---
title: Which moral is attached to the tale of the Ass and His Masters, and… — Aesop's Fables, The Farmer, His Boy, a… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which moral is attached to the tale of the Ass and His Masters, and how does it bear upon the Ass's conduct? Exam question 2 of lesson 150 «Aesop's Fables, The Farmer, His Boy, and the Rooks, part 20: the boy's sling sends the rooks flying from the wheat field» of the books course of Mova's primary 
---

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# Exam question 2 · Aesop's Fables, The Farmer, His Boy, and the Rooks, part 2…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which moral is attached to the tale of the Ass and His Masters, and how does it bear upon the Ass's conduct?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** moral, Ass · **What happens:** attach, bear, tell, conduct · **To what, where:** moral · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 150 «Aesop's Fables, The Farmer, His Boy, and the Rooks, part 20: the boy's sling sends the rooks flying from the wheat field» 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/150-pg11339-part20/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:150-pg11339-part20:e2:1
# text = Which moral is attached to the tale of the Ass and His Masters, and how does it bear upon the Ass's conduct?
1	Which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	2	det	_	_
2	moral	moral	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	attached	attach	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	Masters	Master	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
16	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	19	advmod	_	_
17	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
18	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
19	bear	bear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
20	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	Ass	Ass	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	24	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	's	's	PART	POS	_	22	case	_	_
24	conduct	conduct	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **attach** | present · passive |  | which moral |  |  |  | to the tale of the Ass and His Masters | vn shake-22.3-2-1 «NP V NP PP»: subject=Patient to tale=Co-Patient |
| 2 | **bear** | present · do-support | moral |  |  |  |  | upon the Ass's conduct | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **tell** |  | the Ass and His Masters |  |  |  |  |  | nom tale «communication intransitive»: of=agent |
| 4 | **conduct** |  | the Ass |  |  |  |  |  | nom conduct «act transitive»: 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 -->
Servants do not know a good master till they have served a worse one, and the Ass, having been sold thrice, regrets his discontent and wishes he had stayed with the gardener, the potter and the tanner.

<!-- fold The tree, 37 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:150-pg11339-part20:e2:o1:1
# text = Servants do not know a good master till they have served a worse one, and the Ass, having been sold thrice, regrets his discontent and wishes he had stayed with the gardener, the potter and the tanner.
1	Servants	servant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	till	till	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	served	serve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	ccomp	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	worse	bad	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	14	amod	_	_
14	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	having	have	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	22	aux	_	_
21	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	22	aux:pass	_	_
22	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	conj	_	_
23	thrice	thrice	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
25	regrets	regret	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
26	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	27	nmod:poss	_	_
27	discontent	discontent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obj	_	_
28	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	29	cc	_	_
29	wishes	wish	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	25	conj	_	_
30	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	32	nsubj	_	_
31	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	32	aux	_	_
32	stayed	stay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	29	ccomp	_	_
33	with	with	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
34	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	35	det	_	_
35	gardener	gardener	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	32	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	38	punct	_	_
37	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	38	det	_	_
38	potter	potter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	35	conj	_	_
39	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	41	cc	_	_
40	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	41	det	_	_
41	tanner	tanner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	35	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **know** | present · do-support | Servants | a good master |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **serve** | present · perfect · passive |  | Servants *= servant* |  |  |  | the Ass *obl* | tree rules |
| 3 | **sell** | gerund · perfect · passive |  |  |  |  |  | thrice *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient» |
| 4 | **regret** | present |  | his discontent |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer discontent=Stimulus |
| 5 | **wish** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 6 | **stay** | past · perfect | he |  |  |  |  | with the gardener and the potter and the tanner | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme with gardener=Location |
| 7 | **discontent** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom discontent «feeling transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Servants value a kind master only after serving a cruel one, and the Ass is content.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:150-pg11339-part20:e2:o2:1
# text = Servants value a kind master only after serving a cruel one, and the Ass is content.
1	Servants	servant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	value	value	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	serving	serve	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	cruel	cruel	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
17	content	content	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **value** | present | Servants | a kind master |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer master=Stimulus |
| 2 | **serve** | gerund | Servants *not said here* | a cruel one |  |  |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Attribute |
| 3 | **is** | present | the Ass |  |  |  |  | content *property* | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Servants do not know a good master till they have served a worse, and the Ass regrets his discontent.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:150-pg11339-part20:e2:o3:1
# text = Servants do not know a good master till they have served a worse, and the Ass regrets his discontent.
1	Servants	servant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	till	till	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	served	serve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	ccomp	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	worse	bad	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
18	regrets	regret	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
19	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	discontent	discontent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **know** | present · do-support | Servants | a good master |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **serve** | present · perfect · passive |  | Servants *= servant* |  |  |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Attribute |
| 3 | **regret** | present | the Ass | Ass's discontent |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer discontent=Stimulus |
| 4 | **discontent** |  | Ass |  |  |  |  |  | nom discontent «feeling transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Servants do not know a good master till they have served a worse, and the Ass regrets his discontent, which he expressed in vain to all his masters and the gods above.

<!-- fold The tree, 32 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:150-pg11339-part20:e2:o4:1
# text = Servants do not know a good master till they have served a worse, and the Ass regrets his discontent, which he expressed in vain to all his masters and the gods above.
1	Servants	servant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	till	till	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	served	serve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	ccomp	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	worse	bad	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	Ass	ass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
18	regrets	regret	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
19	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	discontent	discontent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
22	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	24	nsubj	_	_
23	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
24	expressed	express	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	20	acl:relcl	_	_
25	in	in	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	vain	vain	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	obl	_	_
27	to	to	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
28	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	30	det:predet	_	_
29	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	30	nmod:poss	_	_
30	masters	master	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obl	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	33	cc	_	_
32	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	33	det	_	_
33	gods	god	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	30	conj	_	_
34	above	above	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **know** | present · do-support | Servants | a good master |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **serve** | present · perfect · passive |  | Servants *= servant* |  |  |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Attribute |
| 3 | **regret** | present | the Ass | Ass's discontent |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer discontent=Stimulus |
| 4 | **express** | past | Ass's discontent |  | Ass's masters and the gods | vain |  | above *property* | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to master=Recipient |
| 5 | **discontent** |  | Ass |  |  |  |  |  | nom discontent «feeling transitive»: poss=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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