JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
[A roar of fury from the brothers. Joseph is surrounded by the Egyptians and led off. The brothers are left alone]
[Simeon re-enters with the coat, now bloodstained]
Judah. Now, Simeon, what tale shall we tell our father?
Simeon. None. Reuben shall tell the tale, and he shall tell what he thinks true. [He displays Joseph's coat; it is rent, and dabbled in blood] Lo, Joseph's coat! Let it lie here for Reuben to find. Shall he know I rent it, or that the blood is the blood of the lamb Joseph brought—which I have slain?
Levi. Are we to say nought, then?
Simeon. We know nought. We never saw Joseph. Mark that well—we never saw him. Let Reuben tell his own tale.
Issachar. How, then, did Joseph die?
Simeon. Are there no lions in Dothan?
[As they move off, the scene changes]
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