102 The Brothers.

 

care of the other prisoners. Two of these
poor men happened to be servants of the king
of Egypt, whose name was Pharaoh, and it
chanced that they dreamed curious dreams
that had a great deal of meaning in them—for
people used sometimes to be allowed to do
that in those days. They did not understand
the dreams themselves, but the Lord gave
Joseph so much wisdom, that he told them
the meaning of their dreams, which was that
one should be put to death, and the other
restored to favour by the king.

“This came true, and the servant who was
restored to favour went back and waited on
King Pharaoh as before.

“ At first this man forgot all about Joseph
in his prosperity, but one day King Pharaoh
said he had had a strange dream, and none of
his wise men could tell him what it meant.

“ Then the servant remembered Joseph, and
asked the king to send for him. Pharaoh did
so, and the poor prisoner was fetched in a
hurry from the dark dungeon to the royal
palace.

“And Pharaoh said—

“«T have heard said of thee that thou canst
understand a dream to interpret it.’

“But Joseph answered—