---
title: Andersen's Tales, The Porter's Son, part 1: a singing-bird dies, and… — how Mova does on the tests · Books
description: Lesson 943 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 6 of 13 tests right, exam 0 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Andersen's Tales, The Porter's Son, part 1: a singing-bird dies, and a porter's boy saves a nursery from fire

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**Tests:** 6 of 13 right · **Exam:** 0 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 8 of 17 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 943 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.

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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/943-pg27200-part154/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · right ✓ {#t1}

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Yo, who got squished first in the duck yard?

- **1.** the little singing-bird — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **2.** the little singing-bird from the yard — score 2
- **3.** the little brown hen — score 2
- **4.** the small singing-bird that sang at dawn — score 0

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 81, line 12: «At "the Wollgong River" there was no bridge and no ferry-boat, "so he stood on his legs and hopped": "First he hopped one yard; then he hopped three yards; the…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: a different action (counts against) (+2); 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/943-pg27200-part154/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · right ✓ {#t2}

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Mate, what was the bird's song all about?

- **1.** dew-drops glitter — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** morning light glows — no support
- **3.** the sun shines — no support
- **4.** dew-drops glitter on the green grass — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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Innit, who actually bit the bird's head?

- **1.** the Portuguese duck from the pond — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** the Portuguese duck — **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** the Chinese duck — score 4
- **4.** the old goose — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. 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 943, line 3: «She snaps that she has nerves too, eats her fill, and then bites the bird's head when he is only trying to help.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «bite» (+5); the same thing acted on «head» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 2, scored 4. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/943-pg27200-part154/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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Sick, what was George's savings-box for?

- **1.** a painting set — **← Mova's choice** · score -2
- **2.** a new box of oil paints — score -2
- **3.** a paint-box — **✓ the right answer** · score -2
- **4.** a sketch-book — score -2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score -2, tied with another option at -2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 943, line 17: «Old word: "impertinent" meant rude or cheeky, and people still use it in that way today.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. Against it: the same thing acted on «word» (-2). The right option, 3, scored -2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/943-pg27200-part154/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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Lol, what did Emily nick from the nursery?

- **1.** a box of lucifer-matches from the kitchen — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** a lucifer-match — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** a box of matches — no support
- **4.** a lucifer-match from the table — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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Dude, where did the porter's lot live?

- **1.** in the stables — no support
- **2.** in the damp cellar by the coal — score 6
- **3.** in the cellar under the stairs — score 6
- **4.** in the cellar — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask where. It chose option 4 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 943, line 12: «Where: the General lives in the grand first floor, and the porter lives in the cellar, under the same roof.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «live» (+4); a different doer (counts against) (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: the same place «cellar» (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/943-pg27200-part154/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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Bro, what tree was growing in the courtyard?

- **1.** a big old chestnut in the yard — **← Mova's choice** · score 0
- **2.** a willow — score -2
- **3.** a tall weeping willow tree — score -2
- **4.** an acacia — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 0, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 931, line 2: «A tiny, forgotten deed may grow like a pea shoot, and a poor man's old stool may turn into a golden throne.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «turn» (+1). Against it: the same property (-1). 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/943-pg27200-part154/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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Is it true the lady said "He has genius"?

- **1.** yeah, the General's lady — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** yeah, the porter's wife — no support
- **3.** yeah, the General's lady said it at dinner — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **4.** no, it was the General's lady's maid who said it — score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 902, line 9: «The lady says quietly, "One sees, now, that there is rank above rank," and the Moon finds the moment festive and a little funny.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same doer «lady» (+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/943-pg27200-part154/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · right ✓ {#t9}

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Ugh, what did the duck call the bird?

- **1.** impertinent creature — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** wicked thing — no support
- **3.** impudent creature — no support
- **4.** disgusting creature — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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Random, what noise did the ducks make when they cried?

- **1.** a noisy clucking sound all through the yard — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** a noisy clucking sound — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** a very loud clucking sound with wings flapping — no support
- **4.** a loud quacking noise — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · right ✓ {#t11}

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Mad, what did the General shout when he saw the kids?

- **1.** "Charming!" — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **2.** "Splendid!" — score 6
- **3.** "Oh!" — no support
- **4.** "Bravo!" — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 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 671, line 1: «The king drives the boy home, asks why he cried, and gets no answer, because the boy will not tell his dream.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «king» (+4); the same action «cry» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/943-pg27200-part154/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t12}

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Real talk, why was the duck so grumpy when she woke?

- **1.** she had slept badly — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** she was hungry — no support
- **3.** she had a bad dream — no support
- **4.** she had not slept well — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/t12/)

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### Test 13 · ★ · right ✓ {#t13}

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Ha, what had the General's coat of arms been put on?

- **1.** the carriage and the linen — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **2.** the carriage and the door — score 2
- **3.** the carriage and the linen and the spoons — score 2
- **4.** the carriage, the gates and all the linen — score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 899, line 12: «Old word: "attired" means dressed, so "unless she was attired in a little lambskin coat" means unless she wore her coat.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/943-pg27200-part154/t13/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Which of the following was the cause of the death of the little singing-bird?

- **1.** the blow delivered by the Portuguese duck while the cock watched from the wall — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** the blow delivered by the Portuguese duck's wing in the yard — no support
- **3.** the blow delivered by the Portuguese duck — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** the peck delivered by the old white goose — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/e1/)

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

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In what location did the General's daughter conceal herself after igniting the nursery curtain?

- **1.** in a box — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** under the carpet — no support
- **3.** under bed — no support
- **4.** in the sand-box — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/e2/)

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

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In which receptacle did George deposit his earnings prior to purchasing materials for painting?

- **1.** the box — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** the money tin — no support
- **3.** the savings-box — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** the piggy bank — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/e3/)

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

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By what phrase did the General formally express approval of the porter's son's drawings?

- **1.** "Charming, quite charming!" — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** "Charming!" — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** "Most charming, most charming indeed!" — no support
- **4.** "Wonderful!" — no support

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**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/943-pg27200-part154/e4/)

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