Fairy Tales (pg503), The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou, part 80: Houssain buys a magic tapestry in Bisnagar

Tests: 2 of 13 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 13 of 17 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1493 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, did you see that Houssain dude get tricked by the crier, proper embarrassing innit?

1. He paid forty purses for a fake carpet that the crier said flew, and then he left town — ← Mova's choice · score 0
2. He paid forty purses for a magic carpet thing — ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. He handed over forty purses for a magic tapestry that only flew when the crier said so — no support
4. He paid forty for a rug that wouldn't fly — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 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 45, line 18: «The Badger: «you've gone on squandering the money your father left you (squander = waste), and you're getting us animals a bad name in the district by your fur…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

bruv, why did the Sultan send all three of them off travelling?

1. To make them richer — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. So they wouldn't fight over his niece — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. To keep them busy and far away — score 3
4. So they'd bring back gifts for him — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 175, line 4: «The dervish burns the hairs, the princess wakes and asks where she is, and the Sultan makes him his son-in-law.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «sultan» (+2); the same action «make» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

mate, what's the bit where Houssain's gobsmacked by the shops?

1. Loads of silks, gold and jewels — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Piles of spices and oil — no support
3. Lots of food — no support
4. Some rugs — 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 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, what did the rose sellers flog in the streets?

1. Oranges and lemons by the cart — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. Garlands of roses for the temples and nosegays for the ladies of the court — score 1
3. Fresh roses, lilies and jasmine tied in bunches for every passerby to buy — score 0
4. Roses for everyone's nosegays — ✓ the right answer · score 1

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 1445, line 19: «Old word: "trace-pins" were the pins holding the harness straps to the coach, and a "byre" is an old word for a cowshed.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «strap» (+2). Against it: the same doer «old word» (-1). The right option, 4, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

yeah but how much did the crier want for the tapestry first?

1. Thirty pieces of gold, fair — ← Mova's choice · score 8
2. Eighty purses, and he laughed when Houssain offered anything less than that — no support
3. Thirty purses, but he would take forty if you hesitated for even one moment — no support
4. Thirty purses, dead cheeky — ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 733, line 14: «Ilsabill first wants "a snug little cottage", then "a large stone castle", and she never seems happy with what she has.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «want» (+2); a different doer (counts against) (+2). The right option, 4, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

so how big was the tapestry, like the size of a bed?

1. Roughly four yards wide — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Big enough to fit a whole family and their dog on it — no support
3. Massive, as big as the whole front room of a house — no support
4. About six feet square — ✓ 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 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

what's a khan then, is it like a posh hotel or a shop?

1. A large walled courtyard where foreign merchants keep goods and camels overnight — no support
2. A market stall for traders — ← Mova's choice · score -6
3. An inn for merchants to kip — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. A kind of hotel where traders rest their camels and sleep with their goods in a courtyard — score -8

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score -6, against -8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1007, line 19: «Old word: a chemist's was a shop where medicines were sold, and today we call it a pharmacy.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-1); the same thing acted on «word» (-2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

did the three princes all agree to meet up after a year?

1. Yeah, at the palace — no support
2. Nah, they never met — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. Yeah, at the same inn — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Yeah, they all agreed to meet again at the same inn after one full year had passed — score 2

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 1417, line 8: «What: Courtiers are banished for mentioning her small nose, because the Prince "quite failed to see the joke."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «prince» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

why didn't Houssain just zoom home on the tapestry straight away?

1. He wanted to stay and nosey around — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He wanted to stay and see the king, the court and the markets before going home — no support
3. Because the tapestry only flies at night, and he had promised to see the whole city first — no support
4. He wanted to rest a while — 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 ✗

did the crier try to sell him the tapestry for less in the end?

1. Yeah, thirty purses, fair — no support
2. Nah, forty purses, no discount — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Yeah, down to twenty-five purses once Houssain threatened to walk out of the shop — no support
4. Yeah, he dropped it to thirty purses after Houssain argued with him for a whole hour — ← 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 1493, line 5: «A crier sells him a tapestry for forty purses, which carries whoever sits on it to any place he wishes, so Houssain thinks he has won.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «crier» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

what does Houssain reckon the tapestry will win him?

1. A crown — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The hand of Nouronnihar — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. A rich wife and a throne — no support
4. Gold — 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 ✗

why did the Sultan promise his niece to the one with the best rarity?

1. Because the rarities would be displayed in the palace and praised by all the people — score 2
2. He loved strange gifts a lot — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. He wanted to see which son would bring the rarest and most useful gift to his court — score 3
4. He was dead curious about rarities — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1432, line 8: «Why is the Sultan slow to keep his word? He sees the mother's poverty, and his Vizier advises him to set a price no man can meet.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «sultan» (+2); the same thing acted on «word» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

and how did the crier get his cash in the end?

1. He sold the tapestry for forty — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. Houssain handed over forty purses of coin — no support
3. Houssain paid him forty purses — no support
4. Houssain paid him forty pieces of gold — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1493, line 5: «A crier sells him a tapestry for forty purses, which carries whoever sits on it to any place he wishes, so Houssain thinks he has won.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «tapestry» (+2); the same doer «crier» (+1). Against it: the same action «sell» (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following best describes the price, and the reason for it, that the crier demanded for the tapestry?

1. The crier demanded forty purses, on the ground that the tapestry conveyed its owner instantly to any place he desired. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. The crier demanded forty purses, because the tapestry would take its owner to whatever place he desired in a moment. — score 0
3. The crier wanted forty purses for it. — score -5
4. Forty purses, because it flies. — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 1493, line 16: «What: the crier first asked thirty purses, then forty, for a tapestry "about six feet square".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «ask» (+2). Against it: the same doer «crier» (-1); the same thing acted on «thirty purses» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

In what manner did the three princes depart from the city, and what arrangement did they make for their reunion?

1. They left by the same gate, disguised as merchants. — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. They departed by the same gate, disguised as merchants, and agreed to reunite at an inn after one year. — ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. They left through the same gate, disguised as merchants, and promised to meet again at a caravanserai after one year had passed. — score 1
4. They departed in disguise and, after agreeing on a meeting place, they promised to return to the same inn once the full year was complete. — score 1

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 1240, line 12: «why: The prince begs to leave, saying he "would far rather be killed at once than live an idle, useless life here."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «leave» (+2). Against it: the same doer «prince» (-1). The right option, 2, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following accurately states the reason the Sultan gave for dispatching his sons upon their journeys?

1. He wished to prevent the rivalry of his sons over the Princess, since each had grown jealous of the others and quarrelled openly in the great hall of the palace every evening. — score -1
2. He wished to prevent their rivalry over the Princess by separating them in distant lands. — ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. He wished to prevent their quarrels over the Princess by separating them and sending each to a different far country for some years. — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. He wished to prevent their rivalry over the Princess by sending them to distant lands for a time. — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 3, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1367, line 17: «Old word: "fain" means gladly or willingly; the King "would fain have kept him as a son," so he wanted it very much.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); the same action «keep» (+2); the same thing acted on «word» (+2); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (+1). Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-2); the same doer «king» (-3). The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

What did Prince Houssain resolve to do after purchasing the tapestry, and what was his motive for doing so?

1. He decided to remain in Bisnagar for a few months in order to study the king, his court, and the customs and manners of the land closely. — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. He resolved to remain at Bisnagar for some months, in order to study the king and the customs of the land. — score 5
3. He resolved to remain at Bisnagar for some months, in order to observe the king, the court and the customs of the land. — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. He resolved to remain at Bisnagar for some months, in order to observe the king, the court and the customs of the land, and he also decided to take many walks through the markets to learn how the merchants traded their goods. — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 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 1121, line 16: «He resolves: "to-morrow night I'll not go to sleep," so he can "watch the thing out."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «resolve» (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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