THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE - Old Testament, God Makes Everything

In the Well

Joseph sat on the ground, playing ball with his brother Benjamin. When Jacob saw the boys he said, "Joseph, I want you to go to where your brothers have taken the sheep to pasture. See if all is well, then come back and tell me whst you have learned."

Joseph jumped up and hugged his father good-bye. Then he set out. "It's a good day for an adventure," he thought. Joseph walked and walked and walked. After some time, he saw his brothers' camp just ahead.

When they saw him, though, they groaned, "Oh no, here comes that silly dreamer, Joseph. We know a way to get rid him once and for all. Let's throw him into one of the wells near here. Then we can say a wild animal killed him. Ha! His dreams won't come true if he's dead."

"No wait," the eldest brother said. His name was Reuben. "Throw him into the well, but don't kill him. Not yet anyway." Reuben said this because he knew if he were the one to get Joseph out of the well, his father would think he was a hero.

When Joseph arrived, he panted up the last hill and smiled. He had finally found his brothers. But when he saw the looks on their faces, he stopped smiling.

His brothers formed a circle around him. He turned one way, then the other, but he was trapped. Before Joseph knew what was happening, they jumped all over him. They tore of his beautiful robe and threw him into a dark, dry well.

Joseph cries out, but it did no good. "Thump!" He landed in the dust and looked up. All he saw were his brothers' faces laughing as they dropped sand on him. He covered his face with his hands and moved up against the wall. When his brothers finally left, Joseph cried. Very quietly, he sobbed wishing he were back home with his father and brother, playing in the sunshine.