Old Deccan Days, The Kettle-Drum, part 28: the boy hidden in the dog and the cow, the Queens' plots

Tests: 3 of 14 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 15 of 18 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1844 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 the queens actually push her to bang the drum, fr?

1. yeah, the four other queens — ✓ the right answer · score 1
2. nah, she did it herself — no support
3. nah, actually the king's whole court was pushing her to do it — score -2
4. yeah, all four queens and the nurse pushed her hard — ← Mova's choice · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1844, line 8: «Why: the Queens push her to beat the drum "just to see if the King really will come to you."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «push» (+3). Against it: the same doer «queens» (-1). The right option, 1, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

bruh, how many times did the king come running before he got mad?

1. once — ← Mova's choice · score 8
2. two times — ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. four times — score 8
4. one — 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 1259, line 19: «Old word: "punctual" meant arriving at the right time, and today it still means on time.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (+4); the same doer «old word» (+3); the same property (+2). Against it: the same action «arrive» (-1). The right option, 2, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

ngl, what did the king say after the second call?

1. why do you keep calling me now — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. stop calling me every time you feel a little lonely in the palace — no support
3. don't call me again unless the whole palace is on fire, got it — no support
4. don't call me unless you need me — ✓ 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 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

lowkey sus, why did the king skip coming on day three?

1. he thought she was just messing around — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. he thought she was just messing around with the Queens and the nurse — ← Mova's choice · score -4
3. he thought she was faking it for fun — no support
4. he was mad that she had been messing around with the cowherd all week long — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score -4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1771, line 16: «Old word: "lest" means "for fear that," so "lest some day he should come" means "for fear that one day he might come."», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. Against it: the same circumstance (-1); a different action (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

so what did the queens tie over her eyes, no cap?

1. a silk ribbon — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. the thick red cloth from the palace banquet table — score 5
3. a handkerchief — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. a long embroidered silk sash from the royal wardrobe — score -1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 1745, line 2: «Lost at sea, the King finds a forest and three women, and the eldest, who is really the Queen of Hetland the Good, agrees to marry him.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (+4); the same doer «king» (+3). Against it: the same action «marry» (-1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

what was on the baby's forehead, like a moon?

1. a cross — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. a small birthmark shaped like a bird — no support
3. a crescent of golden light — no support
4. a moon — ✓ 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 ✗

lol, what did the queens swap the baby for?

1. a bundle — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. a stone — ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. a pillow — score 4
4. a rock — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). 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 995, line 5: «An old woman trades her white hair for the mother's black hair and shows her the hothouse of human lives.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «trade» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

where'd the nurse stash the box, fam?

1. under the palace — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. under a tall old tree — score 3
3. in a hole out on the plain — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. beside the river bank — score 3

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 1687, line 16: «fact: "Thenceforward" is an old word that means "from then on", and "wineglass" is an old word for the glass a person drinks wine from.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+2); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

who dug the box back up, bro?

1. Shankar the dog — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. the cowherd — no support
3. the nurse — score -1
4. the King's dog — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 1844, line 4: «The nurse buries the box in the jungle, but the King's dog Shankar digs it up and saves the child by swallowing him.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «dig up» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «dog» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

what did the dog do with the baby once he got him out?

1. licked him clean gently — score 2
2. carried him far away — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. carried him off across the plain to the village — score 2
4. swallowed him to hide him — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1823, line 2: «Back inside, the six aunts find the baby crying and Balna gone, and they guess the Fakir and the black dog took her.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «fakir» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same action «take» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · right ✓

how long did the dog keep him in his belly the first time?

1. six months — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. until the boy was fully grown into a man — score 3
3. three years — score 3
4. four months — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 1725, line 1: «The frozen girl meets King Frost, who keeps asking if she is warm, and she keeps answering that she is.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «keep» (+2); the same doer «frost» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, who's suri, like what is she?

1. the palace goat — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. a goat — no support
3. the king's cow — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. the king's horse — 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 13 · ★ · right ✓

who totally ratted suri out?

1. the gardener — no support
2. the cowherd — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score -1
3. the king's own guard at dusk — no support
4. the four queens while they were bathing — score -1

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 1844, line 19: «The cow Suri is called "Suri," and she also hides him, until a cowherd spies and tells the Queens.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. Against it: the same doer «cowherd» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★ · wrong ✗

how old was the kid when they got busted?

1. old enough to walk and talk well — no support
2. five years old — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. three years old — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. four years old — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 1628, line 14: «Old word: "The leads" means the flat roofs covered with sheets of lead, where the roses grew in Gerda's home.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «flat roofs» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same circumstance (+1). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which object did the gardener's daughter beat in order to summon the King?

1. Her kettle-drum — ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. Her brass bell — ← Mova's choice · score 1
3. Her small harp — score 1
4. A drum — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 1844, line 1: «The gardener's daughter beats her kettle-drum just to test the King, and he comes running each time until he gets angry.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «daughter» (+3). Against it: the same action «beat» (-1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

On what grounds did the four Queens bind the eyes of the gardener's daughter before the birth?

1. Custom required it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score -1
2. To protect the baby — no support
3. For fun — no support
4. By order — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 995, line 4: «A lake asks for her eyes, which turn into pearls, and it carries her across on its waves.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «ask» (+2). Against it: it fills the role the question asks for (-1); the same doer «lake» (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

By what means did the dog conceal the infant prince from the King's servants?

1. By swallowing him into his stomach — ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. By carrying him deep into the forest and burying him beneath the roots — score 4
3. By wrapping him in fur and hiding him — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. By swallowing him whole and keeping him inside for a long time — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 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 1819, line 9: «Why the old woman hides him: "our king has ordered that men from other countries may not stay in his country."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hide» (+5); the same thing acted on «prince» (+1). The right option, 1, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which animal, entrusted with the infant, was ultimately discovered by a cowherd?

1. Shankar, the King's loyal hunting dog — no support
2. Suri, the King's cow who lives by the river — ← Mova's choice · score 0
3. Suri, the King's cow — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The cow — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1732, line 17: «Old word: "flay" means to strip the skin off an animal, which we would now call skinning.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+1). Against it: the same thing acted on «skin» (-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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