Page:The Complete Works of Lyof N. Tolstoi - 08 (Crowell, 1899).djvu/261

Rh many colors. Then Joseph had two dreams, and told them to his brothers:—

"Methought we were reaping rye in the field, and we bound up twelve sheaves. My sheaf stood up straight, but the eleven sheaves bowed before my sheaf."

And his brothers said: "Shall we ever bow down before you?"

And he had another dream:—

"Methought eleven stars in the sky and the sun and the moon worshiped my star."

His father and mother said: "Shall we worship you?"

The brothers went away to pasture their cattle, and their father sent Joseph to carry food to them; his brothers saw him, and said:—

"Here comes our dreamer. Let us throw him into a deep well."

But Reuben thought to himself:—

"As soon as they have gone off, I will pull him out. But here come the merchants!"

Reuben said:—

"Let us sell him to the Egyptian merchants."

So they sold Joseph, and the merchants sold him to the courtier Pentifri. Pentifri loved him and his wife loved him. Pentifri went away somewhere, and his wife said to Joseph:—

"Joseph, come let us kill my husband, and then you shall be my husband."

Joseph said: "If you say that a second time, I will tell your husband."

She seized him by his garment and cried out. The slaves heard her and came. Then Pentifri came. His wife told him that Joseph proposed to kill him and marry her. Pentifri ordered him taken off to prison. As Joseph was a good man he was made useful even there, and to him was intrusted the care of the prison. One day Joseph was walking along through the jail; he saw that two prisoners were sitting in deep sadness. Joseph went to them and asked:—

"Why are you sad?"