help to Covan whenever danger came. — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He offered shelter, a meal of lamb, and rest, and he promised future help, and he also guided Covan safely back to his herd in the morning. — no support
3. He offered shelter, a meal of lamb, and rest, and he promised future help. — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He provided a roof, lamb to eat, and rest, and swore later help. — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1184-pg3027-part50/