--- title: English Fairy Tales, The Ass, the Table, and the Stick: Jack gets th… — how Mova does on the tests · Books description: Lesson 1973 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 3 of 13 tests right, exam 1 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/1973-pg7439-part32/) [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/) / 1973 # English Fairy Tales, The Ass, the Table, and the Stick: Jack gets three magic gifts, loses two, and wins his sweetheart **Tests:** 3 of 13 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 11 of 17 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72` Lesson 1973 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/1973-pg7439-part32/). ### Test 1 · ★ · right ✓ {#t1} Oi, why'd Jack scarper from his dad's gaff, mate? - **1.** His dad was proper nasty to him — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** Dad was skint — no support - **3.** Dad forced him to work in the mill — no support - **4.** His dad kept him locked in — no support **Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, 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/1973-pg7439-part32/t1/) ### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2} What's the ass's party trick, innit? - **1.** It pooped out money when he yanked its ears, every single time, innit — no support - **2.** It just brays and farts loud, nothing special, but it has a nice coat — **← Mova's choice** · score 4 - **3.** It pooped out money when he yanked its ears — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** It does tricks for the kids all day — score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 579, line 13: «The trick: Brer Rabbit skins the cow, salts the hide down, and hides the meat away in the smoke-house.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «trick» (+3); the same thing acted on «hide» (+1). 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/1973-pg7439-part32/t2/) ### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3} Who nicked the magic ass off Jack at the inn? - **1.** A traveller who fancied it — **← Mova's choice** · score 0 - **2.** The landlord, the publican, who swapped it for a plain one — score 0 - **3.** The landlord's cousin, a dodgy bloke who had watched Jack all night long — score 0 - **4.** The landlord, the publican — **✓ the right answer** · score -2 **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 0, tied with another option at 0 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1956, line 6: «Who: Jack, the King, and three little men who serve Jack and carry the castle.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «three little men» (+2). Against it: the same doer «three little men» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored -2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/t3/) ### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4} How long did Jack graft for the old lady, bruv? - **1.** A year and a day — **✓ the right answer** · score 2 - **2.** Nine months, maybe — score 2 - **3.** Seven whole years, the usual apprenticeship term, bruv — score 2 - **4.** A year and a day, as the old lady had demanded of him — **← Mova's choice** · score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1973, line 11: «Jack's father says "Never till you have the money to keep her" when Jack asks to marry the girl he loves.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «ask» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/t4/) ### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5} What did the table do when Jack said its magic words? - **1.** Filled with bread, cheese and cold ale — **← Mova's choice** · score 5 - **2.** Got loaded with turkey and sausages — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** Went blank — no support - **4.** Shrank — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 545, line 19: «Old word: "aghast" means shocked and filled with horror, so Eurystheus "stood aghast" when he saw Cerberus.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same action «fill» (+1). Against it: the same circumstance (-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/1973-pg7439-part32/t5/) ### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6} What was Jack's dad's weapon of choice, wicked? - **1.** A cast-iron pot — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** A warming-pan — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** A wooden spoon — no support - **4.** A heavy warming-pan that hung on the kitchen wall — 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/1973-pg7439-part32/t6/) ### Test 7 · ★ · right ✓ {#t7} What did Jack's stick do to the publican? - **1.** Walloped him till he gave up the goods — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4 - **2.** Tipped him into the ditch by the road — score 4 - **3.** Walloped him till he gave up the goods and then walloped him again — score 4 - **4.** Shoved him off the counter and out the door — score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. 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 1973, line 17: «Old word: a "cudgel" is a short, thick stick, and "belaboured" means beaten hard, so the stick does a thorough job on the innkeeper.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «old word» (+3); the same thing acted on «short thick stick» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/t7/) ### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8} What did Jack's sweetheart have in her apron, like? - **1.** A pile of gold coins and some jewels that she kept hidden away in the apron — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** A handful of bread and cheese, mate — no support - **3.** Only two copper pennies, that was it, nothing more at all — no support - **4.** Only two copper pennies, that was it — **✓ 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/1973-pg7439-part32/t8/) ### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9} Where did Jack find his stick, cheers? - **1.** In a shop — **← Mova's choice** · score 3 - **2.** Off a bloke at a river — **✓ the right answer** · score 3 - **3.** From an old man by the road — score 3 - **4.** At home — score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1038, line 13: «Fionn learns to run by playing a switch game, where "a small boy feels a switch."», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «feel» (+2); the same thing acted on «switch» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/t9/) ### Test 10 · ★ · right ✓ {#t10} Who's the nurse with the squinny-eyed mate? - **1.** Dame Goody, a babies' nurse — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** Dame Goody — no support - **3.** A nurse — no support - **4.** Jack's aunt, a fine tall cook — 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/1973-pg7439-part32/t10/) ### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11} What colour cloak did the people make for the Brownie, sick? - **1.** Bright yellow cloth — **← Mova's choice** · score 2 - **2.** Blue — score 1 - **3.** Lincoln green — **✓ the right answer** · score -1 - **4.** Dark brown wool — score -1 **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1957, line 20: «fact: Old word: "hasty pudding" was a thick dish of oatmeal or flour boiled in water or milk; few people make it today.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+1); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). The right option, 3, scored -1. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/t11/) ### Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t12} Why did Jack's dad go mental at him, innit? - **1.** Jack ran off after a fight with the local boys in town — score 1 - **2.** Jack stole from the till — **← Mova's choice** · score 2 - **3.** Jack ran off after a fight — **✓ the right answer** · score 1 - **4.** Jack ran off after a fight and took the best ass with him — score 1 **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1973, line 15: «At the river a man makes a bridge by casting a tree across, and he gives Jack a stick that obeys the words "Up stick and bang him".», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «man» (+1); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 1. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/t12/) ### Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t13} Did Jack's stick really knock the girls out, bruv? - **1.** No — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Nah, only the little ones — no support - **3.** Maybe — no support - **4.** Yeah, every single one — **✓ 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/1973-pg7439-part32/t13/) ### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1} What method did the ass employ to release its currency when its ears were pulled? - **1.** By dropping coins from its tail — **← Mova's choice** · score 7 - **2.** By braying until coins fell from its mouth — **✓ the right answer** · score 3 - **3.** By shaking its great head until coins tumbled out — score -1 - **4.** By braying loudly until coins fell from its mouth onto the ground — score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1973, line 2: «She gives him a magic ass that drops coins when he pulls its ears, but a sly innkeeper swaps it for a plain one.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «drop» (+5); the same thing acted on «coins» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/e1/) ### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2} With what implement did the protagonist's father chastise him upon the second occasion? - **1.** With a warming-pan taken from the wall — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** With his own bare fists and a big leather belt taken from the wall — no support - **3.** With a heavy warming-pan taken from the wall of the kitchen — no support - **4.** With a wooden spoon from the hearth — 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/1973-pg7439-part32/e2/) ### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3} Which precise phrase did the protagonist utter to command the cudgel to act? - **1.** "Up stick and bang him hard, and don't stop till he's down!" was the cry — no support - **2.** "Up stick and bang him!" was the cry — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** "Stick, go and beat them all!" — **← Mova's choice** · score 3 - **4.** "Stick, rise up and bang him, go on, bang him, bang him!" was the cry — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1953, line 11: «Why he could not work magic: "I can do nothing," he said, "as I don't know the right words to utter."», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «master» (+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/1973-pg7439-part32/e3/) ### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4} What was the consequence for the girl who possessed only two copper pennies? - **1.** She was given a whole purse of gold coins and then sent home to her mother — **← Mova's choice** · score 7 - **2.** She received the diamonds from her apron — **✓ the right answer** · score 6 - **3.** She received the diamonds from her apron and a gold ring too — score 6 - **4.** She was given a silver ring — score 5 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 443, line 3: «She sends the girl home with a skull with blazing eyes as a light for her stepsisters.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «send» (+4); the same property (+3). The right option, 2, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1973-pg7439-part32/e4/) - ← previous: [1972. English Fairy Tales, Kate Crackernuts: Kate save…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1972-pg7439-part31/) - next →: [1974. English Fairy Tales, Dame Goody, the pixy's oint…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1974-pg7439-part33/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/)