---
title: They were kind little children, and wanted to play with him; but, al… — The Orange Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: They were kind little children, and wanted to play with him; but, alas! the poor fellow had never played in his life, and thought they wanted to tease him, and flew straight into the milk-pan, and then into the butter-dish, and from that into the meal- barrel, and at last, terrified at the noise and
---

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# The Orange Fairy Book, Opening, part 9, sentence 94

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They were kind little children, and wanted to play with him; but, alas! the poor fellow had never played in his life, and thought they wanted to tease him, and flew straight into the milk-pan, and then into the butter-dish, and from that into the meal- barrel, and at last, terrified at the noise and confusion, right out of the door, and hid himself in the snow amongst the bushes at the back of the house.

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**Who acts:** bones · **What happens:** be, want, play, not play, think, tease · **To what, where:** kind little children, poor fellow, life, fortune, milk pan, snow · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «The Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 9. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (bones), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

<!-- .note-en -->
**Parsed by Mova, not checked by a teacher.** This tree is Mova's own parse (the `en` model, on the CPU, when the site is built); it may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg3027:9:94
# text = They were kind little children, and wanted to play with him; but, alas! the poor fellow had never played in his life, and thought they wanted to tease him, and flew straight into the milk-pan, and then into the butter-dish, and from that into the meal- barrel, and at last, terrified at the noise and confusion, right out of the door, and hid himself in the snow amongst the bushes at the back of the house.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
14	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
16	alas	alas	INTJ	UH	_	23	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	20	punct	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	fellow	fellow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nsubj:pass	_	_
21	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	_
22	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	23	advmod	_	_
23	played	play	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	conj	_	_
24	in	in	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
25	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	26	nmod:poss	_	_
26	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	29	punct	_	_
28	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	29	cc	_	_
29	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
30	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	31	nsubj	_	_
31	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	29	ccomp	_	_
32	to	to	PART	TO	_	33	mark	_	_
33	tease	tease	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	31	xcomp	_	_
34	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	33	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	37	punct	_	_
36	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	37	cc	_	_
37	flew	fly	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	29	parataxis	_	_
38	straight	straight	ADV	RB	_	43	advmod	_	_
39	into	into	ADP	IN	_	43	case	_	_
40	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	43	det	_	_
41	milk	milk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	43	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	41	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
43	pan	pan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
44	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	51	punct	_	_
45	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	51	cc	_	_
46	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	51	advmod	_	_
47	into	into	ADP	IN	_	51	case	_	_
48	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	51	det	_	_
49	butter	butter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	51	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
50	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	49	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
51	dish	dish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	43	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
52	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	66	punct	_	_
53	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	66	cc	_	_
54	from	from	ADP	IN	_	55	case	_	_
55	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	66	nsubj	_	_
56	into	into	ADP	IN	_	60	case	_	_
57	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	60	det	_	_
58	meal	meal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	60	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
59	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	58	punct	_	_
60	barrel	barrel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	55	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
61	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	66	punct	_	_
62	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	66	cc	_	_
63	at	at	ADP	IN	_	64	case	_	_
64	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	66	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
65	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	64	punct	_	_
66	terrified	terrified	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	37	conj	_	_
67	at	at	ADP	IN	_	69	case	_	_
68	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	69	det	_	_
69	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	66	obl	_	_
70	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	71	cc	_	_
71	confusion	confusion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	69	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
72	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	77	punct	_	_
73	right	right	ADV	RB	_	77	advmod	_	_
74	out	out	ADP	IN	_	77	case	_	_
75	of	of	ADP	IN	_	77	case	_	_
76	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	77	det	_	_
77	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	66	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
78	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	80	punct	_	_
79	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	80	cc	_	_
80	hid	hide	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	37	conj	_	_
81	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	80	obj	_	_
82	in	in	ADP	IN	_	84	case	_	_
83	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	84	det	_	_
84	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	80	obl	_	_
85	amongst	amongst	ADP	IN	_	87	case	_	_
86	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	87	det	_	_
87	bushes	bush	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	80	obl	_	_
88	at	at	ADP	IN	_	90	case	_	_
89	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	90	det	_	_
90	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	80	obl	_	_
91	of	of	ADP	IN	_	93	case	_	_
92	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	93	det	_	_
93	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	90	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
94	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | bones *= bone* | kind little children |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **want** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **play** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with fortune | vn play-114.2-1 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent with he=Co-Agent |
| 4 | **not** **play** | past · perfect · passive |  | the poor fellow |  | fortune's life |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 5 | **think** *speech: other* | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 6 | **want** | past | bones *= bone* |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 7 | **tease** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | bones *= bone* *not said here* | fortune |  |  |  |  | vn bully-59.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Patient |
| 8 | **fly** | past |  | the milk pan and the butter dish |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location pan=Theme |
| 9 | **hide** | past |  | fortune |  | the snow |  | amongst the bushes; at the back of the house | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent himself=Patient in snow=Location |

<!-- .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.

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**Text:** «The Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 3027 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

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