---
title: As he stood upon the beach watching the young birds they suddenly be… — Folk tales from Tibet · tree and pragmatics
description: As he stood upon the beach watching the young birds they suddenly began to manifest every sign of terror and confusion, chattering and squealing wildly to one another, and flapping their puny wings; and on turning towards the lake in order to ascertain what was the cause of their alarm, he perceived
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/16/62/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Folk tales from Tibet](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/) / [The Story of the Boy With the Deformed…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/16/) / 62

# Folk tales from Tibet, The Story of the Boy With the Deformed Head., sentence 62

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As he stood upon the beach watching the young birds they suddenly began to manifest every sign of terror and confusion, chattering and squealing wildly to one another, and flapping their puny wings; and on turning towards the lake in order to ascertain what was the cause of their alarm, he perceived an immense Dragon—whose head, at the end of its long neck, towered high above the water—making its way rapidly across the lake, with the evident intention of devouring the young Gryphons.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** word, daughters, evident intention · **What happens:** stand, watch, begin, manifest, chatter, squeal · **To what, where:** young birds, sign, one, puny wings, order, cause

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «Folk tales from Tibet» by William Frederick Travers, Sir O'Connor, The Story of the Boy With the Deformed Head.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (word, daughters, evident intention), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

<!-- .note-en -->
**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg75000:16:62
# text = As he stood upon the beach watching the young birds they suddenly began to manifest every sign of terror and confusion, chattering and squealing wildly to one another, and flapping their puny wings; and on turning towards the lake in order to ascertain what was the cause of their alarm, he perceived an immense Dragon—whose head, at the end of its long neck, towered high above the water—making its way rapidly across the lake, with the evident intention of devouring the young Gryphons.
1	As	as	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	56	advcl	_	_
4	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	beach	beach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	watching	watch	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
11	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	manifest	manifest	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	_
16	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	17	det	_	_
17	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	terror	terror	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	confusion	confusion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
23	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	15	advcl	_	_
24	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
25	squealing	squeal	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	23	conj	_	_
26	wildly	wildly	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
27	to	to	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	25	obl	_	_
29	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	28	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
32	flapping	flap	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	23	conj	_	_
33	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	35	nmod:poss	_	_
34	puny	puny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	35	amod	_	_
35	wings	wing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	32	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	39	punct	_	_
37	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	39	cc	_	_
38	on	on	SCONJ	IN	_	39	mark	_	_
39	turning	turn	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
40	towards	towards	ADP	IN	_	42	case	_	_
41	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	42	det	_	_
42	lake	lake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	39	obl	_	_
43	in	in	ADP	IN	_	44	case	_	_
44	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	39	obl	_	_
45	to	to	PART	TO	_	46	mark	_	_
46	ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	39	advcl	_	_
47	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	50	nsubj	_	_
48	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	50	cop	_	_
49	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	50	det	_	_
50	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	46	parataxis	_	_
51	of	of	ADP	IN	_	53	case	_	_
52	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	53	nmod:poss	_	_
53	alarm	alarm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	50	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
54	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
55	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	56	nsubj	_	_
56	perceived	perceive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
57	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	59	det	_	_
58	immense	immense	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	59	amod	_	_
59	Dragon	Dragon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	56	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
60	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	62	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
61	whose	whose	PRON	WP$	Poss=Yes|PronType=Rel	62	nmod:poss	_	_
62	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	59	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
63	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	66	punct	_	_
64	at	at	ADP	IN	_	66	case	_	_
65	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	66	det	_	_
66	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	56	obl	_	_
67	of	of	ADP	IN	_	70	case	_	_
68	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	70	nmod:poss	_	_
69	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	70	amod	_	_
70	neck	neck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	66	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
71	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	72	punct	_	_
72	towered	tower	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	66	conj	_	_
73	high	high	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	72	advmod	_	_
74	above	above	ADP	IN	_	76	case	_	_
75	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	76	det	_	_
76	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	72	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
77	—	-	PUNCT	,	_	78	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
78	making	make	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	56	advcl	_	_
79	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	80	nmod:poss	_	_
80	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	78	obj	_	_
81	rapidly	rapidly	ADV	RB	_	78	advmod	_	_
82	across	across	ADP	IN	_	84	case	_	_
83	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	84	det	_	_
84	lake	lake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	78	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
85	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	89	punct	_	_
86	with	with	ADP	IN	_	89	case	_	_
87	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	89	det	_	_
88	evident	evident	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	89	amod	_	_
89	intention	intention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	78	obl	_	_
90	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	91	mark	_	_
91	devouring	devour	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	89	acl	_	_
92	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	94	det	_	_
93	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	94	amod	_	_
94	Gryphons	gryphon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	91	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
95	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	56	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | past | word |  |  |  |  | upon the beach | vn admire-31.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **watch** | gerund | word *not said here* | the young birds |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bird=Theme |
| 3 | **begin** | past | daughters *= daughter* | the young birds *not said here* |  |  |  | suddenly *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **manifest** | to-infinitive | daughters *= daughter* *not said here* | every sign of terror and confusion |  |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sign=Theme |
| 5 | **chatter** | gerund | daughters *= daughter* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **squeal** | gerund | daughters *= daughter* *not said here* |  | one |  |  | wildly *property* | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to one=Recipient |
| 7 | **flap** | gerund | daughters *= daughter* *not said here* | daughters's puny wings |  |  |  |  | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wing=Patient |
| 8 | **turn** | gerund | word *not said here* |  |  | order |  | towards the lake | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V PP.source PP.trajectory PP.destination»: agent=Theme towards lake=Source in order=Trajectory |
| 9 | **ascertain** | to-infinitive | word *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 10 | **is a** | past |  | the cause |  |  |  | of daughters's alarm; what *nsubj* | tree rules |
| 11 | **perceive** | past | word | a immense Dragon |  |  | at the end of lake's long neck |  | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer dragon=Stimulus |
| 12 | **tower** | participle | word *not said here* |  |  | the water |  | high *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme above water=Location |
| 13 | **make** | gerund | word *not said here* | lake's way |  | the lake |  | with the evident intention; rapidly *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset way=Product |
| 14 | **devour** | gerund | the evident intention *not said here* | the young Gryphons |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent gryphon=Patient |
| 15 | **sign** |  |  | terror and confusion |  |  |  |  | nom sign «communication transitive»: of=patient |
| 16 | **alarm** |  | daughters *= daughter* |  |  |  |  |  | nom alarm «feeling 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.

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** «Folk tales from Tibet» by William Frederick Travers, Sir O'Connor, Project Gutenberg book 75000 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [sentence 61](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/16/61/)
- next →: [sentence 63](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/16/63/)
- ↑ back to [The Story of the Boy With the Deformed Head.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/16/)