---
title: In the fable of the Ass and the Mule, what was the fate of the Ass,… — Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine,… · tree and pragmatics
description: In the fable of the Ass and the Mule, what was the fate of the Ass, and which party bore the additional burden thereafter? Exam question 2 of lesson 148 «Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine, part 18: beasts are tricked, shot, or betrayed, and each fable teaches a lesson» of the books course of Mov
---

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# Exam question 2 · Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine, part 18: beasts are…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the fable of the Ass and the Mule, what was the fate of the Ass, and which party bore the additional burden thereafter?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Ass, party · **What happens:** be, bear · **To what, where:** fate, additional burden, fable

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 148 «Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine, part 18: beasts are tricked, shot, or betrayed, and each fable teaches a lesson» 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/148-pg11339-part18/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:148-pg11339-part18:e2:1
# text = In the fable of the Ass and the Mule, what was the fate of the Ass, and which party bore the additional burden thereafter?
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	Mule	mule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	14	nsubj	_	_
12	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	fate	fate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
20	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	21	det	_	_
21	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nsubj	_	_
22	bore	bear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	additional	additional	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	burden	burden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
26	thereafter	thereafter	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	22	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the Ass and the Mule and the fate | the fate |  |  |  | of the Ass | tree rules |
| 2 | **bear** | past | which party | the additional burden |  | the fable of the Ass and the Mule and the fate |  | thereafter *property* | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent burden=Patient |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Ass drowned in the river, and the Driver led the Mule home

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:148-pg11339-part18:e2:o1:1
# text = The Ass drowned in the river, and the Driver led the Mule home
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Ass	Ass	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	drowned	drown	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	Driver	Driver	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	led	lead	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	Mule	Mule	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	home	home	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drown** | past | the Ass |  |  | the river |  |  | vn poison-42.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **lead** | past | the Driver | the Mule home |  |  |  |  | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent home=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Ass was sold at market, and the Mule was sold with him

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:148-pg11339-part18:e2:o2:1
# text = The Ass was sold at market, and the Mule was sold with him
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Ass	Ass	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	market	market	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	Mule	Mule	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past · passive |  | the Ass |  | market |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: subject=Theme at market=Asset |
| 2 | **sell** | past · passive |  | the Mule |  |  |  | with him *= he* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Ass fell down a steep place and was killed, and the Mule bore the added load

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:148-pg11339-part18:e2:o3:1
# text = The Ass fell down a steep place and was killed, and the Mule bore the added load
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fell	fall	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	down	down	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	killed	kill	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	Mule	mule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	bore	bear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	added	add	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	18	amod	_	_
18	load	load	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fall down** | past | the Ass | a steep place |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **kill** | past · passive | the Ass *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle» |
| 3 | **bear** | past | the Mule | the added load |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent load=Patient |
| 4 | **add** *speech: assert* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Mule ran off into the hills

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:148-pg11339-part18:e2:o4:1
# text = The Mule ran off into the hills
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Mule	mule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	off	off	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hills	hill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run off** | past | the Mule |  |  |  |  | into the hills *result* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme into hill=Result |

<!-- 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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- ← previous: [Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine,…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/148-pg11339-part18/e1/)
- next →: [Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine,…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/148-pg11339-part18/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Aesop's Fables, The Stag and the Vine, part 18: beasts are tricked, shot, or betrayed, and each fable teaches a lesson](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/148-pg11339-part18/)