But all at once another trouble came to Joseph! He was falsely accused to his master, and was cast into prison. Still God meant it for good, and Joseph behaved so well in the prison (for God was with him), that the keeper of the prison took the fetters off his feet, and gave him the charge of all the other prisoners.
See, children, what a nice thing it is to serve God in difficult circumstances!
By and by, after a very long time, Joseph was taken to Pharaoh, the great King of Egypt, to tell him the meaning of a wonderful dream, which had frightened him very much.
Thus step by step the slave-boy was being brought to the king's palace.
God gave Joseph wisdom and favour. He was not only able to tell Pharaoh the meaning of his dream, that there would be seven years of plentiful harvests and seven years of famine; but he gave the king such good advice that the Egyptians were delighted, and Pharaoh put Joseph at the head of everything to carry it out.
The advice was, to carefully store up the corn in the good years, so that there would be enough for the bad years.
And it was in those bad years of famine that old Jacob—Joseph's dear father—sent ten of his sons down to Egypt to buy corn.
They had no idea that the great ruler, who, they heard, was selling corn to the hungry people, was their own brother, whom they had sold for a slave thirteen years before!
So they came down to Egypt, and were taken into the presence of Joseph, though they did not recognize who that great prince was. Then they bowed themselves to the ground before him, and asked him if he would sell them some corn for their families!
Joseph knew his brothers at once. They were less changed than he was; but he did not make himself known to them at first.