---
title: Arabian Nights, Sidi-Nouman, part 1: the blind man's curse ends, and… — how Mova does on the tests · Books
description: Lesson 216 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 3 of 11 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/216-pg128-part56/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[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/) / 216

# Arabian Nights, Sidi-Nouman, part 1: the blind man's curse ends, and the Caliph questions the cruel young man

<!-- .vintro -->
**Tests:** 3 of 11 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 10 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

<!-- .vabout -->
Lesson 216 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.

<!-- .vabout -->
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/216-pg128-part56/).

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

<!-- .q -->
ok so like, what made the blind dude go totally blind?

- **1.** being robbed by merchants — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** touching his right eye with the ointment — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** rubbing his eyes with the dust of the road — no support
- **4.** the dervish's curse on his eyes — no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/216-pg128-part56/t1/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

<!-- .q -->
lol the dervish ditched him, so how did the dude get cash after?

- **1.** he was rescued by merchants who took him back to Bagdad — score 3
- **2.** he went to the Caliph's court and asked the guards for coins — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **3.** a merchant gave him gold — score -4
- **4.** begged for coins off people — **✓ the right answer** · no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 215, line 17: «He asks for the box, and the dervish gives it "gracefully", saying "Take it, my friend".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «ask» (+5). 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/216-pg128-part56/t2/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

<!-- .q -->
wait so who is the big boss guy, the caliph or the dervish?

- **1.** the dervish, who is the real boss — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** the dervish, a holy man — no support
- **3.** the caliph, Haroun-al-Raschid — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** the dervish, who was the true ruler of all the lands around Balsora — no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/216-pg128-part56/t3/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

<!-- .q -->
bruh, why did Sidi-Nouman keep whipping his horse?

- **1.** he was super mad, not really cruel — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** because a dervish had told him that horses bring bad luck to men — score 1
- **3.** he was furious at the Caliph and wanted to take it out on the animal — **← Mova's choice** · score 2
- **4.** he was just showing off to people — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 16: «The horse «had complained that he was being frightfully left out of it», so the Mole walked at his head talking to him.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); the same action «leave out» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-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/216-pg128-part56/t4/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 5 · ★ · right ✓ {#t5}

<!-- .q -->
no cap, did the caliph know who he was talking to at first?

- **1.** no, he was not told — score 7
- **2.** yes, he saw his face — score 10
- **3.** no, he hid his identity — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 13
- **4.** no, he was rude — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 3 with score 13, against 10 for the next best. Its support: lesson 216, line 14: «The Caliph is so angry that he was "very nearly disclosing who I was", but he hides his identity and says "do not think of me as the Caliph".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hide» (+5); the same doer «caliph» (+5); the same thing acted on «identity» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/216-pg128-part56/t5/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

<!-- .q -->
so the caliph said don't think of him as the caliph, right?

- **1.** nope, he wanted Sidi-Nouman to treat him as the caliph and bow every time — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** yep, but he also wanted to test whether Sidi-Nouman would lie — score 3
- **3.** yep, he wanted to be a friend — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **4.** yep, he just wanted a chat — score 3

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 216, line 13: «Now the Caliph meets Sidi-Nouman, who has beaten his horse, and says he has seen "horses broken all my life long".», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «caliph» (+3); the same thing acted on «sidi» (+2). Against it: 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/216-pg128-part56/t6/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

<!-- .q -->
what did the wife thing ruin for Sidi-Nouman, lowkey?

- **1.** his trip to the market — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** his happiness with his marriage — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** his peace of mind at home — no support
- **4.** his money — no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/216-pg128-part56/t7/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 8 · ★ · right ✓ {#t8}

<!-- .q -->
were the people in that land allowed to see brides before wedding?

- **1.** nope, they got married without seeing them — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **2.** nope, the bride was hidden and the groom only saw her after the wedding feast was over — no support
- **3.** yes, but only after the bride's veil was lifted by her father in court — no support
- **4.** nope, they only met the bride's brothers — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 161, line 3: «explain: Each evening he married a new bride, and each morning he had her strangled, while his grand-vizir wept and had to find the next girl.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «new bride» (+2); the same action «marry» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/216-pg128-part56/t8/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

<!-- .q -->
ok so what does "loth" mean, like, in plain talk?

- **1.** happy — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** to be sad about something — no support
- **3.** tired — no support
- **4.** unwilling, like "I'm not feeling it" — **✓ the right answer** · no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/216-pg128-part56/t9/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

<!-- .q -->
wait, how did the blind dude fix his sin of greed?

- **1.** people had to hit him — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** people had to kick him — no support
- **3.** he gave money to beggars — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** he paid fines — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 216, line 12: «The Caliph says: "Henceforth repent in private, for I will see that enough money is given you day by day for all your wants."», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+5); the same thing acted on «enough money» (+2). 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/216-pg128-part56/t10/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Test 11 · ★ · right ✓ {#t11}

<!-- .q -->
so how did the caliph feel about the blind man's story?

- **1.** he pardoned him and gave him money — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7
- **2.** he thought the story was fake and cruel — no support
- **3.** he doubted him and ran away — score 3
- **4.** he pardoned him, gave him money, and sent him home with a guard — score 7

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 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 216, line 3: «Now poor, the blind man begs, and he makes each passer-by hit him to pay for his greed, and the Caliph pardons him and promises him money.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pardon» (+5); the same thing acted on «man» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/216-pg128-part56/t11/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa ok -->

### Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓ {#e1}

<!-- .q -->
Which eye did the dervish's ointment render sightless when applied in the manner forbidden?

- **1.** the right eye — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **2.** the right eye, the one he had been warned about — score -4
- **3.** the left eye — score 4
- **4.** the eye — score 2

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 216, line 1: «The blind man ends his tale: he touched his right eye with the ointment and became blind, because he would not believe the dervish.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: a different doer (counts against) (+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/216-pg128-part56/e1/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

<!-- .q -->
How many camels did the dervish remove upon his departure toward Balsora?

- **1.** all of the camels in his caravan — no support
- **2.** eighty camels and four mules — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **3.** seventy — no support
- **4.** eighty — **✓ the right answer** · score 6

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 216, line 2: «The dervish refuses to heal him, takes his eighty camels, and leaves him in the desert until merchants bring him back to Bagdad.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the number the lesson gave for it (+6). The right option, 4, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/216-pg128-part56/e2/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

<!-- .q -->
What did the Caliph require of Sidi-Nouman before hearing his account?

- **1.** a plain and honest answer — **← Mova's choice** · score 9
- **2.** a complete and candid statement — **✓ the right answer** · score 9
- **3.** a complete and candid statement of every single thing he had done that day — score 8
- **4.** a full written report with witnesses and all the details of his life — no support

<!-- .why -->
**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 9, tied with another option at 9 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 216, line 18: «Old word: "loth" means unwilling, so "I am loth indeed" means "I really do not want to"; today we would say "reluctant".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «want» (+7); the same doer «caliph» (+1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 9. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/216-pg128-part56/e3/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div qa no -->

### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

<!-- .q -->
By what means did the blind man atone for the sin of avarice?

- **1.** by paying the merchants to hit him — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** by compelling each passer-by to strike him — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** by giving all his gold away — no support
- **4.** by begging — no support

<!-- .why -->
**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/216-pg128-part56/e4/)

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [215. Arabian Nights, The Dervish and the Treasure, pa…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/215-pg128-part55/)
- next →: [217. Arabian Nights, The Man Who Became a Dog, part 5…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/217-pg128-part57/)
- ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/)