His brothers stared at Yusuf's colorful coat. Then they pushed him into a deep pit. 'We're done with you,' they said. The sand whispered as they walked away.
Yusuf sat alone in the dusty pit. His fingers traced the grooves of the stones. Above, feet crunched on sand. Ropes came down, and Yusuf climbed into a new world.
In Egypt, a kind man offered Yusuf warm bread and a soft bed. Yusuf held the warm loaf with both hands. 'Thank you,' he said, and ate slowly.
Some accused Yusuf of taking something he did not steal. He landed in a dark prison cell. 'I did not do it,' he said, and waited.
Years later, Yusuf stood before Pharaoh. He explained a dream about seven fat cows and seven thin ones. The room fell silent. The famine was coming, and Yusuf's words would save the land.
Yusuf's brothers arrived in Egypt begging for food. He saw their frightened faces. 'I am Yusuf,' he called out. His brothers gasped, but he wrapped his arms around them.
'Allah made all of this into something good,' Yusuf said. The brothers wept, and Yusuf held them close.
That night, Yusuf looked up at the stars over Egypt. He thought of the pit and the long road. He thought of bread and prison and dreams come true.
In the years that followed, grain filled every storehouse across the land. No one went hungry. Yusuf's name was spoken with respect in every village.
Yusuf's brothers returned with their own children. They brought gifts and stories. Yusuf fed them all at his great table.
One evening the eldest brother opened a small wooden box. Inside lay the colorful coat, mended and kept safe all these years.
Yusuf closed the box and set it aside. He did not need it anymore. He had become a father to the whole land. And that was enough.
