---
title: When the hour for departure drew near the old mother went to her bed… — The Blue Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: When the hour for departure drew near the old mother went to her bedroom, and taking a small knife she cut her fingers till they bled; then she held a white rag under them, and letting three drops of blood fall into it, she gave it to her daughter, and said: “Dear child, take great care of this rag:
---

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# The Blue Fairy Book, The Goose-girl, sentence 6

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When the hour for departure drew near the old mother went to her bedroom, and taking a small knife she cut her fingers till they bled; then she held a white rag under them, and letting three drops of blood fall into it, she gave it to her daughter, and said: “Dear child, take great care of this rag: it may be of use to you on the journey.”

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**Who acts:** hour, old mother, mother, fingers, three drops, rag · **What happens:** draw, go, take, cut, bleed, hold · **To what, where:** bedroom, small knife, fingers, white rag, blood, rag · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «The Blue Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Goose-girl. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (hour, old mother, mother, fingers), 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:pg503:37:6
# text = When the hour for departure drew near the old mother went to her bedroom, and taking a small knife she cut her fingers till they bled; then she held a white rag under them, and letting three drops of blood fall into it, she gave it to her daughter, and said: “Dear child, take great care of this rag: it may be of use to you on the journey.”
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	departure	departure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	drew	draw	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	56	advcl	_	_
7	near	near	ADP	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	bedroom	bedroom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	taking	take	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	knife	knife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
21	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
22	cut	cut	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	conj	_	_
23	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
24	fingers	finger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	obj	_	_
25	till	till	SCONJ	IN	_	27	mark	_	_
26	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	nsubj	_	_
27	bled	bleed	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	31	punct	_	_
29	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	31	advmod	_	_
30	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	31	nsubj	_	_
31	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
32	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	34	det	_	_
33	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	34	amod	_	_
34	rag	rag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	31	obj	_	_
35	under	under	ADP	IN	_	36	case	_	_
36	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	31	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	39	punct	_	_
38	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	39	cc	_	_
39	letting	let	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
40	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	41	nummod	_	_
41	drops	drop	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	44	nsubj	_	_
42	of	of	ADP	IN	_	43	case	_	_
43	blood	blood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	41	nmod	_	_
44	fall	fall	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	39	parataxis	_	_
45	into	into	ADP	IN	_	46	case	_	_
46	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	44	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
47	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	49	punct	_	_
48	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	49	nsubj	_	_
49	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	44	conj	_	_
50	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	49	obj	_	_
51	to	to	ADP	IN	_	53	case	_	_
52	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	53	nmod:poss	_	_
53	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	49	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
54	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	56	punct	_	_
55	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	56	cc	_	_
56	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
57	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	60	punct	_	_
58	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	60	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
59	Dear	dear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	60	amod	_	_
60	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	56	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
61	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	62	punct	_	_
62	take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	60	parataxis	_	_
63	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	64	amod	_	_
64	care	care	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	62	obj	_	_
65	of	of	ADP	IN	_	67	case	_	_
66	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	67	det	_	_
67	rag	rag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	64	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
68	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	73	punct	_	_
69	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	73	nsubj	_	_
70	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	73	aux	_	_
71	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	73	cop	_	_
72	of	of	ADP	IN	_	73	case	_	_
73	use	use	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	56	ccomp	_	_
74	to	to	ADP	IN	_	75	case	_	_
75	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	73	nmod	_	_
76	on	on	ADP	IN	_	78	case	_	_
77	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	78	det	_	_
78	journey	journey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	73	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
79	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	56	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
80	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	56	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** | past | the hour for departure |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **go** | past | the old mother |  |  | mother's bedroom |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to bedroom=Initial\_Location |
| 3 | **take** | gerund | the hour for departure *not said here* | a small knife |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent knife=Theme |
| 4 | **cut** | past | mother | mother's fingers |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent finger=Product |
| 5 | **bleed** | past | fingers *= finger* |  |  |  |  |  | vn substance\_emission-43.4-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Source |
| 6 | **hold** | past | mother | a white rag |  |  | then | under fingers *= finger* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent rag=Theme under they=Location |
| 7 | **let** | gerund | the hour for departure *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |
| 8 | **fall** | present | three drops of blood |  |  | blood |  |  | vn become-109.1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient into it=Result |
| 9 | **give** | past | mother | rag | mother's daughter |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent it=Theme to daughter=Recipient |
| 10 | **say** *speech: assert* | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 11 | **take** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | great care of this rag |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent care=Theme |
| 12 | **is** *in a quote* | may | rag |  | you | the journey |  | of use | tree rules |
| 13 | **care** *in a quote* |  | this rag |  |  |  |  |  | nom care «act intransitive»: of=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.

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**Text:** «The Blue Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 503 (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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