Russian Folk-Tales, Petrusha and the Devil: the horse turns out to be his father

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

Lesson 417 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 ✗

ngl, what did Petrusha ask the Devil for?

1. the sorry old horse for the cart — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. the old jade for wood — score 2
3. the sorry old jade for wood and water — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. the old jade for carrying wood — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). 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 417, line 10: «The fair maiden is the helper who asks, "Have you got the horse?"», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same circumstance (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

yo, who was waiting by the gates?

1. the Tsar's messenger — no support
2. the old soldier — no support
3. a boy — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. the fair maiden — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 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 399, line 11: «WHY: the Lark mother waits, since "the man who only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «wait» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same doer «lark mother» (-1). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

lowkey weird, what did she ask him?

1. Have you got the horse you took from the Devil last night? — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Have you got the horse? — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Have you got the horse with you now? — no support
4. Have you got the horse, or do you want the money? — 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 · ★ · right ✓

bruh, what did he have to take off?

1. his copper cross — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. his silver ring — no support
3. all of his clothes and his shoes — no support
4. his boots — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 417, line 11: «The copper cross is the charm, so Petrusha must "take off his copper cross" before the magic works.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «take off» (+2); the same thing acted on «copper cross» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

dude, how many times did he trace the circle?

1. seven times round in a full circle — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. three times — ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. nine times — score 7
4. three times, always going sunwise — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 417, line 3: «She tells him to take off his copper cross, trace a circle three times round the horse, and hang the cross on its neck.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: a different doer (counts against) (+3); the same action «trace» (+2); the same property (+1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

no way, who was the horse really?

1. a grey horse his father once rode — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. his own father — ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. the Devil himself — no support
4. his own father, who had been turned into the horse — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 1: «First they must catch the old grey horse, who was never asked and would much rather stay in his field. Then they set off on a golden afternoon, birds singing,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «old grey horse» (+5); the same property (+2). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

sus, how long did the old man stay quiet?

1. one day — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. three days — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. two days — no support
4. a full year — 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 ✓

fr, what did the dad quit for good?

1. drinking spirits — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. playing cards — no support
3. boasting about his horses at the fair — no support
4. eating meat — 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 · ★ · right ✓

bruh, what did the husband find in the forest?

1. a bottomless pit full of devils — score 9
2. a cellar full of hay — score 9
3. a bottomless pit that swallowed the cart — no support
4. a bottomless pit — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 9, tied with another option at 9 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 128, line 16: «The messenger finds a little house near a forest where "foxes and hares say good night to each other".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «forest» (+3); a different doer (counts against) (+3); the same action «find» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

ngl, what was the wife's whole problem?

1. she was always cooking food — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. she never listened to what he said — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. she spent all his money on silk and wine at the market — no support
4. she spent all his money on silk — 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 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

yo, what did she do when he asked for pancakes?

1. she scolded him and fed the dog — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. called him a thief and cooked a huge pot — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. she cooked him a huge meal — no support
4. she called him a thief and then cooked a huge pot of pancakes for the whole village — 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 ✗

lol, what did she say when he begged her to rest?

1. "No, no, you thief, go and sleep in the barn!" — no support
2. "No, no, you thief, the pancakes are for me alone!" — no support
3. "Yes, yes, you fool!" — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. "No, no, you thief!" — ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 253, line 6: «Who: the fool is a young man who lives with his mother, and she says he is "no more fit to look after thyself than an unborn baby".», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «young man» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★ · right ✓

fam, what does the proverb say about women?

1. Women have long hair and short wits — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Men have short hair and long wits — no support
3. A woman who speaks loudly has long hair and never listens to her husband — no support
4. Women have long hair and short wits, as every village knows — 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 · right ✓

Which object did Petrusha request from the Devil as his sole reward?

1. That sorry jade which was used for carrying wood and water in the yard. — score 11
2. That old horse which his father once used to carry heavy loads of wood up the hill. — no support
3. That fine horse which was kept for riding out. — no support
4. That sorry jade which was used for carrying wood and water. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 11, tied with another option at 11 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 417, line 1: «Petrusha tells the Devil he wants only the old, sorry jade that carries wood and water.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «carry» (+3); the same doer «old sorry jade» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «wood» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Upon the instruction of the fair maiden, what action did Petrusha perform in the vicinity of his village?

1. He prayed at the gate. — no support
2. He removed his copper cross and traced a circle three times. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. He tore off his coat and bowed three times. — no support
4. He lit a fire near the church door. — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 340, line 8: «Where: the action takes place in the nursery, the children's bedroom, where Wendy sits near the fire.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «take» (+3); the same doer «action» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which statement correctly describes the father following his return to human form?

1. He ran into the woods, wept for many days, and then slowly returned to his village and his family. — no support
2. He remained silent for three days and thereafter abstained entirely from spirits and wine for the rest of his life. — no support
3. He remained silent for three days and thereafter abstained entirely from spirits. — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He stayed silent for a week and then wandered off. — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 417, line 13: «The father stays silent for three days, "unable to make use of his tongue."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «stay» (+3); the same property (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which assertion does the author make concerning the jokes of the Russian facetious tales?

1. They were invented in France alone. — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They are for the most part common to all Europe and to Asia as well. — no support
3. They are for the most part common to all Europe. — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. They are for the most part found only in the Skazkas of the northern peasants. — 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/417-pg22373-part9/