a pit. After this they sat down to eat their
bread, and looking up they saw a caravan coming. It was a company of
Ishmaelites carrying costly spices down into Egypt to sell them.

Then Judah said,

"Why should we kill our brother? Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites."

Then there passed by some Midianite merchants, and who drew Joseph out
of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver,
and he was carried down into Egypt.

[Illustration: Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites]

Reuben, when his brothers went back to their flocks, went to the pit to
try to save Joseph, but he was not there, and Reuben cried out,

"The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?"

The brothers who had been so cruel to Joseph brought his coat to their
father, all stained with blood. They had themselves dipped it in the
blood of a kid to deceive him, and he mourned long, and would not be
comforted, for the beloved child that he believed had been torn in
pieces by evil beasts.

CHAPTER VII.

JOSEPH, A SERVANT, A PRISONER, AND A SAINT.

The king of Egypt, where Joseph was taken by the Ishmaelites, was
called Pharaoh, and he had a captain of the guard named Potiphar, who
bought Joseph for a house servant. Though he was the son of a Hebrew
prince, Joseph did his work faithfully and wisely as a servant, and was
soon made steward of the house, and was trusted with all that his
master had, and the Lord made all that he did to prosper; but the wife
of Potiphar was a wicked woman, who persuaded her husband that Joseph
was a bad man, and he was sent to prison.

Even there Joseph won the hearts of all, until the keeper of the prison
set him over the other prisoners, and trusted him as Potiphar had done.
It was the Lord in Joseph who helped him to win the love and trust of
those around him.

Pharaoh sent two of his servants to prison because they had displeased
him.

One was his chief cook, and one was the chief butler, who always handed
the wine cup to the king, and Joseph had the care of them.

They each had a dream the same night, and were troubled because they
could not understand them. Joseph asked them to tell him the dreams,
for God knew what they meant.

So the chief butler told Joseph that he saw a vine having three
branches, and the branches budded and blossomed, and the blossoms
changed into ripe grapes, and he took the grapes and pressed them into
Pharaoh's cup, and handed the cup to the king.