the currycomb (1)

8/3/2019 The Currycomb (1)

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TheCu~rttc"'mb


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ver Design:or Separation:inted by:blished by:

Elspeth Rawstron - Brian JohnsonBlent BenliElspeth RawstronSrat Visual Arts CenterTayf MatbaasiiistanbulSrat Basim Yayin Reklamcilik Egitim AralariSanayii ve Ticaret A.s.Kisikl i Cad. Kusbakisi Sok. No:381190 AltunizadeistanbullTURKEYTel: (+90 216) 391 70 31Fax: (+90 216) 341 26 30E-mail: [email protected] 1997 by Srat Basim Yayin Reklamcilik Egit imAralari Sanayii ve Ticaret A.s.

About the authvr:mer Seyfettin was born in Gnen in 1884. Best known for his short

stories, he is one of Turkey's leading authors of the modern era.From his youth, mer Seyfettin showed a talent for writing and a love

of literature. He began publishing poetry and prose when he was astudent at Istanbul's Imperial Military School in the early 1900s. Uponhis graduation in 1903, he became an army lieutenant and taught at amilitary academy in izmir.

mer Seyfettin left the army in 1913. He wrote fiction, served aseditor-in-chief of the li terary magazine Trk Sz, and taught literature atKabatas High School in Istanbul until his death in 1920.

mer Seyfettin wrote his stories for the common person, writing indirect and simple colloquial Turkish. His works were based on his lifeexperiences, histor ical events, and Turkish traditions. Many of merSeyfett in's stories show a strong spirit of patriot ism, ref lect ing the author'sdeep love of his country.

l rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, by anyeans, without prior permission from the publisher.

nted and bound in Turkey.

To the teacher:The primary aim of the Srat Anatolian Readers is to develop

vocabulary and dictionary skills through reading for enjoyment. Theactivit ies are designed to facilitate vocabulary learning, use newvocabulary, and check text comprehension.

The words printed in darker ink have been carefully chosen inaccordance with the theme of The Currycomb and are included in theglossary. You may wish to use them to test the students' vocabularylearning.To the student:You will notice as you read The Currycomb that some words are

printed in darker ink. Theyare new vocabulary. First try to guess theirmeaning. Then check the accuracy of your guesses in the glossary. Theactivit ies will help you remember the new vocabulary.

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b. Do you think the story willbe:

fore Reading Chapter 1Ihall remember that summer as long as i live. iwas eight years old,nd my brother, Hasan, was a year younger than me. Every day, weplayed together in the stableyard under the shade of the willow trees.Even now, i can sti ll hear the sad sound of the stream which flowedthrough the soft green meadow nearby.

My mother was in Istanbul for the summer, and my father was atwork all day, so my brother and I spent all our t ime with Oadaruh.Oadaruh was the old man who looked after my father's horses.

Every morning, Hasan and I ran to the stables. We loved thehorses, and we loved playing in the stables with Oadaruh. We enjoyedclimbing onto the horses ' backs and pretending to ride them. Hasanwas afraid to sit on a horse by himself, so Oadaruh used to sit with himin the saddie.

My brother and I also liked to mi the horses' feedbags with oatsand their troughs with hay. We liked to clean ff~"t~out the stalls and sweep the stables. These ~~1\~,\tasks were better than any children's game. ~~~ li\'i.~ll)Yi'-i 'J~'- ,~

~;.1.~\i ~1~IHJij~4"lIJf\\\i~

\L!~:\J4i,w-Z

saddiehay

stablestall

funny () frightening ( )ad ( )

oatscurrycomb

happy ( )

feedbagtrough

Look at the words below and check their meanings in yourdictionary.

a. Look at all the pictures in the book. What do you think the storyis about?


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The only task i could not do was to groom the horses. More thananything else, iwanted to brush them with the currycomb, but iwasn't taii enough. i could only just reach their stomachs.

My favorite horse was Tosun, my father's chestnut stallion. i usedto watch jealously as Oadaruh groomed him. Tosun seemed to like theregular click, click, click sound of the currycomb. He laid back his earsand swung his taHiike a giant tassel. When Oadaruh finished groomingTosun, the horse became almost bad-tempered. He didn't wantOadaruh to stop, but the stableman had to groom the other horses too.

Every time Oadaruh picked up the currycomb and started to groomTosun, i said, "Let me do it, Oadaruh, please." But he always refused.

Then one day, Oadaruh picked me up and put me on Tosun's back.He put the currycomb in my hand and said, "Go on Selim, you do it!"

i- e ---rbn:ish;(i Tosun's back with the metal comb, but that was aii icoulddo. i could not reach his neck or his head because iwas too smaii. i

could not make the same rhythmic click, click, click sound thatOadaruh made either. "Ooes Tosun like it?" i asked a~xiously. "Is heswinging his tail?"

"Yes," said Oadaruh smiling."Let me see," i said excitedly, and i leaned back to look.Every day after that, when i got to the stables, i asked Oadaruh,"Can igroom Tosun today?"And every day Oadaruh answered, "No.""Why not?" i asked."Because you're too smaiL. You can't groom him properiy.""But ni be able to do it one day, won't I?""One day when you're taiier.""When willI be taii enough?" I persisted."When you are as taii as the horses," replied Oadaruh.That seemed a long time to wait.

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Chapter 2O ne morning, iwas at home by myself. Oadaruh and Hasan werey the stream in the meadow. iwas alone. i could groom thehorses, and no one would know.i ran to the stables to find the currycomb. iwent to Oadaruh'swindowless !ittleroom in the corner of the stables. i looked for thecurrycomb on his shelves. i looked for it between the saddles, but icouldn't find it anywhere.

(.'~~ .. ...:.i~~ -n.-_f ~ ---

Then i saw a !ittle green box under Oadaruh's bed. iopened it, andinside was a brand new silver currycomb! igrabbed it and ran toTosun's stall. iwas very excited. i tried to brush the stallion's stomach,but he wouldn't stand still.

it must hurt him, i thought. i looked at the teeth of the shiny newcurrycomb. They were very sharp, so i rubbed them against the hardstone wall of the stable to dull them a !ittle. Then i tried to brush theother horses, but they didn't !ikeit either. i got very angry. Whywon't the horses let me groom them? This currycomb is useless, ithought.

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i picked up a big rock and started to hit the currycomb with it. Theteeth broke. In my anger, I threw the currycomb into the water trough.it laythere broken and unused.

Later that same day, I was playing in the stables. Hasan was in thehouse with our maid, Pervin. Myfather was also in the stables, !ookingat the horses. I saw him walk by the water trough. He looked down,and my heart sank. He picked up the broken currycomb and strodeangrily into the stableyard. "Dadaruh come here!" he shouted.

I felt very afraid.

Oadaruh was surprised to see the broken currycomb."Who broke it?" demanded my father."I don't know," said Oadaruh.My father turned to me, and before he could sayanother word, I

said, "Hasan broke it.""Hasan?" he asked in surprise."Yes. Yesterday, when Oadaruh was sleeping, Hasan went into his

room and took the currycomb. Later, he threw it against the stablewaii and it broke." ."Why didn't you teii Oadaruh?""He was sleeping.""Go and teii Hasan to come here immediately!" my father ordered.

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, - ~- "oo_,-m ',- - ri(~ "~/~~~~~"Take him to the house! Don't ever let him come-~~~'t,-.;;::~~ . / i . i ''-.again," my father shouted. "He can sit in the house with Pervin."

Dadaruh picked up my crying brother in his arms and carried him tothe house.From then on, 1always played by myself in the stables. Hasan was

a prisoner in the house. My father never forgave him, not even aftermy mother came home. He caiied my brother a Har.

Hasan started to cry every time he remembered my father'sbeating. My mother never imagined that 1broke the currycomb andthen blamed Hasan for it. She never imagined that 1could teii such aterrible He. "Dadaruh probably let the horses step on it," she said.

Chapter 3Ialked through the stableyard gate, and then ran to the house as fasts i could. "Hasan, Father wants to see you!" ishouted. Hasandidn't know anything was wrong, so he came running after me quitehappily.

My father was very strict. One glance from him was enough tofrighten us. "Hasan, ihave something to ask you, and if you He,nibeat you," he said sternly.

"I never He,"repHed Hasan. "What's wrong?""Why did you break this currycomb?"Hasan looked with surprise at the comb in Dadaruh's hand. He

shook his head. "I didn't break it, Father. I've never seen it before.""Don't Heto me, Hasan!""It wasn't me. 1didn't break it.""Teii me the truth," said my father, "and 1won't be angry with you.

It's a terrible thing to He.""But Father, it's the truth-I didn't break the

currycomb. "My father became more and more angry. "You

shameless Har!" he yeiied, and slapped ~san intE~llI=-- '~.- ~~~~face. -, i ~,p .~ - -~~ :--=:::::::: ----..:::: - fO ~r:t:-- ~) (.f~/ ,~.'b. " _ ~~ m"n~' ~#' ,\\~S} i'- __~ -- .~f ~~, \i~, \\\,./'\~., ~ s:,- 9 ~ ~k?j!i!PJiJ _ 'Ji~?~'~I/J10I\~ -']i' i?~~~'~1JZ ~) ."-'M "'~i ~'--j#~-,,"Ili Jl


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Chapter 4The following summer, my mother returned to Istanbul, and Hasannd istayed at home with Father. Mybrother still couldn't play inthe stables. Every night in bed, he asked me about the horses. "Didyou feed the horses today? How big are the colts now?"

Then one day, Hasan got sick, and my father called the doctor.After examining Hasan, the doctor toId us, "Ifs diphtheria."

Dadaruh was very quiet, and Pervin began to cry."Whafs wrong, Pervin?" i asked."Your brother is ill.""But, he'll get better soon, won't he?""No, I 'm afraid he won't. He's very ill.""Then what will happen to him?""Your brother's going to die," she sobbed."He's going to die?" i started to cry too.Over the next few days, the house was very quiet. My father didn'tleave Hasan's bedside for a moment.

OL C-/"' r


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One night after my brother got sick, {had a terrible nightmare. {saw Hasan in the dream. He was crying and shouting at me, "Uar!L i"ar.

{woke up and ran to Pervin's room. "{must see Hasan andFather," {told her.

"Why?" she asked."{have to teii Father something.""What do you have to teii him?""{have to teii him about the currycomb.""What currycomb?""The silver one ... the one Father found in the water trough last

summer ... the one { . .. " {could not finish the sentence, and {started to cry.

t'',

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i saw Oadaruh sitting in the hall with the imam. Oadaruh wasweeping, and the imam was reading a prayer.

iwas too Iate. My poor innocent brother was dead.

the currycomb (1)

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