Question
A Fable
by Mark Twain
Use the story to answer the question.
Which summary is objective and complete?
(1 point)
Responses
A) The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. The friends all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. Because they all see something different, they each mistakenly think the others are lying. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
B) The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. At first, the other animals are suspicious because the cat gets a bit ridiculous describing how wonderful the picture is. But eventually, the friends agree to look. They all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. They aren’t as smart as the cat, and the cat can’t explain to them what they are doing wrong. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
C) The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. The friends all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. Because they all see something different, they each mistakenly think the others are lying. In the end, they are all angry with each other and the cat is the only one who understands what happened.
D) The story is about a cat who sees things differently than its animal friends. Each animal that tries to see what the cat sees ends up seeing something else, and the animals all end up angry. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
by Mark Twain
Use the story to answer the question.
Which summary is objective and complete?
(1 point)
Responses
A) The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. The friends all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. Because they all see something different, they each mistakenly think the others are lying. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
B) The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. At first, the other animals are suspicious because the cat gets a bit ridiculous describing how wonderful the picture is. But eventually, the friends agree to look. They all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. They aren’t as smart as the cat, and the cat can’t explain to them what they are doing wrong. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
C) The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. The friends all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. Because they all see something different, they each mistakenly think the others are lying. In the end, they are all angry with each other and the cat is the only one who understands what happened.
D) The story is about a cat who sees things differently than its animal friends. Each animal that tries to see what the cat sees ends up seeing something else, and the animals all end up angry. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The most objective and complete summary of the story is:
**A)** The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. The friends all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. Because they all see something different, they each mistakenly think the others are lying. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
This summary accurately captures the main events of the fable, the misunderstanding among the characters, and the moral of the story. The other options either add unnecessary details, imply biases, or lack completeness in their portrayal of the events and conclusions.
**A)** The story is a fable about a cat who tries to show its animal friends a picture. The friends all make the mistake of standing between a mirror and the picture, so they only see themselves—not the picture. Because they all see something different, they each mistakenly think the others are lying. The cat summarizes the story’s moral, which is that one will see what one expects to see in a text if they are not careful to look past their own ideas.
This summary accurately captures the main events of the fable, the misunderstanding among the characters, and the moral of the story. The other options either add unnecessary details, imply biases, or lack completeness in their portrayal of the events and conclusions.