Tanglewood Tales, The Pygmies: the Pygmies try to finish off the sleeping Hercules, but he wakes, laughs at their champion, spares them, and leaves

Tests: 2 of 13 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 12 of 17 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 2054 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, did you see the Pygmies try to roast Hercules? Proper mad, innit?

1. Yeah, the fire went up like a bonfire on Bonfire Night — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yeah, it went up like a massive bonfire, innit — no support
3. Yeah, it was mental — no support
4. Yeah, the flames blazed up like fireworks at a party — 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 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Wait, so the tiny bloke was actually well brave?

1. Yeah, he was well brave, mate, no question — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yeah, he was mint, he stood up to a massive giant — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Yeah, he was mint — no support
4. Yeah, he was mint, he faced the giant head-on — 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 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did Hercules get a right gutted face when the arrows came?

1. Nah, he just grinned and scratched his head — no support
2. Nah, he was well vexed, rubbed his face, and told them all to go away quietly — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. Nah, he was well vexed and just rubbed his face — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Nah, he was well vexed and just rubbed his face and then ignored the lot of them — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2054, line 16: «Hercules says he will take "five strides" and be out of their kingdom at the sixth, carefully avoiding stepping on them.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+3); the same doer «hercules» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Hang on, how did a bloke that small even carry a sword?

1. His sword was about as long as a finger — no support
2. He had a dagger — no support
3. His sword was only as long as a penknife blade — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. He carried a little blade, very short — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1910, line 2: «Hyacinthia becomes a little blue flower, and an old man takes it home, where his house is tidied and his dinner is laid out by magic.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «take» (+3); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Was the Pygmies' snoring hurricane proper wicked or what?

1. Yeah, it blew them all over like leaves in autumn, proper wicked, couldn't believe it — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yeah, it blew them all over like leaves in autumn — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Yeah, it blew them all over like leaves in autumn and they flew into the trees — no support
4. Yeah, it knocked them flat, mate, brilliant — 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 ✗

Did Hercules actually battle the Pygmies in the end?

1. Nah, he went all soft and let them be, like a big softie, and never fought them at all — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Nah, he went all soft and let them be, like a big softie — ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. Nah, he went all soft and let them be, like a big softie, and walked off home for his tea — score 1
4. Nah, he just tapped them with his club and walked away — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2054, line 8: «Where: The action happens in the land of the Pygmies, where Hercules lies sleeping after his fight with Antaeus.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «fight» (+3); the same doer «hercules» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

Why did the Pygmies bother with a fire anyway?

1. Coz they reckoned he'd roast if he didn't move, so they built the biggest bonfire ever — score -3
2. Coz they reckoned he'd roast if he didn't move, and they'd all be heroes then — score -3
3. Coz they thought fire'd scare him off the field — score -3
4. Coz they reckoned he'd roast if he didn't move — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score -3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 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 2051, line 11: «fact: The Pygmies think they are wise and say that the giant "has a very dull time of it, all by himself."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. Against it: the same doer «pygmies» (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

So Hercules just laughed at the little man, right?

1. Yeah, he was in stitches, nearly fell over — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. Yeah, proper giggling — no support
3. Yeah, he was in bits — score 4
4. Yeah, he was in bits, he nearly dropped him — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 839, line 3: «Back in the street a passenger pulls his nose, he falls over like a dead man, and he is carried to the hospital.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «fall over» (+3); the same property (+1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Oi, what was the Pygmy's comeback when Hercules asked about his soul?

1. As large as yours!" he said, quite smug — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. As big as your own!" he said, dead confident, and puffed out his chest — score 5
3. As big as your own!" he said, dead confident, and then stood tall — score 5
4. "As big as your own!" he said, dead confident — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 2054, line 16: «Hercules says he will take "five strides" and be out of their kingdom at the sixth, carefully avoiding stepping on them.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+3); the same doer «hercules» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Did Hercules leave the Pygmies in peace, or did he take them home?

1. He sent them home to their own land — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. He left them in their own land, the lucky lot, and never bothered them again — score 3
3. He left them in their own land, bless them — score 3
4. He left them in their own land, the lucky lot — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 2054, line 16: «Hercules says he will take "five strides" and be out of their kingdom at the sixth, carefully avoiding stepping on them.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «hercules» (+2); the same place «kingdom» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

So the Pygmies won in the end, didn't they?

1. Kinda, they scared him off and he never came back — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yeah, they sent him packing, never came back — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. Kinda, they scared him off, but he later came back to finish the fight — no support
4. Kinda, they chased him off, he never returned — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 2054, line 3: «His snoring blows the Pygmies away, so they pile sticks and straw around his head and set it on fire.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pile» (+3); the same doer «pygmies» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Yo, how many tiny warriors were there anyway?

1. Thousands of archers, plus a load of spearmen — ← Mova's choice · score -1
2. Twenty thousand archers, plus loads more with spades, and some with hay carts too — score -1
3. Twenty thousand bowmen and lots with shovels — score -1
4. Twenty thousand archers, plus loads more with spades — ✓ 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 1708, line 18: «The brothers flee: when the youth returns, they "flew into the woods in terror," and he forgives them anyway.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. Against it: the same property (-1). The right option, 4, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗

Hang on, did Hercules come back to finish the job?

1. Nah, he said sorry, shook hands, strode off, and never returned to the field — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Nah, he said sorry, shook hands and strode off — ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. Nah, he said sorry, shook hands with the captains and strode off back home — score 5
4. Nah, he apologised, shook hands, walked off — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. 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 2054, line 16: «Hercules says he will take "five strides" and be out of their kingdom at the sixth, carefully avoiding stepping on them.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+3); the same doer «hercules» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following best describes the attitude of Hercules towards the Pygmy champion upon first hearing his challenge?

1. He dismissed the challenge with scorn, thinking the Pygmy's offer was a foolish joke — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. He felt scared and ran away — score -3
3. He viewed the challenge with suspicion, doubting the Pygmy's sincerity and planning a trap — score -3
4. He regarded the challenge with amusement and genuine admiration for the Pygmy's courage — ✓ the right answer · score -3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 2, against -3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 997, line 21: «Old word "banished": sent away from the land for good; today we say "thrown out."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 4, scored -3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

To what extent did the strategy of the Pygmy captains succeed in their stated objective of destroying the sleeping Hercules before he could rise?

1. It failed, since Hercules awoke, extinguished his burning hair, and retained his composure — ✓ the right answer · score -1
2. It succeeded, since Hercules burned badly and remained asleep until the fire died — score -1
3. It failed entirely, since Hercules awoke at once, put out his burning hair with his hands, and remained calm, composed, and unmoved throughout the whole affair — score -1
4. It failed, since Hercules awoke, extinguished his burning hair, retained his composure, and then laughed at the captains for their foolish plan of attack — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 4, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1761, line 15: «The king longs to "win all kinds of honour and glory" and sails "across the seas" to a distant country.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «king» (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 1, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following accurately describes the reasons the sage counsellors gave for rejecting the herald's trumpet proposal?

1. War already existed, and the Pygmies held the privilege of surprising their enemy — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The war had already begun, and surprise was the Pygmies' right — no support
3. War already existed, and the Pygmies held the privilege of surprising their enemy, which the sages thought ancient custom had long protected — no support
4. A truce existed already, so the trumpet was unnecessary for the sages — 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 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which statement most accurately summarises the concluding attitude of the narrator towards the Pygmy nation and its future descendants?

1. The narrator pities the Pygmies and fears for their future descendants — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The narrator mocks the Pygmies cruelly and predicts their extinction within a few generations — no support
3. The narrator dislikes the Pygmies — no support
4. The narrator regards the Pygmies with affectionate amusement and imagines their continuing lives in their own territory — ✓ 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

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