Japanese Fairy Tales, The Mirror, part 21: a dying mother gives her daughter a mirror, and a stepmother accuses the girl

Tests: 5 of 13 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 13 of 17 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1361 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 ✗

Oi, what did the dying mum hand over to her girl?

1. a mirror in a wooden box, like, with a silk cord on it — no support
2. a mirror in a wooden box — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. a mirror in a wooden box and a letter, innit, for her girl — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. a gold necklace, lol — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1361, line 9: «Why: the mother says that "whenever I long to see her she will meet me here," so the girl gazes into the mirror every morning and evening.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). Against it: the same doer «girl» (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Be honest, how long did the dad wait before getting remarried?

1. around three years — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. a whole year, maybe more, till the relatives sorted it out — no support
3. about two years — no support
4. a whole year — ✓ the right answer · 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 ✓

Proper gutted, right, was the girl sad all the time?

1. yeah, she felt dead lonely and kept crying in her room every single night — score 5
2. yeah, she felt dead lonely — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. yeah, she felt dead lonely after her mum went, and nobody at home cared — score 5
4. yeah, she was dead cheerful — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1360, line 11: «The mother keeps busy, and she finds "consolation in work during the lonely days" of her husband's absence.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «find» (+3); the same doer «girl» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

Wait, what did the stepmum reckon the girl was doing?

1. cursing her with a doll thing — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. cursing her with a doll thing and a load of pins from the market — score 4
3. making a doll of her face — score 3
4. cursing her with a doll thing she hid under the bed every night — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. 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 1171, line 3: «The fairies flatter her until she shrinks back to size, and then she curses the girl: no daylight before fifteen.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «princess» (+2); the same thing acted on «girl» (+1); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

Innit mad, where did the dad get the mirror from?

1. from the capital — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. from some bloke in town — no support
3. from the capital city, where he went on his trip to the sea — score 3
4. from a trader down the road — no support

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1361, line 7: «What: the mother gives the girl "the mirror that her husband had given her years ago," which the father once brought "from the capital."», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same place «capital» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the girl see her mum young in the mirror, yeah?

1. yeah, young and gorgeous — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. nah, she looked old — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. yeah, young and dead pretty — no support
4. yeah, young and gorgeous, like proper stunning, with her hair all done up — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1361, line 3: «After the mother dies, the lonely girl looks into the mirror and sees her mother young and smiling again.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «look» (+3); the same doer «lonely girl» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

What's the stepmum's big move at the end?

1. she wants to go home — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. she wants out — no support
3. she wants money — score 3
4. she wants to see her mum — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 733, line 5: «His wife Ilsabill keeps sending him back to the fish for something better, from a cottage to a stone castle, and at the end she wants to be king.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «want» (+2); the same doer «wife» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the dad reckon his girl was a witch?

1. yeah, a witch — no support
2. nah, no way, she's too good — ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. nah, she's cursed — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. nah, he thought she was dodgy — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 3, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1171, line 3: «The fairies flatter her until she shrinks back to size, and then she curses the girl: no daylight before fifteen.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «curse» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Lol, how did the mum say she'd talk to the girl after?

1. by letter — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. through the mirror, like a face — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. in her sleep, like a dream vision — no support
4. by speaking from her grave — 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 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

What did the girl do every morning with the mirror?

1. cleaned it up nice and slow — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. had a good look at it and talked to her mum's face — score 3
3. had a good look at it — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. took a quick peek at it — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1360, line 15: «The wife has never seen a mirror before, and she asks, "What is it that you have given me?"», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «wife» (+2); the same thing acted on «mirror» (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the stepmum nice at the start, mate?

1. nah, she was mean — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. yeah, her first smiles were nice — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. yeah, she was alright at first — no support
4. nah, she was cold — 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 12 · ★ · right ✓

Why did the girl stop crying so much?

1. the mirror cheered her up after her mum died and her dad was so sad — score 0
2. the mirror cheered her up so much that she stopped crying at night — score 0
3. the mirror cheered her up — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
4. she found a new friend — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 1015, line 1: «The gingerbread girl has been eaten by a naughty boy, and then the other children eat the gingerbread lover too.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

Wasn't the mum ill for ages before she died?

1. yeah, she was pale and sick — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. yeah, she was thin and wasted — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. nah, she was fine — no support
4. nah, she was tired and wan — 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which object did the dying mother bequeath to her daughter as a memorial of herself?

1. a mirror — ← Mova's choice · score -4
2. a silver brooch kept in a small chest — no support
3. a mirror kept in a square wooden box — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. a box — score -5

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -4, against -5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1089, line 14: «The Ogre is fooled by the crowns and bonnets, so he kills his own daughters thinking they are the boys.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. Against it: the same circumstance (-1); it fills the role the question asks for (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

By what means did the stepmother attempt to procure the girl's removal from the household?

1. by alleging that the girl was cursing her, and by threatening to leave the household — score 3
2. by alleging that the girl was cursing her — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. by asking the father to send her off — score 0
4. by alleging that the girl was cursing her and that the mirror was evil — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1361, line 5: «The stepmother peeks into the girl's room, thinks she is cursing her with a magic image, and asks her husband to let her leave.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «stepmother» (+4). Against it: the same doer «girl» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What reason did the father give for finding the stepmother's accusation impossible to accept?

1. he could not credit that his daughter had acquired such knowledge — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. he could not credit that his daughter had acquired such knowledge from any living teacher in the land — score 2
3. he thought his wife was simply jealous and tired — score 3
4. he could not credit that his daughter had acquired such knowledge, since she had never left the house — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1092, line 9: «Why she hides: her godmother told her to wrap herself "in this skin" and leave the palace, so her father could not win her.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: its «because» matches the remembered cause (+3); the same action «win» (+2); the same doer «father» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

What was the principal effect of the mirror upon the daughter's emotional condition?

1. it lightened the weight of her sorrow and gave her hope for her future life — no support
2. it lightened the weight of her sorrow, so she slept better through every long night — no support
3. it lightened the weight of her sorrow — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. it made her grief a little smaller — ← Mova's choice · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1154, line 13: «The witch has a "magic mirror" that lets her see the princess in her gardens, wearing "a dress of green silk."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «magic mirror» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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