---
title: With reference to the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse,… — Aesop's Fables, The Town Mouse and the… · tree and pragmatics
description: With reference to the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, state the principal reason the Country Mouse gave for his departure. Exam question 3 of lesson 145 «Aesop's Fables, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse: a town visit ends in fright» of the books course of Mova's primary school, wi
---

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# Exam question 3 · Aesop's Fables, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse: a to…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
With reference to the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, state the principal reason the Country Mouse gave for his departure.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** principal reason, reason · **What happens:** give, depart

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 145 «Aesop's Fables, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse: a town visit ends in fright» 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/145-pg11339-part15/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:145-pg11339-part15:e3:1
# text = With reference to the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, state the principal reason the Country Mouse gave for his departure.
1	With	with	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	reference	reference	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	Town	Town	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	Mouse	mouse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	Country	Country	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	Mouse	mouse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nsubj	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	Country	Country	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	21	compound	_	_
21	Mouse	Mouse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	22	nsubj	_	_
22	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
23	for	for	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	25	nmod:poss	_	_
25	departure	departure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	22	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | with reference to the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse and state; for reason's departure | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent for departure=Asset |
| 2 | **depart** |  | reason |  |  |  |  |  | nom departure «act intransitive»: poss=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 -->
That he was surrounded by dangers, whereas at home he could dine in peace with his family and his friends in the quiet fields all day long

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:145-pg11339-part15:e3:o1:1
# text = That he was surrounded by dangers, whereas at home he could dine in peace with his family and his friends in the quiet fields all day long
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	surrounded	surround	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	dangers	danger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	whereas	wherea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	home	home	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	dine	dine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	peace	peace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
20	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	conj	_	_
22	in	in	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	quiet	quiet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	fields	field	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	21	nmod	_	_
26	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	27	det	_	_
27	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl:unmarked	_	_
28	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **surround** | past · passive | dangers and whereas at home | That |  |  | day | long *property* | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme subject=Co-Theme |
| 2 | **dine** | could | he |  |  | peace |  | with his family and his friends in the quiet fields | vn dine-39.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That the town house was full of dangers, cats, dogs and servants, and he had grown tired of its rich food and noisy streets

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:145-pg11339-part15:e3:o2:1
# text = That the town house was full of dangers, cats, dogs and servants, and he had grown tired of its rich food and noisy streets
1	That	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	det	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	dangers	danger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	servants	servant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
18	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
19	grown	grow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	6	conj	_	_
20	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	xcomp	_	_
21	of	of	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
23	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
26	noisy	noisy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	streets	street	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | that town house |  |  |  |  | of dangers and cats and dogs and servants; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | past · perfect | he |  |  |  |  | tired *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because the food in town was too rich for him to eat

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:145-pg11339-part15:e3:o3:1
# text = Because the food in town was too rich for him to eat
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	too	too	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the food in town |  |  |  |  | for him *= he*; rich *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** | to-infinitive | the food in town *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That he was surrounded by dangers, whereas at home he could dine in peace

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:145-pg11339-part15:e3:o4:1
# text = That he was surrounded by dangers, whereas at home he could dine in peace
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	surrounded	surround	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	dangers	danger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	whereas	wherea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	home	home	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	dine	dine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	peace	peace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **surround** | past · passive | dangers and whereas at home | That |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme subject=Co-Theme |
| 2 | **dine** | could | he |  |  | peace |  |  | vn dine-39.5 «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 -->

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