:

"And our father said, 'Go again, and buy us a little food.' And we said, 'We can not go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.' And thy servant my father said unto us, 'Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: and the one went out from me, and surely he is torn in pieces. And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.' Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life, it shall come to pass when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, 'If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.' Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?"

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from me." And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?" And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, "Come near to me, I pray you." And they came near. And he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold. me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to save your lives. So

now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, 'Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast. And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.' And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither."

And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, and told him, saying, "Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived; and he said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die."

-The Bible

Words: Canaan-a portion of Palestine lying between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea; obeisance-a deep bow; spiceryspices; Pharaoh-ruler of Egypt; kine-cows; well-favored-goodlooking; corn-grain of all kinds; famished-extremely hungry; ward-prison; verified-proved; provender-food; refrained-controlled; bondmen-slaves; iniquity-wickedness.

Questions: How old do you think Joseph was at the beginning of this story? In what spirit do you think he told his dreams? What were the two principal reasons of Joseph's brethren for hating him? Which one of the brothers evidently cared for Joseph? Explain he rent his clothes. Why was Joseph called to interpret Pharaoh's

dream? When was Joseph's dream fulfilled? Why was Jacob unwilling to let Benjamin go into Egypt? How did the sight of Benjamin affect Joseph? (Remember that Joseph and Benjamin were full brothers, while all the other brethren were sons of Jacob's first wife.) After Joseph made himself known, why were his brethren troubled? How were their fears removed? Can you give a reason why this story is considered one of the greatest stories ever written?

THE

PARABLE OF THE SOWER

HE same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea-side.

And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying: Behold a sower went forth to sow :

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred fold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

-The Bible

HAVE

THE APPLE BLOSSOMS

AVE you seen an apple orchard in the spring?
In the spring?

A blooming apple orchard in the spring?
When the spreading trees are hoary
With their wealth of promised glory,
And the mavis pipes his story

In the spring?

Have you plucked the apple blossoms in the spring?
In the spring?

And caught their subtle odors in the spring?
Pink buds pouting at the light,

Crumpled petals baby-white,

Just to touch them a delight—
In the spring!

Have you walked beneath the blossoms in the spring? In the spring?

Beneath the apple blossoms in the spring?

When the pink cascades are falling,
And the silver brooklets brawling,
And the cuckoo bird soft calling,
In the spring?

If you have not, then you know not, in the spring,
In the spring,

Half the color, beauty, wonder of the spring.
No sweet sight can I remember

Half so precious, half so tender,

As the apple blossoms render

In the spring.

-William Wesley Martin

THE SINGING LEAVES

(This ballad was written by James Russell Lowell, one of America's leading poets and her greatest literary critic. Lowell's best-known work is his poem The Vision of Sir Launfal, which we shall study in the eighth grade.)

HAT fairings will ye that I bring?"

"WHAT
Said the King to his daughters three;

"For I to Vanity Fair am boun;°
Now say what shall it be?"

Then up and spake the eldest daughter,
That lady tall and grand:

"O bring me pearls and diamonds great,
And gold rings for my hand."

Thereafter spake the second daughter,
That was both white and red:
"For me bring silks that will stand alone,
And a gold comb for my head."

Then came the turn of the least daughter
That was whiter than thistle-down,
And among the gold of her blithesome hair
Dim shone the golden crown.

"There came a bird this morning

And sang 'neath my bower-eaves, Till I dreamed, as his music made me, 'Ask thou for the singing leaves.'"

Then the brow of the King swelled crimson
With a flush of angry scorn:

"Well have ye spoken, my two eldest,

And chosen as ye were born;