---
title: Which of the following best describes the principal moral conveyed b… — Aesop's Fables, The Blacksmith and His… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following best describes the principal moral conveyed by the fable of the Blacksmith and His Dog? Exam question 1 of lesson 141 «Aesop's Fables, The Blacksmith and His Dog: the lazy dog is fed only when the work stops» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tr
---

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# Exam question 1 · Aesop's Fables, The Blacksmith and His Dog: the lazy dog i…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following best describes the principal moral conveyed by the fable of the Blacksmith and His Dog?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, describe, convey · **To what, where:** principal moral

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 141 «Aesop's Fables, The Blacksmith and His Dog: the lazy dog is fed only when the work stops» of the books course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/141-pg11339-part11/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:141-pg11339-part11:e1:1
# text = Which of the following best describes the principal moral conveyed by the fable of the Blacksmith and His Dog?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	obj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	case	_	_
5	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	6	nmod	_	_
6	describes	describe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	moral	moral	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
10	conveyed	convey	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl	_	_
11	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	Blacksmith	Blacksmith	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
18	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	Dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **describe** | present |  | the principal moral |  |  |  | of the best | tree rules |
| 3 | **convey** | participle |  | the principal moral *not said here* |  |  |  | by the fable of the Blacksmith and His Dog | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Idleness in work deserves to be unrewarded, and no master should feed a dog that only sleeps all day

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:141-pg11339-part11:e1:o1:1
# text = Idleness in work deserves to be unrewarded, and no master should feed a dog that only sleeps all day
1	Idleness	idleness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	deserves	deserve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	unrewarded	unreward	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
10	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
11	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
12	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	feed	feed	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
16	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
17	only	only	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
18	sleeps	sleep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	acl:relcl	_	_
19	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	20	det	_	_
20	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deserve** | present | Idleness in work |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **unreward** | to-infinitive · passive | Idleness in work *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **feed** | should | no master |  | a dog |  |  |  | vn feeding-39.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dog=Recipient |
| 4 | **sleep** | present | a dog |  |  |  | day |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Idleness in work deserves to be unrewarded, as the fable of the smith's dog teaches every servant

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:141-pg11339-part11:e1:o2:1
# text = Idleness in work deserves to be unrewarded, as the fable of the smith's dog teaches every servant
1	Idleness	idleness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	deserves	deserve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	unrewarded	unreward	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
9	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	smith	smith	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	's	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
17	teaches	teach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
18	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	19	det	_	_
19	servant	servant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deserve** | present | Idleness in work |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **unreward** | to-infinitive · passive | Idleness in work *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **teach** *speech: other* | present | the fable of the smith's dog | every servant |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent servant=Recipient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Idleness in work deserves to be unrewarded

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:141-pg11339-part11:e1:o3:1
# text = Idleness in work deserves to be unrewarded
1	Idleness	idleness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	deserves	deserve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	unrewarded	unreward	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deserve** | present | Idleness in work |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **unreward** | to-infinitive · passive | Idleness in work *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Diligence in work deserves to be rewarded

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:141-pg11339-part11:e1:o4:1
# text = Diligence in work deserves to be rewarded
1	Diligence	diligence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	deserves	deserve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	rewarded	reward	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deserve** | present | Diligence in work |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **reward** | to-infinitive · passive | Diligence in work *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient» |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Aesop's Fables, The Blacksmith and His…, test 12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/141-pg11339-part11/t12/)
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