--- title: Celtic Fairy Tales, The Shifty Lad: the Shifty Lad wins the princess… — how Mova does on the tests · Books description: Lesson 1279 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 3 of 12 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1279-pg3454-part4/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/) / 1279 # Celtic Fairy Tales, The Shifty Lad: the Shifty Lad wins the princess, then dies on the bridge of Dublin **Tests:** 3 of 12 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 13 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72` Lesson 1279 of the books course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/). ### Test 1 · ★ · right ✓ {#t1} Yo, was it the Wise Man who dotted the Shifty Lad's cheek, or the king, like, trying to be sneaky? - **1.** the Wizard — no support - **2.** the attendant — no support - **3.** the Wise Man — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 0 - **4.** the chief — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1279, line 8: «Who: the princess has her own bottle, which "the Wizard had given her", and she is less skilful than the Wise Man.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+1). Against it: the same property (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t1/) ### Test 2 · ★ · right ✓ {#t2} Dude, how did the Shifty Lad even spot the dot, like, was he cheating with a mirror or what? - **1.** a silver mirror — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4 - **2.** a pool — score 4 - **3.** a mirror — score 4 - **4.** a glass window — score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1279, line 9: «What: the Shifty Lad sees the black dot "in a silver mirror", so he knows who marked him and why.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «shifty lad» (+2); the same circumstance (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t2/) ### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3} Mate, so he nicked the bottle and then dotted the Wise Man? Proper cheeky, innit? - **1.** two dots on the Wise Man — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** two black dots on the Wise Man's cheek and one on the king's sleeve — no support - **3.** he dotted the Wise Man twice and then ran off with the bottle — **← Mova's choice** · score 2 - **4.** he stole the king's ring — score 1 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 429, line 11: «The Raven sprinkles Ivan with the Water of Death, and "the body became whole" again.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same receiver «ivan» (+4); the same action «sprinkle» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t3/) ### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4} Wait, how many blokes ended up with black spots? Like, a proper mob? - **1.** fifteen — score 3 - **2.** about twenty of them — **← Mova's choice** · score 7 - **3.** twenty — **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **4.** twenty-odd men in the hall — score 7 **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1279, line 13: «Why: the twenty men all step forward, saying "I am the person you want", so the thief cannot be picked out.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «twenty men» (+5); the number the lesson gave for it (+3). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 7. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t4/) ### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5} Lol, so the king said whoever sorted it gets the princess AND half the kingdom? Sick deal! - **1.** no, just the princess — no support - **2.** yes, that was the offer — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** yes, the king said it — **← Mova's choice** · score 4 - **4.** yes, it was the king's exact offer to anyone who solved it — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1262, line 1: «The monkey's tale ends: the shepherd kills the puma who stole his sheep, and the monkey drinks all the milk and marries.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «monkey» (+3); the same action «tell» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t5/) ### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6} Yeah but how'd they choose? Did the chamberlain just pick one? - **1.** a child with an apple from the royal orchard in the garden — score 3 - **2.** a little girl who was sent in with an apple — **← Mova's choice** · score 4 - **3.** a child with an apple — **✓ the right answer** · score 3 - **4.** a guard with a sword — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 921, line 6: «Who: a little boy with fresh rosy cheeks and clear sparkling eyes, who lives in one of the new houses opposite.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «little boy» (+2); the same thing acted on «little boy» (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t6/) ### Test 7 · ★ · right ✓ {#t7} Bruv, the Shifty Lad was twisting a bit of wood round his finger, right? Mad, that's proper dodgy. - **1.** twisting a shaving of wood — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** turning a wooden twig — no support - **3.** carving wood — no support - **4.** whittling a piece of wood — no support **Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t7/) ### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8} So the kid went straight to him? Like, that's the best bit, she knew him! - **1.** she went straight to him — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** she walked to the wrong man — score -2 - **3.** she went straight to him and handed him the apple — no support - **4.** she went straight across the room to the man in the corner — **← Mova's choice** · score 0 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 0, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1082, line 10: «He spared Aurora because she came "jumping and laughing" to ask him for sugar-candy, and then "he began to weep".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+1). Against it: the same doer «kid» (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t8/) ### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9} Ha, and then the bridge, like, he wanted her to hang him over the wall for a laugh? - **1.** yes, he wanted her to hang him over the wall just for fun — **← Mova's choice** · score 2 - **2.** yes, as a joke — no support - **3.** no, for a dare — no support - **4.** yes, for a laugh — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1279, line 5: «He lets her hang him over the bridge wall, she lets go when a cry of fire rises, and he dies, as his mother had foretold.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hang» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t9/) ### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10} Yo, his mum said he'd hang off Dublin bridge, bet she was right, eh? - **1.** yes, his mum was right about the bridge in Dublin — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** she was right, he did hang off the bridge — no support - **3.** she was right — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** he was right — no support **Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t10/) ### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11} What's the bit where she let go? Was it cos she got a fright? - **1.** a call about a flood — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** a loud cry that the palace was on fire — no support - **3.** a shout of fire — no support - **4.** a cry about a fire — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t11/) ### Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t12} Gutted, so he just smacked his head on a stone and that was it? - **1.** yes, he died instantly after hitting his head on the stone — **← Mova's choice** · score 2 - **2.** yes, he died straight away — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** no, he lived on a while — no support - **4.** no, he lingered for hours before dying from the blow to his head — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1072, line 12: «fact: The stranger goes "to a certain distance" before he throws the stone that hits mac an Da'v's nose.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hit» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/t12/) ### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1} By what means did the Shifty Lad ascertain the presence of the black mark upon his cheek? - **1.** By looking in a polished bowl — no support - **2.** By viewing it in a looking glass — **← Mova's choice** · score 0 - **3.** By checking in a silver glass — no support - **4.** By observing it in a silver mirror — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1279, line 1: «The Wise Man secretly dots the Shifty Lad's cheek with black ointment, but the Shifty Lad sees it in a silver mirror.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+1); the same place «silver mirror» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/e1/) ### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2} Which stratagem did the council adopt in order to identify the rightful suitor among the twenty men? - **1.** A child was to present an apple to one man — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **2.** A young child was to walk into the room and present a red apple to the one man chosen — score 4 - **3.** A test of skill was set for all twenty — score 0 - **4.** The king would decide by a riddle contest — score 6 **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1279, line 8: «Who: the princess has her own bottle, which "the Wizard had given her", and she is less skilful than the Wise Man.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «princess» (+5); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3). Against it: the same circumstance (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/e2/) ### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3} Upon what grounds did the Shifty Lad express his conviction concerning the bridge of Dublin? - **1.** He had heard a rumour from the town crier — no support - **2.** Long ago, his mother had said clearly that he would be hanged from the stone bridge over the river — **← Mova's choice** · score 2 - **3.** His mother had prophesied his death upon it — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** His mother had once prophesied, long before, that he would hang from the bridge of Dublin — score -1 **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 2, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 869, line 15: «Where Little Claus stops: on "a new bridge" over a broad, deep river, where the water flows so rapidly that few can swim against it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/e3/) ### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4} What circumstance occasioned the princess to release the handkerchief and precipitate the death of her husband? - **1.** A shout that the king had fallen — score 2 - **2.** A fire alarm — no support - **3.** A cry that the palace was burning — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4 - **4.** A sudden cry of alarm nearby — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1009, line 16: «The princess "lay on the sofa, and would not say a single word."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «single word» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1279-pg3454-part4/e4/) - ← previous: [1278. Celtic Fairy Tales, The Shifty Lad, part 3: tric…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1278-pg3454-part3/) - next →: [1280. Fairy Book, The Old Woman and the Prince: a cond…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1280-pg3454-part5/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/)