Japanese Tales, The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue, part 60: the old man's gift and the greedy wife's trip

Tests: 5 of 14 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 14 of 18 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1671 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 · ★ · right ✓

Dude, why did the wife go totally mental at the poor bird?

1. cos the bird had stolen the old man's love and she wanted the whole house to herself forever — score 2
2. cos she was jealous of the old man being so gone on it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. cos she was well jealous of him fussing over it — score 3
4. cos he kept feeding the bird and ignoring her — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 1671, line 10: «What she does: she throws a broom, breaks a vase, and at last "ventured to slit its tongue".», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «wife» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Wait, so the bird got its tongue slit? That's proper harsh, innit?

1. yeah, she used a sharp blade — score 0
2. yeah, with a knife — no support
3. yeah, she did it with a knife — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. yeah, the wife did it with her own fingers — ✓ the right answer · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1635, line 12: «Hard word: "scourged" is an old word meaning whipped or beaten hard, so the host beat the corpse each night.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «hard word» (+1); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

Okay but how did the old man even find the bird again?

1. he searched day after day, then walked into a bamboo thicket — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. he asked the neighbours, then wandered off — score 1
3. he searched far and wide for it — score 0
4. he gave up quickly — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1473, line 8: «Where: after three days in the wood they reach a little house, and the bird perches on its roof.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the garden lush or what?

1. yeah, a huge garden full of blossoming trees, ponds, and a perfect little cottage at the centre — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. yeah, a tiny spick-and-span house in a mega garden — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. yeah, a vast enchanted garden with silver gates, singing birds, and a shining golden palace — no support
4. nah, just a dusty field with a small shed — 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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Hang on, the bird turned into a girl? Mad, right?

1. nah, she was a rich merchant's daughter, sort of — score 0
2. nah, she was actually a fairy queen who had flown down from the moon to find the old man — ← Mova's choice · score 1
3. yeah, she was the sparrow-princess, all dressed up — ✓ the right answer · score 0
4. yeah, she was the sparrow-princess, who'd been under a spell and was all dressed up in silk — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 1533, line 13: «The girl's mother says "I would give you finer ones", so she is not upset about the lost golden circlet.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

What did the old man choose, the big chest or the small one?

1. the small one, the one he hid under his cloak so his wife would never see it at all — no support
2. the small one, which he later hid in a barrel behind the old stable door at home — ← Mova's choice · score -6
3. the small one, the one he hid under his cloak — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. the big one, the one he left in the garden — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score -6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 503, line 20: «Old word: the Matronalia was the Roman festival of married women on 1 March; "matron" today means an older, respected married woman.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. Against it: the same doer «old word» (-1); 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 7 · ★ · right ✓

What was in the chest? Like, was it wicked?

1. gold and jewels piled up to the lid — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. gold and jewels piled up to the lid, and there were also strange glowing stones from the sea — no support
3. heaps of coins and dusty rubies — no support
4. a dark heap of old bones and a few rusty coins piled high under a cloth of silk — 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 8 · ★ · right ✓

The wife got the gold too, yeah? Was she chuffed?

1. yeah, she was dead chuffed and went all polite and then pinched a heap of the finest gold from the shelf — no support
2. yeah, she went all polite and grabbed the biggest stones — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. yeah, she was thrilled and took the shiniest coins home — score 1
4. yeah, she went all polite at once and then grabbed every single one of the biggest stones she could carry — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 1671, line 15: «What the wife does: she takes the stones and sets aside "those that were the largest and most costly".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

So why did the wife get lost on her way there?

1. she didn't know the way at all — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. the path was hidden by thick mist — no support
3. the path had been swept away by a storm and she had to wander through the trees — score 2
4. she was rushing and kept missing the path — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 1343, line 2: «When the old man comes home, his pet does not come to greet him, and his wife at first pretends she does not know where the sparrow is.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «know» (+1); the same doer «wife» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did she make it to the sparrow's place without trouble?

1. nah, she got there sweaty and out of breath — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. nah, she was late and cross — no support
3. yeah, but she got there in a right state — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. yeah, but she was all flustered — 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 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the wife nice to the girl when she got there?

1. yeah, she bowed and said thank you — score 0
2. yeah, she bowed low, thanked her warmly, and asked for a gift of silk for herself — ← Mova's choice · score 1
3. nah, she barged in and insulted the girl, then demanded her chests straight away — score 1
4. nah, she barged in like it was all hers — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 1664, line 10: «The carpenter's wife says, "You are getting worse, my dear," and he trusts every word she says, so he lies down and lets her do as she pleases.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · right ✓

Was the wife made to wait for her present?

1. nah, she got two chests straight off — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. nah, she got none — no support
3. nah, she was given one chest only — score 0
4. yeah, she waited a long while — score 0

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 1671, line 5: «His greedy wife hears the story, wants the big chest, and rushes off through the forest to the maiden's house.», 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 ✗

Did the old man get a happy ending or what?

1. yeah, he was wealthy and enjoyed the feasts — score 4
2. nah, he lost the gold and went back to the mountain — score 4
3. yeah, his gold made him well off and he had a good time — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. nah, his greedy wife took all the gold and he was left alone with his bird song memories — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 4 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1307, line 9: «Why: the poor man plans to die because he feels tired and hunted, saying "I would rather choose my own death than leave it to my enemies."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «leave» (+2); the same doer «man» (+2); the same thing acted on «death» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

What's the big lesson, like?

1. if you are greedy and cruel to others, you will lose everything you ever had in your life — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. greedy folk can end up in a right mess, so always treat animals and strangers with kindness — no support
3. greedy folk can end up in a right mess — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. kindness is always rewarded in life — 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 ✗

In what manner does the old wife, having obtained the greater chest, proceed upon her homeward journey?

1. She walks steadily along the road, carrying her chest with a calm and patient heart by the river. — ← Mova's choice · score -2
2. She walks home quickly. — score -6
3. She runs with ease. — no support
4. She proceeds laboriously, bearing the chest with great difficulty, impelled by her avarice — ✓ the right answer · 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 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 remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «word» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored -2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which motive is principally ascribed to the wife in the account of the second chest?

1. Covetousness, which lends her strength against the weight of her burden — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Covetousness, which lends her strength against the weight of her burden and drives her to hurry on through every storm — no support
3. Pride in her husband's wealth and the house he built — no support
4. Envy of her neighbours' fine silks and her sister's new house — ← Mova's choice · score -2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 483, line 18: «OLD WORD: "skazka" is a Russian fairy tale, so "only a skazka can describe" means only a fairy tale could describe it.», 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 «word» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What circumstance is cited as the cause of the wife's delay in reaching the sparrow-princess's house?

1. A sudden storm that flooded the lowland road, forcing her to wander through a tangled mountain forest for half the night — ← Mova's choice · score -2
2. Her precipitate haste, which caused her repeatedly to miss the path that wound through the dark forest toward the sparrow-princess's garden — score -6
3. Her precipitate haste, which caused her repeatedly to miss the path — ✓ the right answer · score -6
4. The thick fog that rolled over the hills and hid every road — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -2, against -6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1621, line 17: «Old word: "smitten" means struck hard, so the land is "smitten with the black pestilence" means a deadly plague hits it.», 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 «word» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored -6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

How does the narrator characterise the old husband's conduct in the course of the foregoing passage?

1. As good-natured, honest, and unusually patient in the face of his wife's violent temper and constant bitter complaints — no support
2. As good-natured and honest, and patient in the face of his wife's temper — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. As wise and humble, though often mocked by his own neighbours — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. As a gentle and devout man whose kindness, honesty, and quiet patience were tested again and again by his wife's temper — 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 310, line 12: «Mr. Darling was one of "those deep ones who know about stocks and shares", and he often said stocks were up.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «narrator» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same property (-1); 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

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