During the drought season of his 12th year, Yusuf sees two European travelers—the first he’s ever seen—at the railway station. Due to the drought, he is often hungry, and his mother teases that he should eat the woodworms that have infested the porch posts. However, when Uncle Aziz, a wealthy merchant, comes to visit, Yusuf’s mother prepares a fine feast for him while he stays at Yusuf’s father’s hotel. The hotel is the most recent of his father’s business ventures; previously, he had run a store, one of his many attempts to be prosperous. Yusuf looks forward to Uncle Aziz’s visits because he often gives him a ten anna coin. On the third day of Uncle Aziz’s visit, Yusuf suspects that he will be leaving soon. 

Yusuf’s father encourages him to play with the children of the Indian storekeepers, but they throw things at him. He is not allowed to play with the Washenzi (indigenous African) children because his father believes they are evil. He sometimes hangs around older boys, but mostly he plays by himself, even finding a way to play kipande, a team game, by himself.