He was tied to the saddle of the man who had bought him.
It might perhaps have seemed better just then for Joseph if he had been dead instead of being carried away into slavery. It was a terrible fate, and he might well have become sullen and hopeless in the strange land of Egypt to which the merchantmen took him.
But instead of being sorry for himself, and thinking only of the unkindness and wickedness of his cruel brothers, he made the best of everything, and set himself to do his new hard work as well as possible. If he was a slave he would, at any rate, be a thoroughly good slave.
And very soon his master, Potiphar, found that this fair-haired, good-looking Hebrew boy was one to be trusted, and, as time went on, he not only gave him his freedom, but made him the chief servant of the house-hold. Then, just when happy days began to dawn for Joseph, misfortune once more overtook him.
His master's wife accused him of doing wrong, and declared he was thoroughly bad. And so all his well-deserved favours were taken from him, and he was put into prison.
Even in prison Joseph's quiet goodness and his wise ways made him a favourite. He was the friend of all the other prisoners, and before long he became the governor's right hand.
Still it was weary work to be shut up in prison, and he longed with all his heart for freedom, and a chance to win a place for himself in the great world. He knew that Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, was not unfriendly to strangers. If only he could reach his ear all might be well.
At last the chance came. There were two of Pharaoh's servants in the prison—one, the king's cup-bearer, and the other his chief baker, and both these were sorely troubled one night because of the dreams they had dreamt. They were sure these dreams had a meaning, but who was to explain them?
