Gods of Greece and Rome, Hermes the Thief: baby Hermes steals oxen and turns a greedy shepherd to stone

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

Lesson 518 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 so did baby Hermes actually jack like fifty oxen or nah?

1. yeah, fifty, no cap — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. yeah, sixty tho — no support
3. nah, he just took one ox and ran off lol so chill — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. nah, only twelve — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 518, line 9: «What: he takes "fifty oxen" from his brother Apollo's herd, which Apollo is keeping while "feeding the flocks of Admetus".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «fifty oxen» (+4); the same action «take» (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · right ✓

bruh, what even did the shepherd Battus turn into?

1. a lump of touchstone — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. a big lump of marble that stayed in the field — no support
3. a tree stump that the gods rolled into the river — no support
4. a column of marble — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask where. 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 509, line 4: «He turns into a dolphin, whips up the sea and a wind, and drives a Cretan ship into harbour, where he makes its sailors his priests.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «turn» (+5); the same doer «apollo» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

lowkey, who was the sus old shepherd?

1. Ion — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Battus — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Admetus — no support
4. Ares — 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 ✗

fr fr what did Hermes make out of the tortoise shell?

1. a flute — ← Mova's choice · score 10
2. drum — score 10
3. pipes — score 10
4. a lyre — ✓ the right answer · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 518, line 2: «On the way he finds a tortoise, makes a lyre from its shell with seven strings, plays it, and then leaves it in his cradle.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «shell» (+4); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+4); a different doer (counts against) (+3). Against it: the same action «make» (-1). The right option, 4, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

wait, was it Apollo's oxen he jacked?

1. yeah, his bro's — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. nah, dad's — no support
3. nope, Zeus's — no support
4. nah, Poseidon's — 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 · ★ · right ✓

did Hermes sneak off in boots or what?

1. winged leather shoes — no support
2. myrtle twig sandals — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. the boots of a traveller with silver buckles and wings — score 2
4. sandals — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 518, line 8: «When: he sneaks out "not many hours after his birth", so he is a baby when he starts stealing.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «hermes» (+3). Against it: the same action «sneak out» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

so what did the old guy get for keeping quiet, a cow?

1. a fine lamb from the herd — no support
2. a share of the herd and a seat at the king's feast — no support
3. the best ox of the flock — no support
4. the finest cow in the herd — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 518, line 11: «The bribe: Hermes gives Battus "the finest cow in the herd" to keep quiet, and Battus promises to keep the secret.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, who did Hermes pretend to be, like for real?

1. the old shepherd's own master — ← Mova's choice · score -1
2. Battus — score -4
3. Neleus — no support
4. Admetus — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -1, against -4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 39, line 4: «At lunch the Mole tells the Badger how lovely it is to live underground: nothing can get at you, and you are your own master. The Badger beams — that's exactly…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3). Against it: the same property (-1); it fills the role the question asks for (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

bro, how old was Hermes when he started the stealing?

1. only a year old — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. not even hours old — ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. about three days old — score 7
4. still a baby in his cradle, a few weeks old — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 518, line 4: «An old shepherd named Battus sees him, so Hermes bribes him with a cow, then pretends to be Admetus and offers two oxen to learn who he is.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «baby» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

was he a total rogue from the start or what?

1. only after he had been sent off to Olympus to serve — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. from his cradle — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. not until he was grown up and wandering the hills — no support
4. from his youth — 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 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

ngl, which god is the messenger guy?

1. Ares — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Hermes — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Hephaestus, the lame smith god — no support
4. Poseidon, lord of the sea waves — 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 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

so Hermes was the patron of thieves, innit? lol

1. yeah, sailors and poets — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. yeah, thieves and traders — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. yeah, thieves and traders and also shepherds, kinda — no support
4. nah, he was the patron of wine and feasts and dancing — 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 ✗

At what time, according to the text, did the infant Hermes first leave the cave in order to steal the cattle?

1. Some days after his birth — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Many years after his birth — score 6
3. The next morning — score 6
4. Not many hours after his birth — ✓ the right answer · score 0

Why: It took the question to ask where. 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 203, line 8: «The king says: "I have no son to whom to leave my kingdom," so he wants a worthy successor.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «leave» (+5); the same doer «son» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

By what means did Hermes ascertain whether the shepherd Battus could be trusted?

1. By disguising himself as a farmer and asking for help — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. By a sacred oath — no support
3. By assuming the likeness of Admetus and making an offer — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. By asking him directly — 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 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What was the ultimate fate of the shepherd Battus, in consequence of his treachery?

1. He was transformed into a lump of touchstone — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He was transformed into a black lump of touchstone that still lies in the field — no support
3. He was turned into a lump of touchstone and cast out of the herd forever as a warning — no support
4. He was cast into the river and drowned — ← Mova's choice · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 405, line 12: «The punishment is that he is "to be cast to the Lions," which means he will be thrown to hungry lions.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «shepherd» (+4); the same action «throw» (+3). 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 ✗

Which instrument did Hermes compose from the shell of a tortoise?

1. A lyre of twelve strings — ← Mova's choice · score 13
2. A harp of nine strings — score 13
3. A lyre of seven strings — ✓ the right answer · score 13
4. A seven-stringed lyre built from a tortoise shell and cattle gut — score 13

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 13, tied with another option at 13 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 518, line 14: «The lyre: Hermes stretches "seven strings across the empty shell" of a tortoise and invents an instrument.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «empty shell» (+4); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+4); the same doer «hermes» (+3); a different action (counts against) (+2). The right option, 3, scored 13. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/518-pg22381-part24/