---
title: Why, nothing but a serpent’s skin, which her husband, who was, unkno… — The Pink Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: Why, nothing but a serpent’s skin, which her husband, who was, unknown to her, a magician, put on when he was at work; and at the sight of it the girl was turning away in disgust, when the earth shook violently under her feet, the palace vanished as if it had never been, and the bride found herself 
---

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# The Pink Fairy Book, The Pink Fairy Book, part 25, sentence 14

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why, nothing but a serpent’s skin, which her husband, who was, unknown to her, a magician, put on when he was at work; and at the sight of it the girl was turning away in disgust, when the earth shook violently under her feet, the palace vanished as if it had never been, and the bride found herself in the middle of a field, not knowing where she was or whither to go.

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**Who acts:** husband, nothing, damsel, girl, earth, palace · **What happens:** husband, be, put on, turn away, shake, vanish · **To what, where:** maiden, work, sight, feet, bride, middle · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «The Pink Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Pink Fairy Book, part 25. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (husband, nothing, damsel, girl), 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:pg5615:25:14
# text = Why, nothing but a serpent’s skin, which her husband, who was, unknown to her, a magician, put on when he was at work; and at the sight of it the girl was turning away in disgust, when the earth shook violently under her feet, the palace vanished as if it had never been, and the bride found herself in the middle of a field, not knowing where she was or whither to go.
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	24	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	24	nsubj	_	_
4	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	serpent	serpent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	’s	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
11	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	husband	husband	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	17	nsubj	_	_
15	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	unknown	unknown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	conj	_	_
18	to	to	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	magician	magician	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
24	put	put	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
25	on	on	ADP	RP	_	24	compound:prt	_	_
26	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	30	advmod	_	_
27	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	30	nsubj	_	_
28	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	30	cop	_	_
29	at	at	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
30	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	41	punct	_	_
32	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	41	cc	_	_
33	at	at	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
34	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	35	det	_	_
35	sight	sight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	41	obl	_	_
36	of	of	ADP	IN	_	37	case	_	_
37	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	35	nmod	_	_
38	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	39	det	_	_
39	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	41	nsubj	_	_
40	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	41	aux	_	_
41	turning	turn	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	24	advcl	_	_
42	away	away	ADV	RB	_	41	advmod	_	_
43	in	in	ADP	IN	_	44	case	_	_
44	disgust	disgust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	41	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
45	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	49	punct	_	_
46	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	49	mark	_	_
47	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	48	det	_	_
48	earth	earth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	49	nsubj	_	_
49	shook	shake	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	41	conj	_	_
50	violently	violently	ADV	RB	_	49	advmod	_	_
51	under	under	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	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	49	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
54	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	57	punct	_	_
55	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	56	det	_	_
56	palace	palace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	57	nsubj	_	_
57	vanished	vanish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	49	parataxis	_	_
58	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	63	mark	_	_
59	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	63	mark	_	_
60	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	63	nsubj	_	_
61	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	63	aux	_	_
62	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	63	advmod	_	_
63	been	be	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	57	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
64	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	68	punct	_	_
65	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	68	cc	_	_
66	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	67	det	_	_
67	bride	bride	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	68	nsubj	_	_
68	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	57	conj	_	_
69	herself	herself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	68	obj	_	_
70	in	in	ADP	IN	_	72	case	_	_
71	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	72	det	_	_
72	middle	middle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	68	obl	_	_
73	of	of	ADP	IN	_	75	case	_	_
74	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	75	det	_	_
75	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	72	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
76	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	78	punct	_	_
77	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	78	advmod	_	_
78	knowing	know	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	68	advcl	_	_
79	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	85	advmod	_	_
80	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	85	nsubj	_	_
81	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	85	cop	_	_
82	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	85	cc	_	_
83	whither	whither	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	85	advmod	_	_
84	to	to	PART	TO	_	85	mark	_	_
85	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	78	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
86	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	24	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **husband** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | maiden's husband and a magician |  | maiden |  |  | unknown *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **put on** | infinitive | nothing |  |  |  |  |  | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | past | damsel |  |  | work |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **turn away** | past · progressive | the girl |  |  | the sight of sight |  | in disgust; away *property* | vn banish-10.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **shake** | past | the earth |  |  | maiden's feet |  | violently *property* | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under foot=Location |
| 7 | **vanish** | past | the palace |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 8 | **not** **be** *a condition, not said to happen* | past · perfect | palace |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 9 | **find** | past | the bride | bride |  | the middle of a field |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent herself=Topic |
| 10 | **not** **know** | gerund | the bride *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 11 | **is** | past | earth |  |  |  |  | go, whither *property* | tree rules |
| 12 | **sight** |  |  | sight |  |  |  |  | nom sight «cognition transitive»: of=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.

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**Text:** «The Pink Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 5615 (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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