---
title: The Mouse bites the Bull and then just hides, right? What does he sa… — Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass,… · tree and pragmatics
description: The Mouse bites the Bull and then just hides, right? What does he say from the wall? Test 12 · ★ of lesson 144 «Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass, part 14: a boastful Ass, a robbed Prophet, and other clever beasts» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmat
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/144-pg11339-part14/t12/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/) / [Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass,…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/144-pg11339-part14/) / t12

# Test 12 · ★ · Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass, part 14: a boastful…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Mouse bites the Bull and then just hides, right? What does he say from the wall?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Mouse · **What happens:** bite, hide, say · **To what, where:** Bull, wall · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 12 · ★ of lesson 144 «Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass, part 14: a boastful Ass, a robbed Prophet, and other clever beasts» of the books course of Mova's primary school. 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/144-pg11339-part14/#t12).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* The Mouse bites the Bull and then just hides, right?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:144-pg11339-part14:t12:1
# text = The Mouse bites the Bull and then just hides, right?
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Mouse	mouse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	bites	bite	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	Bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
8	just	just	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	hides	hide	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
11	right	right	INTJ	UH	_	3	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bite** | present | the Mouse | the Bull |  |  |  |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bull=Patient |
| 2 | **hide** | present | the Mouse *not said here* |  |  |  | then |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V»: 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What does he say from the wall?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:144-pg11339-part14:t12:2
# text = What does he say from the wall?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | Mouse |  |  | the wall |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Sometimes we little ones come off best, so never fear the big and clumsy bull again"

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:144-pg11339-part14:t12:o1:1
# text = "Sometimes we little ones come off best, so never fear the big and clumsy bull again"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	6	advmod	_	_
3	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	off	off	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	_
8	best	well	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	fear	fear	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
14	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	clumsy	clumsy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	conj	_	_
17	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
18	again	again	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come off** *in a quote* | present | we |  |  |  |  | sometimes, well *property* | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V ADV»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **fear** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | the big bull |  |  | again |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer bull=Stimulus |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Little ones sometimes win out, mate"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:144-pg11339-part14:t12:o2:1
# text = "Little ones sometimes win out, mate"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
4	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	5	advmod	_	_
5	win	win	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	vocative	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win out** *in a quote* | present | Little ones |  |  |  |  | mate *vocative*; sometimes *property* | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Sometimes we little ones come off best"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:144-pg11339-part14:t12:o3:1
# text = "Sometimes we little ones come off best"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	6	advmod	_	_
3	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	off	off	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	_
8	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come off** *in a quote* | present | we | best |  |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V ADV»: agent=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Sometimes big ones lose to small ones"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:144-pg11339-part14:t12:o4:1
# text = "Sometimes big ones lose to small ones"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	5	advmod	_	_
3	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	lose	lose	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** *in a quote* | present | big ones |  | small ones |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- div src -->

**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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass,…, test 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/144-pg11339-part14/t11/)
- next →: [Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass,…, test 13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/144-pg11339-part14/t13/)
- ↑ back to [Aesop's Fables, The Lion and the Ass, part 14: a boastful Ass, a robbed Prophet, and other clever beasts](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/144-pg11339-part14/)