Popular Tales from the Norse, The Mill, part 33: a skipper buys the magic mill for salt

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 12 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1446 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, where'd the ham guy go first?

1. To the rich man's farm — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. To the old church on the hill where he prayed — no support
3. To the inn by the road — no support
4. To Dead Man's Hall — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · right ✓

lol who was chopping logs in the shed?

1. A stranger who came in from the snow carrying a sack of grain — no support
2. An old dude with a white beard — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. An old lady with grey hair singing a song in the yard by the gate — no support
4. A tall man with a grey coat — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 1446, line 7: «Where: at the old man's outhouse, where a wood-cutter is "chopping Yule logs" near the road to Dead Man's Hall.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «chop» (+2); the same thing acted on «yule logs» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

ngl, what did the mill make first on Christmas?

1. Gold, then a candle — no support
2. Light, then a table-cloth — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Salt, then a loaf of bread — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. Light — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1446, line 4: «A skipper hears the mill can make salt, begs for it, and pays many thousands of dollars.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+2); a different doer (counts against) (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «salt» (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, how much did the rich bro pay?

1. Two hundred dollars — ← Mova's choice · score -2
2. Three hundred dollars — ✓ the right answer · score -2
3. Four hundred pounds — no support
4. Ten dollars — score -2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 1446, line 12: «The rich brother paid "three hundred dollars" for the mill, but the poor brother kept it "till the haymaking was over."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: a different doer (counts against) (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «hundred dollars» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-4). The right option, 2, scored -2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

bruh, why couldn't the rich bro stop the mill?

1. He was tired — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He didn't know the secret — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He never learned the trade — no support
4. He lost it — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

so the mill flooded the whole kitchen with what?

1. Salt and fresh oat cakes — score 5
2. Gold coins — score 5
3. Herrings, milk pottage, and a whole barrel of salt from the sea — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. Herrings and milk pottage — ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 3 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1446, line 14: «The mill flooded the house with "herrings and milk pottage," and the rich brother cried out for the mowers to be careful.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mill» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same action «flood» (+1); the same thing acted on «house» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

what did the poor bro cover his house with?

1. Plates of gold — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. Thick plates of gold and silver from the rich brother's cellar — score 3
3. Heavy plates of pure gold nailed to every wall and beam of the roof — no support
4. Sheets of silver — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). 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 650, line 16: «Old word: "plowed" means dug up and turned over with a plough, and today we usually write it "ploughed."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «plow» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

where was the gold house?

1. On the hill top — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. By the sea-shore — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. On a rocky sea-shore far from the village and the old mill — score 6
4. Near the river bank — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1101, line 8: «Where: the poor brother walks to the rich brother's hut, and "the rich brother's" house is where the quarrel happens.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «house» (+5); the same property (+1). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

why did the skipper want the mill?

1. To grind salt for his crew so that they would never sail again — no support
2. To make salt, no sailing — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. To catch more fish at sea — no support
4. To grind gold for trade — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1446, line 4: «A skipper hears the mill can make salt, begs for it, and pays many thousands of dollars.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+1); the same thing acted on «salt» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

what did the skipper forget to ask?

1. Where it was made — ← Mova's choice · score -4
2. The price — no support
3. How to stop it — ✓ the right answer · score -4
4. How to start it up — score -4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 1446, line 18: «The skipper paid "many, many thousand dollars," and "let it cost what it might" to get the mill.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «skipper» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-4). The right option, 3, scored -4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

lowkey, did the skipper pay a lot?

1. A few hundred dollars — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Many thousand dollars — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Ten dollars — no support
4. Some money — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

okay so what did the old woman want to know?

1. Who had made the mill — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Who sold it — no support
3. Where he got the mill — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The price — 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 · right ✓

In what manner did the poor man acquire the hand-mill?

1. By selling his horse for gold — no support
2. By exchanging his ham for it at the door of the rich brother's house — score -2
3. By exchanging his ham for it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score -2
4. By trading his cow for it — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 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 1446, line 1: «A poor man trades his ham at Dead Man's Hall for a magic hand-mill, and learns from an old wood-cutter how to stop it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same circumstance (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

What was the principal reason the skipper desired the mill?

1. To produce salt without perilous voyages — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. To produce gold without dangerous trips — no support
3. To sell salt without any long journeys — no support
4. To produce salt at home without any perilous voyages across the wild sea — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 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 1446, line 4: «A skipper hears the mill can make salt, begs for it, and pays many thousands of dollars.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «salt» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Why was the rich brother unable to terminate the mill's operation?

1. He had never learned the secret phrase — no support
2. He had not been instructed in the method — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. He was never told the proper method — score 2
4. He forgot the words — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 1098, line 3: «The man ignores the Wind's warning and stops at a tavern to test the sack.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «man» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

What did the mill produce when it flooded the kitchen?

1. Salt and fresh oat cakes — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Oats and barley bread — score -1
3. Herrings and milk pottage — ✓ the right answer · score -1
4. Milk only — score -1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 5, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1446, line 4: «A skipper hears the mill can make salt, begs for it, and pays many thousands of dollars.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mill» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). The right option, 3, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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