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Just So Stories, The Cat that Walked by Himself, part 3: the third word, the Man, the Dog, and how cats really came to live with us

Tests: 4 of 18 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 15 of 22 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 95 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 ✗

Leah: «it's giving villain, the Cat tricked the Woman with the mouse!» (it's giving = it seems like) Is that fair?

  • 1. No: she asked him to eat it and thanked him herself — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. He never caught it — no support
  • 3. Yes, he brought the mouse in on purpose and let it go to frighten her — no support
  • 4. The Dog caught it — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 95, line 4: «And so, says Kipling, cats catch mice and are kind to babies, but at night they go out to the Wet Wild Woods and the Wet Wild Roofs, waving their wild tails an…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «cats» (+4); the same action «catch» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (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 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why does the Man say «Not when I am near»?

  • 1. The Cat asks to go hunting — ← Mova's choice · score 4
  • 2. The Cat still says he walks by himself — ✓ the right answer · score 4
  • 3. The Man is afraid — no support
  • 4. The Cat is sitting too near the Man's place by the fire, and the Man wants it back — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 95, line 2: «The Woman laughs and gives him a bowl of milk, but warns him: his bargain was not with the Man or the Dog. That evening the Man sets out his two boots, his lit…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «cat» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would have happened if the Cat had NOT added «still I am the Cat who walks by himself»?

  • 1. The Cat would have left — no support
  • 2. Nothing different — no support
  • 3. The Man would have put his things away, and the Dog shut his mouth — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. The Woman would have thrown things — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 95, line 13: «Kipling's ending: «three proper Men out of five will always throw things at a Cat whenever they meet him, and all proper Dogs will chase him up a tree». Throwi…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «throw» (+2); the same thing acted on «things» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Which is TRUE in this part?

  • 1. The Cat refuses all bargains — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The Dog catches the mouse — no support
  • 3. The Man makes a Singing Magic with the blade-bone to keep the Cat out of the Cave — no support
  • 4. The Woman calls the Cat «as clever as a man» — ✓ 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

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Kipling says three proper Men out of five throw things at cats. What should we say today?

  • 1. It's a good old rule, because cats who don't catch mice deserve a fright now and then — ← Mova's choice · score 9
  • 2. It's the law to throw boots — score 5
  • 3. It's cruel and wrong — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Only on Sundays — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 95, line 4: «And so, says Kipling, cats catch mice and are kind to babies, but at night they go out to the Wet Wild Woods and the Wet Wild Roofs, waving their wild tails an…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «catch» (+6); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «cats» (+2); the same thing acted on «mice» (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Real life: how did cats come to live with people?

  • 1. A Woman made a bargain with one Cat in a Cave, and all cats have kept it ever since — ← Mova's choice · score 8
  • 2. Wildcats came for the mice in farmers' grain — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. They were caught in nets — score 3
  • 4. Dogs brought them — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 94, line 2: «The Cat flatters her: she is wise and beautiful and should not be cruel. The Woman makes a bargain: one word in his praise and he may come into the Cave; two w…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+3); the same doer «woman» (+3); the same thing acted on «bargain» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

Real life: about when did cats start living near farmers in the Middle East?

  • 1. About 10,000 years ago — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Last year — no support
  • 3. 100 years ago — no support
  • 4. A million years ago — 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 ✓

Real life: which ancient people loved cats so much they made statues of a cat-goddess?

  • 1. The ancient Egyptians — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
  • 2. The Tribe of Tegumai — no support
  • 3. The Romans — no support
  • 4. The Vikings, who took cats on their long ships across the sea — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 95, line 16: «Real life: a cat was buried beside a person on the island of Cyprus about 9,500 years ago; the ancient Egyptians loved cats and even made statues of a cat-godd…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «love» (+4); the same property (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Mason from Toronto: «dogs and cats always fight, eh?» (eh = right?) What is true?

  • 1. Only on Sundays — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Yes, always and everywhere, because of the old bargain in the Cave — no support
  • 3. No: many are good friends — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Only big dogs — 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 10 · ★★ · right ✓

Looking back: in part 2, what fell when the Woman spoke the first word of praise?

  • 1. The milk-pot — score 7
  • 2. The Bat — no support
  • 3. The smoke from the fire at the back of the Cave, in clouds — no support
  • 4. The horse-skin curtain — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 14

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 14, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 94, line 14: «The curtain falls «whoosh!» because «it remembered the bargain»; the Cat says «for you have spoken a word in my praise, and now I can sit within the Cave for a…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fall» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «curtain» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

Looking back: what were the three sounds of the three magic signs?

  • 1. Whoosh, puff, ffft — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Ahh, ohh, sshhh-sshhh — no support
  • 3. Humph, humph, humph — no support
  • 4. Bang, crash, thunder — 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 ✗

Looking back: which earlier character also made a clever bargain that ended in a useful gift?

  • 1. The Stranger-man — ← Mova's choice · score 7
  • 2. The Camel, who bargained with the Djinn for three days' rest — score 6
  • 3. Painted Jaguar — no support
  • 4. Pau Amma, who chose all the gifts — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 63, line 16: «The gentlemen say: «Here is a poor old thing—a washerwoman apparently—who has fainted in the road!» They lift him into the car and prop him up with soft cushio…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «gentlemen» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: what did the Head Chief do at the end of the picture-letter muddle?

  • 1. He wept — no support
  • 2. He threw his boots and his stone axe at Taffy and chased her up a tree — ← Mova's choice · score 15
  • 3. He laughed and called it a great invention — ✓ the right answer · score 8
  • 4. He left — score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 15, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 95, line 2: «The Woman laughs and gives him a bowl of milk, but warns him: his bargain was not with the Man or the Dog. That evening the Man sets out his two boots, his lit…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+7); the same action «throw» (+5); the same thing acted on «boots» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 14 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Looking back: in the Elephant's Child, who was never touched by the Elephant's Child in his spanking spree?

  • 1. The Giraffe — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The Ostrich — no support
  • 3. The Baboon — no support
  • 4. Kolokolo Bird — ✓ 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

Test 15 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Freddie from Wolverhampton: «bostin' story, the Dog's the Cat's best mate at the end.» (bostin' = brilliant) Put it right.

  • 1. The Dog makes milk for him — ← Mova's choice · score 6
  • 2. Right, they're best mates, and they share the warm white milk and the roast bones every evening — no support
  • 3. The Dog chases him up a tree — ✓ the right answer · score 5
  • 4. The Dog leaves the Cave — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 6, line 14: «In the tale a dog called Fury says to a mouse, "I'll be judge, I'll be jury", which means one side would decide everything, a very unfair trial; a "cur" is a b…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «dog» (+4); the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 16 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Counting: «two leather boots and his little stone axe (that makes three) ... a piece of wood and a hatchet (that is five)». If he threw only the boots and the axe, how many things were left in the row?

  • 1. None — no support
  • 2. Two — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Five — score 1
  • 4. Three — ← Mova's choice · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 95, line 10: «The Man's five things: «his two leather boots and ... his little stone axe (that makes three) and ... a piece of wood and a hatchet (that is five altogether)».», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «little stone axe» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «three» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 17 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ The Woman makes a Magic «that should prevent her from saying a third word». Why is it funny that the Still Magic itself brings the mouse?

  • 1. The Cat made the Magic — ← Mova's choice · score 7
  • 2. Her own magic made the stillness that let the mouse out, so she praises the Cat after all — ✓ the right answer · score 0
  • 3. The mouse is magic — score 6
  • 4. It isn't funny — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 95, line 1: «Very angry now, the Woman makes a Still Magic so that she will never say a third word of praise. The Cave grows so still that a little mouse creeps out. «Ouh!…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «still magic» (+5); the same action «make» (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 18 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Careful: the Cat makes bargains with how many people or animals in the whole story?

  • 1. Two: the Man and the Dog — ← Mova's choice · score 4
  • 2. One: the Woman, because the Man and the Dog only made threats — score 2
  • 3. Four, with the Bat — score 4
  • 4. Three — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 17, line 1: «Out of prison, the Duchess is suddenly sweet to Alice: «You dear old thing!» She tucks her arm into Alice's and walks with her. Alice wonders if it was only th…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+4); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the occurrence which caused the Woman to utter a third word in praise of the Cat.

  • 1. The swift capture of a mouse which had alarmed her — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
  • 2. The Cat's singing to the Baby — no support
  • 3. The Cat's playing with the spindle whorl — score 4
  • 4. The Bat's report — no support

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 95, line 4: «And so, says Kipling, cats catch mice and are kind to babies, but at night they go out to the Wet Wild Woods and the Wet Wild Roofs, waving their wild tails an…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «catch» (+2); the same thing acted on «mice» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the number of objects set in a row by the Man.

  • 1. Only two — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Five — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Seven — no support
  • 4. Three — 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 · right ✓

It is given that the Cat declined to forgo his claim to walk by himself. Select the response most consistent with the conduct of the Dog thereafter.

  • 1. He withdrew to the Wet Wild Woods — score 6
  • 2. He shared his bones with the Cat — score 6
  • 3. He undertook to chase the Cat up a tree whenever they should meet — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
  • 4. He was reconciled with the Cat — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 95, line 3: «The Dog makes his bargain too: be kind to the Baby or be bitten. The Cat agrees, as long as the Baby does not pull his tail too hard, but again says he walks b…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «chase up» (+4); the same doer «dog» (+2); the same thing acted on «cat» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the real origin of the companionship between cats and people?

  • 1. Cats were tamed before dogs — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Wildcats were drawn to farmers' grain stores by mice, some ten thousand years ago — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Cats were introduced by the Romans — no support
  • 4. A single bargain was made in a Cave — 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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