Tears
"Did you hear the boss this morning?"
The servant stopped filling the bucket and looked around to see if anyone else was listening. "What are you talking about?"
"The weeping. The wailing. Did you hear it?"
The servant nodded tentatively. "Do you know what it was about?"
"I think so. But if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me."
"Okay." He looked around again. "What did you hear?"
"I heard his family showed up. You know, this famine has spread all the way to Canaan, and his brothers showed up needing food. That was a while back, and he sort of played a trick on them and kept one of them here in prison while the others went back home."
"The boss is from Canaan?"
"Yeah, you didn't know?"
"No. I always figured he was Egyptian. How'd he get to be so powerful if he isn't Egyptian?"
"Well, the way I heard it, he interpreted a dream for Pharaoh, a dream about this famine we're having, and he suggested Pharaoh put someone really wise in charge of storing the grain from the good years so that we'd be able to eat in the bad years. So Pharaoh put the boss in charge. Made him head of state. He's pretty much running Egypt, you know."
"Yeah, I know. Which is fine with me. He's a lot nicer than Pharaoh. So, anyway, what happened with his family?"
"Well, his family—all his brothers—came back today and wanted more food. So he gave it to them, but he put his special silver cup in their sacks. They had barely left town when he sent the guards after them, and had them arrested and brought them back to see him again."
"And they still didn't know who he is?"
"Nope, I guess not. He's been here long enough he looks mostly Egyptian. Well, you didn't know he wasn't Egyptian, either."
"I know, I know. So get to the crying part. What happened?"
"I guess he was so overwhelmed when he saw them again that he couldn't help it. He couldn't keep it in anymore. We all heard it. He cried for a long time, then he went back into the room—he had a banquet ready for his brothers—and told them who he was."
"I bet that was a shock to them."
"Probably. And here's the even crazier part: he's going to have his whole family move down here. You know that little subdivision Pharaoh was building over in Goshen? I guess he's going to have them move in there. The whole lot of them. That's a lot of Canaanites so close to the capital."
"Well, I'm sure Pharaoh trusts him."
"Or he doesn't know. Either way, it's happening."
"I suppose we'll have to serve them, too. Our jobs are never done. Speaking of which..." The servant bent over to pick up the water bucket. "I'd better get this to the boss. He asked for it a while ago."
"Hey, keep this to yourself, okay?"
"Who am I going to tell, seriously?" The servant carrying the water wandered off, toward the boss' quarters.
About that time, another servant, this one from the kitchen staff, wandered in.
"Hey, did you hear the boss this morning?"
The servant stopped filling the bucket and looked around to see if anyone else was listening. "What are you talking about?"
"The weeping. The wailing. Did you hear it?"
The servant nodded tentatively. "Do you know what it was about?"
"I think so. But if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me."
"Okay." He looked around again. "What did you hear?"
"I heard his family showed up. You know, this famine has spread all the way to Canaan, and his brothers showed up needing food. That was a while back, and he sort of played a trick on them and kept one of them here in prison while the others went back home."
"The boss is from Canaan?"
"Yeah, you didn't know?"
"No. I always figured he was Egyptian. How'd he get to be so powerful if he isn't Egyptian?"
"Well, the way I heard it, he interpreted a dream for Pharaoh, a dream about this famine we're having, and he suggested Pharaoh put someone really wise in charge of storing the grain from the good years so that we'd be able to eat in the bad years. So Pharaoh put the boss in charge. Made him head of state. He's pretty much running Egypt, you know."
"Yeah, I know. Which is fine with me. He's a lot nicer than Pharaoh. So, anyway, what happened with his family?"
"Well, his family—all his brothers—came back today and wanted more food. So he gave it to them, but he put his special silver cup in their sacks. They had barely left town when he sent the guards after them, and had them arrested and brought them back to see him again."
"And they still didn't know who he is?"
"Nope, I guess not. He's been here long enough he looks mostly Egyptian. Well, you didn't know he wasn't Egyptian, either."
"I know, I know. So get to the crying part. What happened?"
"I guess he was so overwhelmed when he saw them again that he couldn't help it. He couldn't keep it in anymore. We all heard it. He cried for a long time, then he went back into the room—he had a banquet ready for his brothers—and told them who he was."
"I bet that was a shock to them."
"Probably. And here's the even crazier part: he's going to have his whole family move down here. You know that little subdivision Pharaoh was building over in Goshen? I guess he's going to have them move in there. The whole lot of them. That's a lot of Canaanites so close to the capital."
"Well, I'm sure Pharaoh trusts him."
"Or he doesn't know. Either way, it's happening."
"I suppose we'll have to serve them, too. Our jobs are never done. Speaking of which..." The servant bent over to pick up the water bucket. "I'd better get this to the boss. He asked for it a while ago."
"Hey, keep this to yourself, okay?"
"Who am I going to tell, seriously?" The servant carrying the water wandered off, toward the boss' quarters.
About that time, another servant, this one from the kitchen staff, wandered in.
"Hey, did you hear the boss this morning?"
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