Eastern Tales, Abu Nowas, part 47: Abu Nowas fakes his wife's death and tricks the Sultan out of gold

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 11 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 707 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 ✓

yo, did Abu Nowas really rub pepper in his eyes just to fake crying?

1. yeah, proper sneaky, to fool the Sultan — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. yeah, sneaky — no support
3. nah, he was genuinely upset about his wife — no support
4. nah, just onion — 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 ✗

so the Sultan just handed over a hundred gold pieces like that?

1. nah, he was dead sharp, didn't fall for it — no support
2. yeah, he was proper daft, mate, fair play — no support
3. yeah, he was well gullible, no cap — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. yeah, he was well gullible, no cap, and he gave Abu Nowas a purse too — ← Mova's choice · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 707, line 13: «Subida gives her a purse with "two hundred gold pieces" and says "You must see that he has a fine funeral."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+4); the same thing acted on «purse» (+4); the same receiver «wife» (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

wait, why did the wife have to wear sackcloth?

1. cos it looked proper sad, like she was in mourning, and the porter would believe her — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. cos it looked proper sad, like she was in mourning — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. cos it was the only cloth in the house, innit — no support
4. cos it made her look proper grieving and dead sad — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 3, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 707, line 15: «The porter finds the wife "laid out" under a linen sheet, and says "We must all die" before going back.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «wife» (+2); the same doer «porter» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

bruv, what did Subida do when the wife turned up?

1. sent her home with a bag of silver and food — no support
2. gave her a purse with two hundred gold pieces — ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. gave her a purse with two hundred gold pieces and told her to leave quickly — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. gave her a purse with a hundred gold coins — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 707, line 13: «Subida gives her a purse with "two hundred gold pieces" and says "You must see that he has a fine funeral."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «subida» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same action «say» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

ain't it dead funny the Sultan and Subida argued over who was dead?

1. nah, they were quite sensible about it — no support
2. yeah, they were well daft about it — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. yeah, they were well daft about it, arguing for ages over who had to be dead — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. yeah, they were so daft, the Sultan even offered gold to the one who was right — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 707, line 4: «The Sultan and Subida argue over who is really dead, and the porter and the chamberlain each find a stiff "corpse" in the bed.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «argue» (+4); the same doer «sultan» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

how did the wife pretend to be dead when the porter came?

1. she hid under a blanket by the door — no support
2. she lay stiff under a sheet like a corpse — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. she lay stiff under a sheet like a corpse, with her eyes shut tight and her arms crossed — score 4
4. she lay under a sheet, stiff as board — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. 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 707, line 4: «The Sultan and Subida argue over who is really dead, and the porter and the chamberlain each find a stiff "corpse" in the bed.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2). Against it: the same doer «porter» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

did the chamberlain see Abu Nowas lying there?

1. yeah, he saw him stiff as anything — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. nah, he didn't look under the sheet — score 2
3. nah, he didn't — no support
4. yeah, he did — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 707, line 16: «The chamberlain finds Abu Nowas "lying stiff and motionless" and puts the sheet back quietly.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «abu» (+4); the same doer «chamberlain» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

why did Abu Nowas sit up at the end?

1. cos he wanted gold — score 0
2. cos the Sultan offered a thousand gold, innit — ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. cos the Sultan said he would pay — ← Mova's choice · score 1
4. cos he was bored — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 1, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 261, line 15: «At the end the king says "You shall have my daughter and my estate", so the boy becomes a king.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «king» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

so Abu Nowas got the gold in the end, yeah?

1. yeah, he nicked it right under the Sultan's nose and then ran home to his wife with the purse — no support
2. yeah, he nicked it right under the Sultan's nose, the Sultana had told everyone to watch him — score 4
3. nah, the Sultan kept it and sent him off — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. yeah, he nicked it right under the Sultan's nose — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 451, line 15: «The peasant's clever trick works: he closes the pit "with the stone" and keeps the gold.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+4); the same thing acted on «gold» (+4). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

what's the honey tale about then?

1. a husband who gets honey for his poorly wife — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. a husband who goes into the forest for honey and his wife who turns it down because of the bees — no support
3. a sick wife who wants honey with dead bees in — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. a wife who won't eat the honey they fetched — 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 ✗

why did the wife in the honey tale turn her nose up?

1. the honey had dead bees in it, gross, and her husband had carried it all the way from the forest — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. the honey had dead bees in it, gross — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. the honey was too runny, not nice — no support
4. the honey was stale and had bits of wax — 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 ✗

what's your fave bit of the whole story then?

1. when Abu Nowas sits up and grabs the gold, lol — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. when the Sultan says the corpses are quite stiff and then sends the porter off to check, lol — no support
3. when the Sultan says the corpses are quite stiff, and then Abu Nowas sits up and nicks the gold, lol — no support
4. when the Sultan says the corpses are quite stiff, lol — ✓ 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Which device does Abu Nowas employ to induce the Sultan to bestow money upon him?

1. He feigns grief and persuades the Sultan to grant him a sum for the funeral. — score 2
2. He weeps with pepper in his eyes. — score 0
3. He pretends that his wife has died and requests funds for her burial. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. He claims his wife has passed and asks the Sultan for money. — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 707, line 1: «Abu Nowas rubs pepper into his eyes, then tells the Sultan with fake sobs that his wife is dead and he has no money to bury her.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «abu» (+3); the same action «bury» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

By what means does the wife ensure that the Sultana believes her account of the death?

1. She shows her face. — score 4
2. She lies still and lets the Sultana see her stiff body. — score 6
3. She appears in sackcloth and describes the sale of all their possessions. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
4. She wears sackcloth. — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 10, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 398, line 11: «The Man sends his Wife home to her father's house to test whether she is hated there too, and she reports that the herdsmen cast "looks of aversion" on her.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «report» (+6); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «wife» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

What is the principal outcome of the Sultan's inquiry into the identity of the deceased?

1. Both parties remain convinced of their own account, and the matter is left unresolved. — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Neither side yields, and the dispute over the dead person is never resolved fully. — no support
3. Subida and the Sultan both stubbornly refuse to yield, and the Sultana eventually orders them both to be sent home without resolution. — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. The Sultan and Subida each insist the other is the dead one, and nothing is settled. — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 197, line 2: «The Sultan orders the hunchback's story written in the archives and sends the four men home in new robes.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «send» (+4); the same property (+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 ✗

What does the new tale concern, in its opening lines?

1. A sick wife who rejects the honey her husband fetched from the forest for her cure. — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A husband who collects honey for his wife, who will not touch the pan because of bees. — no support
3. A husband who fetches sweet honey for his ailing wife, who spurns it because of the insects inside. — no support
4. A husband who brings wild honey to his sick wife, who refuses it because it contains dead bees. — ✓ 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/707-pg2435-part47/