The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 4: Dulce Domum (the carol, a magic supper, and a home to come back to)

Tests: 9 of 17 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 14 of 21 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 44 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. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

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 ✗

Oisín from Galway: «great craic, the Mole pays for the whole feast.» (craic = fun) Put it right.

1. The shopper pays from his own purse, and the Rat thanks him — no support
2. The Mole pays — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. The Rat pays — a coin chinks from his paw to the mouse's — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Toad pays a coin to the Rat's shopper — 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 28, line 17: «Cheered up, the Mole gave «some straight back-talk to a couple of moorhens» who were «sniggering» at his «bedraggled» (wet and messy) look.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «mole» (+3); the same action «give» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★★ · right ✓

Is this TRUE or FALSE? «The field-mouse who was asked to recite gave a wonderful speech from the play.»

1. True: he recited well and the Rat applauded him — score 1
2. False: he was too shy to speak, and the Rat told him to sit down and have some more ale by the fire — score 5
3. True, he gave a splendid speech from the play — score 3
4. False: he was too shy and stayed tongue-tied — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 44, line 15: «The field-mouse asked to recite «giggled shyly … and remained absolutely tongue-tied» — «nothing could overcome his stage-fright».», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «remain» (+5); the same doer «field mouse» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★★ · right ✓

The field-mice drink mulled ale in this old book. What do we know today?

1. Alcohol is harmful for children, and they must not drink it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Children may drink a small glass of ale each day — no support
3. Spiced drinks were once thought good for colds — no support
4. It was a healthy drink — 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 ✗

«Sweet as, the Rat sorted it,» says Tama from Auckland. (sweet as = great) What was the Rat's quiet aim all evening, as the last part says?

1. To make the Mole into a happy, settled gentleman who never again goes out to the world above — score -1
2. To send the Mole to bed early and quiet — no support
3. To cheer the Mole up by telling him all the news from the river and the wild wood — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. To bring the Mole into a happy, settled frame of mind — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 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 39, line 2: «He tells of his walk through the snowy wood at sunrise: snow-castles, snow sliding off branches with a «flop!», robins looking proud as if they had done it all…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «tell» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★★ · right ✓

Why does the Rat say little at supper?

1. He thinks the field-mice should talk about their plays — score 2
2. It's the Mole's homecoming; he keeps himself in the background — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. He is too cross with the field-mice for drinking so much of the ale at the fire tonight — score 4
4. He is saving his breath for the carol-singing that will happen later on in the night at the farm — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 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 43, line 15: ««Rat, who was desperately hungry but strove to conceal it» (tried to hide it), nods and says «“wonderful,” and “most remarkable,”» at intervals.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same doer «rat» (+2); the same thing acted on «rat» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter IV, the Badger gave the young hedgehogs something before they left. What?

1. A penny each and a kiss goodbye — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A coin — no support
3. Sixpence each and a pat on the head — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. A ticket each and a warm cloak — 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 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: what did Rat and Mole pay a porter twopence for in chapter II?

1. To keep a strict eye on Toad in the waiting-room — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
2. To take their tickets to the station master — score 7
3. To watch the luggage in the cloakroom — score 7
4. To find a seat for them on the train — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 32, line 17: «At the station they left Toad «in the second-class waiting-room, giving a porter twopence to keep a strict eye on him», and left the horse at an inn stable.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «friends» (+2); the same thing acted on «strict eye» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in chapter IV, the Badger said there's no peace «except underground». What does the Mole decide now?

1. He decides that home underground is precious, and that he must stay below and never go up in the world again, whatever the Badger says — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. He thinks the world above is cruel, but still loves the wide road — score 7
3. He decides underground is dull and that the Badger was right, so he will sell his house and move up to the river bank for ever — score 7
4. Home underground is precious, but he must go back to the world above — ✓ the right answer · score 7

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 33, line 3: «One afternoon, while the Rat dozes in his armchair hunting for rhymes, the Mole quietly decides to go out by himself, explore the Wild Wood, and perhaps meet M…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «decide» (+5); the same doer «mole» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: at the end of chapter IV the Mole saw he was «an animal of tilled field and hedge-row». How does the end of chapter V fit with that?

1. Both suggest that the field is his real home, and that he should never travel far — score 3
2. Both say: keep to your own place, but enjoy the bigger life too — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Both agree the Mole must always stay close to his field and hedge — score 4
4. Stay at home always — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 40, line 19: «The Mole sees «that he was an animal of tilled field and hedge-row» (tilled = ploughed for crops); he «must keep to the pleasant places … which held adventure…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «keep» (+4); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: how did the Mole spend his first night at the Rat's house in chapter I?

1. Sleeping in the cellar among the apples — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Sleeping in the stable with the horse and the cart, hearing the owls and the wind outside — score 6
3. Sleeping in the attic, cold and frightened, while the river roared outside the window all night — score 6
4. Happy in the best bedroom, the river lapping his window — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 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 35, line 14: «The Mole: «I'm simply dead beat and that's a solid fact» (dead beat = completely worn out). The Rat let him sleep, and «lay patiently waiting, with a pistol in…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «sleep» (+4); the same doer «mole» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓

Looking back: in chapter I, the Mole begged to do one job by himself at the picnic. What?

1. Unpack the luncheon-basket — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Lay out the rug on the grass — no support
3. Fetch the water from the stream — no support
4. Carry the boat — 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 · ★★★ · right ✓

Ella, a bit salty: «Mole forgot his house all year, so it should be cross with him.» (salty = cross) How does the book say his home welcomes him?

1. Smilingly, without rancour — with the same simple welcome — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. With a warm rush of gladness from every nook and corner, and a fond glow from the old kitchen fire — no support
3. Smilingly, though the dust lay thick on every chair, and the cobwebs and the damp had spread over the floors — no support
4. Sulkily, though with the same warm welcome — 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 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if the Rat had answered «I don't know, we've nothing» when Mole despaired about the guests?

1. The field-mice would have stayed on and sung more carols happily — no support
2. Mole would have rushed out to buy food from the village shops — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. The field-mice would go home cold and hungry, and Mole would be miserable — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. The field-mice would wander off into the snow to find another supper, while the Mole sat weeping by the fire and the Rat blamed himself — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. 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 33, line 10: «The Mole: «You told me the Wild Wood was all right, you know.» The Rat, «evasively» (avoiding a straight answer): «O, I know, I know, so it is ... But I think…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «wood» (+5). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★★★ · right ✓

«Slumber gathered him forthwith, as a swathe of barley is folded into the arms of the reaping machine.» What does this picture mean?

1. The Rat falls asleep instantly and completely — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The Rat falls asleep instantly, like a field of barley cut down by the machine, and snores loudly until dawn — no support
3. The Rat falls asleep instantly and completely, snoring so loudly that the Mole has to cover his ears with the quilt for the whole night — no support
4. The Rat is slow to nod off to sleep — 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 15 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The carol has five verses, and each ends with a line about «joy … in the morning». How many lines end with «morning» in the whole carol?

1. Five times — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 5 — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. 1 — no support
4. 0 — 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 16 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «His lady-love had gone into a convent.» In the field-mice's play, what made the ending sad?

1. The hero got home at last after years at sea, but found the one he loved had gone into a convent — ← Mova's choice · score 2
2. The hero escaped the pirate ship and got home safely, but then the whole village was flooded and the lady was lost — score 2
3. The hero got home, but the one he loved had gone away for good — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The hero reached the castle, but the king had died of grief — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 44, line 14: «Last year's field-mouse play was about «a field-mouse who was captured at sea by a Barbary corsair (a pirate from North Africa), and made to row in a galley; a…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★★★ · right ✓

★★★ The Rat called the Mole's home «capital», «compact», «well planned», and now «ripping». What do all four words tell us about the Rat?

1. He is lying — no support
2. He flatters the house because he really dislikes the Mole's style — score 3
3. He is trying to make the Mole feel at ease, but he's also bored — score 7
4. He keeps praising the house to make the Mole feel proud of it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 12

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 12, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 38, line 5: «After supper each animal «felt that his skin was now as tight as was decently safe» — a funny way of saying they were stuffed full.», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «feel» (+7); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «animal» (+1); the same thing acted on (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the means by which provisions were procured for the entertainment of the field-mice.

1. Food bought at the shop by a mouse, paid for by the Rat's sister — no support
2. A purchase made at the shops by a field-mouse, on the Rat's commission — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
3. Stolen from the village grocer by two field-mice — no support
4. A purchase made by the field-mouse at the shops, on the Rat's commission, with the Mole's money from the old tin — 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 5, line 2: «The Mouse, who seems to be in charge, makes everyone sit in a ring and reads them "the driest thing" it knows: a boring history lesson about William the Conque…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the Rat's conduct during the supper?

1. Quiet attention to the wants of every guest — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He attended closely to every guest's needs, carved the meat, poured the ale, and told the best stories of the river — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. He talked loudly and ate nothing at all — no support
4. Quiet attention to the wants of every guest, though he himself ate very little and spoke barely a word all night — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 44, line 4: «Everyone eats, the field-mice tell the Mole all the local gossip, and the Rat quietly makes sure everyone has plenty. The guests go home with pockets full of t…», 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 «guests» (+1). 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 ✗

Ascertain the reason for the field-mouse's failure to recite from the play.

1. Stage-fright — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He had learned the wrong play and could not remember the first word of it — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. He was too busy stuffing his mouth with cake to speak when the Rat called on him — score 1
4. A sore throat — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 4, line 14: «Alice says "O Mouse!" because she once saw in her brother's Latin Grammar "A mouse—of a mouse—to a mouse—a mouse—O mouse!"; "O Mouse" is the old way of calling…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «o mouse» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the Mole's reflections at the close of the chapter.

1. That he must return to the larger world at once, sell his home, and never again cross the threshold of his old burrow — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. That home is dull and he must travel farther afield — no support
3. That he must return to the larger world, yet value his home as an anchorage — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He will leave and never come back — 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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