17. Dreams

Joseph became the favorite of the jailer. He gave Joseph the job of looking after the other prisoners.

Two new prisoners arrived one day. One was the king's baker and the other was one of his butlers. The jailer told Joseph to take special care of these two, so every morning he came to their cell to make sure they were all right.

One morning they told Joseph they had both had strange dreams the night before. Joseph said if they tell the dreams he could help them.

The butler, who was in charge of serving the king his wine, had dreamed of pressing grapes into the king's cup. Joseph told him that meant that he would be set free to go back to his job.

The baker told of three white baskets full of bread. He dreamed that birds flew down and ate the bread before he could give it to Pharaoh.

"Three days from now, the king will order you to be killed," Joseph told the baker.

Three days later, everything happened as Joseph had said.

Joseph stayed in prison for two more years after the butler was set free. Then Pharaoh awoke one night from a very mysterious dream. He gathered the wisest men of the country together, but no one could tell him what the dream meant.

When the butler heard of the king's problem, he remembered the dream he had had in prison.

"Sir, I knew a man in prison who told me what my dreams meant," said the butler. "Everything he told me came true."

The king had Joseph brought before him. "Is it true that you can tell me what my dreams mean?" asked the king.

"I can't do it myself," said Joseph, "but God will help me."

The king told Joseph he had dreamed that he saw seven fat cows standing near the river. Seven skinny cows came by and ate the fat ones. Then he saw seven ripe ears of corn on a stalk. Seven sickly ears began to grow on the same stalk and ate up the good ears.

"God is warning you about a great famine," said Joseph. "Seven years of good crops will be followed by seven years when the crops won't grow, and your people will go hungry."

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