Russian Fairy Tales, The Dragon Emperor, part 11: the prince frees a fish, a fox and a wolf, then serves the old woman

Tests: 2 of 12 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 14 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1760 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, did the prince actually lose it when the dragon nabbed the empress?

1. Nah, he kept his cool and sorted it quietly with the palace staff — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. Nah, he stayed dead calm, rode back to the palace for a cuppa, and quietly sorted a plan with his mates to catch the dragon later — score 3
3. Yeah, he went completely doolally, tore his robes, and swore on his mum he'd chase that dragon to the ends of the earth — score 3
4. Yeah, he went proper doolally and swore he'd chase that dragon — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1123, line 1: «The Dragon keeps poking out his heads one by one, moaning that he has no breakfast or dinner.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+2); the same doer «dragon» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Bruv, why'd the prince keep giving water to that voice in the barrel?

1. Cos his dad told him to do it, and he'd get a big reward from the palace if he got it right, innit — no support
2. Cos the voice was begging him proper, innit — score -1
3. Cos the barrel said it'd give him a magic horse if he kept filling it up, innit, and he's dead keen on horses — ← Mova's choice · score 0
4. Cos he's dead soft and kind-hearted, innit — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 0, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1757, line 17: «The prince spares his sister, chains her to the wall and gives her a bowl to fill with her tears.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

Wait, the fish wanted to go back in the river, right?

1. Nah, it was happy to stay in his bucket for a while — no support
2. Yeah, it wanted food — score 2
3. Nah, it's fine — no support
4. Yeah, it was flapping about, begging him to chuck it back in — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1760, line 10: «The fish begs, "help me, and put me back into the river," and promises to repay the prince "some day."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «beg» (+2); the same doer «fish» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the fox get a proper rescue from that trap?

1. Nah, the prince just walked off and left him — score -1
2. Yeah, the prince carefully unhooked him from the trap, bandaged his paw, and let him go back into the woods — score 1
3. Nah, the prince tied him up tighter and dragged him to the palace to be cooked for the empress's feast — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. Yeah, the prince unhooked him and let him go, sorted — ✓ the right answer · score 0

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 1243, line 2: «The bear catches the fox's tail and drags him along the road, past a woodpecker that the fox sighs about.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «drag» (+2); the same doer «bear» (+2). Against it: the same thing acted on «fox» (-1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

That wolf in the snare, was he a bit wicked or what?

1. Yeah, he snarled and tried to bite the prince before running off — no support
2. Nah, he was just a bit scared and ran off into the trees — no support
3. Yeah, he was a right nasty one — ← Mova's choice · score -3
4. Nah, he was grateful and promised to help if needed, lush — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score -3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1047, line 19: «fact: Old words: a "miscreant" is a wicked person or wrongdoer, and "truculently" means fiercely, with a stubborn, threatening stare.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-1); the same thing acted on «wicked person» (-3). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the old woman give the prince any cheeky deal?

1. Nah, just a thanks — no support
2. Yeah, a horse for wages if he minds her mare for three days — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Yeah, a bag of gold if he cooks her dinner for a week — score 3
4. Nah, she just wanted him to go away quickly — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1740, line 6: «Who: the King, the nurse, and a woman who wants "a tiny, little child" are the main people in this part.», 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 «woman» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why did the mare do a runner, mate?

1. Cos the prince fell asleep and the halter slipped in his hands — ✓ the right answer · score -4
2. Cos the prince fell asleep under a tree and the halter slipped right out of his hands while the mare was grazing near the river — ← Mova's choice · score 0
3. Cos the prince was busy picking berries by the stream — score -8
4. Cos the old woman had secretly untied the halter the night before because she wanted the prince to lose his head — score -3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 0, against -3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1717, line 2: «The mare tells him to ask only for her foal, and the witch Corva grudgingly hands the foal over.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. The right option, 1, scored -4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

Was the prince gutted when he couldn't find the mare?

1. Yeah, his heart was pounding and he was proper panicking — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yeah, he was properly upset and ran about shouting — no support
3. Nah, he wasn't bothered at all, he said the old woman's head would be enough and went straight to bed with a smile — no support
4. Nah, he just shrugged and went for a nap — 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 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the fish know where the mare had gone?

1. Yeah, she's in the lake — no support
2. Yeah, she'd turned herself into a big fish and her foal into a little one — ✓ the right answer · score -1
3. Yeah, she'd gone to the bottom of the river and was hiding under the rocks — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. Nah, the fish had no clue where she'd gone at all — no support

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 3 with score 1, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1717, line 1: «The Prince's fox leads him to the King's hen-house, where the mare and foal are hiding, and Iwanich gets them back.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mare» (+2). Against it: the same action «hide» (-1). The right option, 2, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did the dragon's horse actually know the best way out?

1. Nah, it wanted to stay with the empress — no support
2. Yeah, it told the dragon to fly over the hills — score 4
3. Yeah, it told the dragon to eat first, then chase them — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Nah, it had no idea where to go, so the dragon had to follow the prince's tracks along the river and over the hills for days — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1371, line 19: «Word to know: "land-lubber" is an old sailors' word for someone who lives on land and does not know the sea.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «word» (+2); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+2); the same doer «word» (+1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

What's the big deal about the foal and its mum, anyway?

1. Nothing much, they're just a horse and her baby — ← Mova's choice · score 1
2. The prince has to keep them safe for three full nights, and if either of them is lost he loses his head, as the palings show — score 0
3. He has to guard them for a week or be fined — no support
4. The prince has to keep them safe three nights or he loses his head — ✓ the right answer · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 1, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 672, line 17: «old word: a "foal" is a young horse, and "Magyars" is the old name for the Hungarian people, who are still called Hungarians today.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «foal» (+2). Against it: the same thing acted on «young horse» (-1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

So the empress is still stuck with the dragon at the end, yeah?

1. Nah, the prince got her back by the morning — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yeah, she's stuck there for good, and the dragon wins in the end — no support
3. Yeah, she's stuck — no support
4. Nah, the prince keeps trying to get her back, so it's not over — ✓ 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following accurately describes the conduct of the prince toward the voice issuing from the cask?

1. He poured water over the cask at each request, though the voice never thanked him for any of it — score -1
2. He complied with its petitions for water only after the voice promised him a magic horse, which then turned out to be a dragon in disguise, leaving him with nothing — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. He gave the voice water three times, and each time he also tied a red ribbon to the cask, uncovered its lid, and whispered a prayer to the river spirits for its safety — score 2
4. He complied with each of its three petitions for water, though each compliance caused a hoop to burst — ✓ the right answer · score -4

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 1332, line 4: «The dwarf leads them to his gold, and Bellah's stick becomes a winged carriage that takes everyone home to Lanillis.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored -4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

In what manner does the dragon acquire the wonderful horse, according to his own account?

1. He bought it outright — no support
2. He serves the old woman for three whole days, guarding her mare and foal without letting them escape — ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. He stole it from her — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. He traded his own silver saddle to the old woman for a single night of rest — score -3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1306, line 16: «Old word: sure-footed means a horse that does not slip, which is why the horse finds its way home with its rider's bridle hanging loose.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «slip» (+3). Against it: the same doer «horse» (-1). The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What penalty does the old woman's arrangement impose upon any servant who fails to guard the mare?

1. Forfeiture of the servant's head, as evidenced by the heads displayed upon the palings — ✓ the right answer · score -5
2. Dismissal without pay, with the servant's name carved into the palings as a warning — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. Being sold to the dragon-emperor as a servant for the rest of his days, with no hope of ever returning home to his family or village — no support
4. A year of hard labour in the old woman's stables, followed by a public pardon at the palace gate — score -5

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 2, against -5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1689, line 4: «The King calls his servants, and the whole country hunts for the bird, yet nobody finds it and the King falls ill again.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «call» (+3). Against it: the same doer «king» (-1). The right option, 1, scored -5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following correctly identifies the agent by whom the prince is assisted in recovering the mare?

1. The empress, who slipped a silver ring to the prince through the bars of her palace window — score -4
2. The voice from the cask, which followed the prince across the mountains and whispered directions to him in the dark until dawn broke — score -4
3. The little fish, summoned by the twisting of the scale that the prince had preserved from the river — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. The little fish, summoned by the twisting of a scale that the prince had kept safe in his pocket since the day he found the talking cask in the forest — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1721, line 15: «WHO: the King of the Eagles, the King of the Foxes and the King of the Fishes all help him find the mare.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «find» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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