---
title: The tortoise then told his wife that he was tired, and went to bed p… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: The tortoise then told his wife that he was tired, and went to bed pretending to be asleep, but he had one eye open all the time, and that eye he kept fixed upon the meat, as he was not going to take any risks, knowing full well that, if the meat disappeared, as it had a habit of doing, he himself w
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Ii.--the Cunning Hare; Or, Why the Tortoise Has a Patched Shell., sentence 47

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The tortoise then told his wife that he was tired, and went to bed pretending to be asleep, but he had one eye open all the time, and that eye he kept fixed upon the meat, as he was not going to take any risks, knowing full well that, if the meat disappeared, as it had a habit of doing, he himself would be the next victim.

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**Who acts:** tortoise, meat, habit · **What happens:** tell, be, go, pretend, have, keep · **To what, where:** wife, bed, one eye, eye, risks, habit · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Ii.--the Cunning Hare; Or, Why the Tortoise Has a Patched Shell.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (tortoise, meat, habit), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg70959:4:47
# text = The tortoise then told his wife that he was tired, and went to bed pretending to be asleep, but he had one eye open all the time, and that eye he kept fixed upon the meat, as he was not going to take any risks, knowing full well that, if the meat disappeared, as it had a habit of doing, he himself would be the next victim.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tortoise	tortoise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
4	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	iobj	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
14	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	bed	bed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
16	pretending	pretend	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	advcl	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
18	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	cop	_	_
19	asleep	asleep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
21	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
22	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	nsubj	_	_
23	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
24	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	25	nummod	_	_
25	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obj	_	_
26	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	xcomp	_	_
27	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	29	det:predet	_	_
28	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	29	det	_	_
29	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	36	punct	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	36	cc	_	_
32	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	33	det	_	_
33	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	36	nsubj:pass	_	_
34	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	35	nsubj	_	_
35	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	33	acl:relcl	_	_
36	fixed	fix	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	parataxis	_	_
37	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	39	case	_	_
38	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	39	det	_	_
39	meat	meat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	36	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
40	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	45	punct	_	_
41	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	45	mark	_	_
42	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	45	nsubj	_	_
43	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	45	aux	_	_
44	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	45	advmod	_	_
45	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	36	conj	_	_
46	to	to	PART	TO	_	47	mark	_	_
47	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	45	xcomp	_	_
48	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	49	det	_	_
49	risks	risk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	47	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
50	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	51	punct	_	_
51	knowing	know	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	45	advcl	_	_
52	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	51	xcomp	_	_
53	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	54	advmod	_	_
54	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	52	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
55	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	59	punct	_	_
56	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	59	mark	_	_
57	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	58	det	_	_
58	meat	meat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	59	nsubj	_	_
59	disappeared	disappear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
60	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	63	punct	_	_
61	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	63	mark	_	_
62	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	63	nsubj	_	_
63	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	59	advcl	_	_
64	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	65	det	_	_
65	habit	habit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	63	obj	_	_
66	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	67	mark	_	_
67	doing	do	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	65	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
68	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	67	punct	_	_
69	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	75	nsubj	_	_
70	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	69	nmod:unmarked	_	_
71	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	75	aux	_	_
72	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	75	cop	_	_
73	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	75	det	_	_
74	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	75	amod	_	_
75	victim	victim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	67	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
76	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | the tortoise |  | tortoise's wife |  | then |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent wife=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | past | tortoise |  |  |  |  | tired *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **go** | past | the tortoise *not said here* |  |  | bed |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to bed=Initial\_Location |
| 4 | **pretend** | gerund | the tortoise *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **is** | to-infinitive | the tortoise *not said here* |  |  |  |  | asleep *property* | tree rules |
| 6 | **have** | past | tortoise | one eye |  |  | time | open *property* | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Patient |
| 7 | **keep** | past | tortoise | that eye *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Theme |
| 8 | **fix** | participle · passive |  | that eye |  |  |  | upon the meat | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: subject=Patient |
| 9 | **not** **go** | past · progressive | tortoise |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 10 | **take** | to-infinitive | tortoise *not said here* | any risks |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent risk=Theme |
| 11 | **know** | gerund | tortoise *not said here* |  |  |  |  | full *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 12 | **disappear** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | the meat |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 13 | **have** | past | meat | a habit |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent habit=Patient |
| 14 | **do** | gerund | a habit *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 15 | **is a** | would | tortoise | the next victim |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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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:** «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Project Gutenberg book 70959 (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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