A famous literary piece with an activity at the end.

2. FEAST OF THE DEAD
Cednet Kudret

3. "Dursun Agha is dead!" A boy told the first man he
saw.
Dursun Agha was a familiar figure of the street. He
was the water carrier, who barely made both ends
meet, with wife and two children in his small, two-
story house. His entire capital consistent of two water
cans and a pole, with a chain dangling from either
end.
When Gulnaz heard the news, she froze.
What was Gulnaz going to do now? She thought and
thought but could make no decision.

4. It is Moslem tradition for the neighbors to send food,
for a day or two, to the bereaved household. The
first meal came to Gulnaz and her two children from
the white house at the corner.
To tell the truth, no one had thought of eating that
day, but soon as the cover was lifted from the tray
there was a giving in, a relaxation of feelings.
Another neighbor took care of the food for the next
day. This went on for three of four days.

5. The first day food stopped coming in. They
kept their hopes up till noon time, running to the door
with the sound of each foot step in the street outside,
hoping to see a big tray with a white cloth cover over
it. But instead they saw people simply going about
their daily lives, merely passing by, their empty
hands hanging at the end of their arms.
For the next few days they ate whatever they found
here and there in the house: two onions, one clove
of garlic, a handful of dry lima beans found in the
corner of the cupboard. Finally, there came a day
when all the pots, baskets, and boxes in the house
were empty. That day for the first time, they went to
bed on empty stomachs.

6. The next day was the same. In the late afternoon, the
little boy started crying, "Mother, it hurts
inside!" Gulnaz beckoned to the older boy. He got up
and both left the room. "We must go to Bodes, the
grocer, ask for some rice, flour, and potatoes. Tell him
we'll pay him in a few days".
The boy's shabby coat was not heavy enough to keep
out of cold of th e street. He had to steady himself
against the walls as he walked. Finally he reached the
store. He let others take their turn. After everyone
gone, he ordered a pound of rice, a pound of flour and
a pound of potatoes, put his hand in his pocket as if
reaching for his money and then pretending to have
left it at home, looking annoyed, he said "Oh, I left the
money home. How do you like that! I have to go all
the way home in this cold and come back again. Write
it down, won't you, and I'll bring it when I

7. Bodes knew the tricks of the game only too well.
Looking over his glasses, he said, "You've become
so thin. Someone who has money at home doesn't
get so thin."
He put the boy's order on one side. "First bring the
money and then you take this," he said. "All right,"the
boy said embarrassed to see his lie found out."I'll
bring it." He hurried out.
The boy was finding the iciness of the street more
unbearable than he had before he entered the store.
He walked toward his own house as quickly as he
could, his teeth chattering. Entering the room, he
said nothing to his mother and brother. His empty
hands spoke for him.

8. Before their questioning eyes, he took off his clothes
and went to his bed. When he spoke, he said, "I am
cold." The blanket rose and fell on his trembling body.
The trembling lasted for an hour and a half or more.
Then came the fever and exhaustion. The boy lay flat
on his back, stretched out motionless, his eyes staring
vacantly.
The woman paced through the house till evening,
desperate. She did not know what to do. She couldn't
think. She kept on going into the room and out again,
looking with empty, glazed eyes at the walls, the
ceiling and the furniture.
The boy's fever went up. The woman sat motionless,
staring. The younger boy couldn't sleep from hunger.
He, too, was watching the sick boy moan slowly.

9. When the sick boy started talking again with the
fever, the younger boy sat up in his bed and
said, in a low, soft voice audible only to his
mother,"Mother, will my brother die?"
The woman shivered as if touched by a cold
wind on her skin. She looked at her son with
frightened eyes, "Why do you ask that?"
The boy paused for a minute under his mother's
graze, then he leaned close to her ear and said
softly trying hard to hide his voice from his
brother.
"Because, then the food will come from the
white house"

10. Characters
• Dursun Agha – A water
fetcher, the husband of
Gulnaz.
• Gulnaz – An infrequent
laundress.
• Bodes – The grocer
• The two sons.

11. Activity
Time!

12. • What is your opinion about
the story?
• If you were Gulnaz, what
would your reaction and
response be to your child’s
question?
• Which part of the story
touched you the most? Why?