The “little Turkeys” that I am going to tell you about are the children
that live in a far away land called Turkey.
To reach this land you would have to travel many hundreds of miles in
railroad trains and big ships.
In fact it is almost as far away as China, and that, you know, is
farther away than you can imagine.
The “little Turkeys” are very interesting, and they would think your
way of living just as strange as you will think theirs is.
To begin at the very beginning, the tiny baby doesn’t wear any dresses.
He is wrapped round and round, body, legs, and arms, with cloths, until
he looks like a dry-goods bundle.
Every baby wears a gay little bonnet, usually bright green, because the
favorite color of the Turks is green.
The Turkish baby is often hung up in a little cloth hammock, but
sometimes he is rocked to sleep in a wooden cradle.
The cradle is a long wooden box on low rockers with high carved ends.
In the Sultan’s treasure house is a cradle of solid gold, decorated
with pearls, diamonds, and rubies. This is the cradle in which the baby
princes are rocked; and it is very beautiful, as you can easily imagine.
When the boy baby is about a year old he is placed in charge of a man
nurse, if the father is not too poor. This man takes care of him until
he is six years old.
Then the boy is given a new suit of clothes and a pony, and he is ready
to go to school. Almost all of the boys in Turkey ride on horse-back. I
think you would like that.
The new suit may be big baggy trousers, with an embroidered shirt and
short jacket. Or it may be long full trousers of gay striped calico,
and a little jacket, quilted in puffy squares.
Every boy wears on his head a red fez with a black tassel.
In his new suit, the boy starts off for school on his pony, and his
brothers go with him. The bells on the pony jingle, the boys shout and
sing, and it is a very merry procession.
[Illustration]
The schoolhouse stands near the church. Inside, it is very plain. There
is a blackboard hung from the ceiling, a shelf for books and slates,
and one for a water jar.
There is a little shelf for the teacher’s pipe, and a place where he
makes coffee over a tiny lamp. For the teacher smokes and sips coffee
while the children study their lessons.
The children sit cross-legged on mats on the floor, and study out loud,
bending their bodies back and forth all the time. Perhaps they think
this helps them to remember.
They learn their letters, and very queer letters you would think them,
out of the Koran. They have no other book until they know this one by
heart, and can repeat it and write it.
Then they learn a little arithmetic and a very little geography.
In olden times the girls did not go to school at all, but stayed at
home learning to keep house, sew, and embroider. They were also taught
to weave cloth and to make beautiful rugs.
Now there are many schools for girls, as well as high schools and
colleges for both girls and boys.
The noise of the studying is stopped once during the day. At noon the
time for prayer is called out from the tower of the church. Then all
is quiet for a few minutes while teacher and pupils kneel to say the
midday prayer.
Then the candy-man appears with all sorts of sweets on trays. The
candies are called “Turkish delights.” They are “pasty, creamy, crackly
things, made from rose-leaves, violets, nuts, dates and grapes, mixed
with honey, sugar, syrup and spices.”
Doesn’t that sound good enough to eat?
* * * * *
Where do the “little Turkeys” live?
How would you reach their country?
Describe the Turkish baby’s cradle.
Describe the princes’ cradle.
How does the Turkish boy go to school?
Tell what you can about the school.
What does the candy-man sell?
What are the candies made of, and what are they called?
“THE LITTLE TURKEYS”