edge, for that we had taught him;—but most men do not know.
And when they entered in unto Joseph, he took his brother to stay with him and said, "Verily, I am thy brother—then take not ill that which they have been doing."
And when he had equipped them with their equipment he placed the drinking cup in his brother's pack, then a crier cried out, "O ye caravan! verily, ye are thieves!" They said, approaching them, "What is it that ye miss?"
Said they, "We miss the goblet of the king, and whoso brings it shall have a camel-load, and I am guarantee thereof." They said, "By God! Ye know we came not to do evil in the land and that we were not thieves." They said, "And what shall be the recompense thereof if ye be liars?" They said, "The recompense thereof is he in whose pack it is found—he shall be the recompense thereof; thus do we recompense the unjust." And he began with their sacks before the sacks of his brother; then he drew it forth from his brother's pack. Thus did we devise a stratagem for Joseph. He could not take his brother by the king's religion except as God pleased;—we raise the degrees of whomsoever we please, and over every possessor of knowledge is one who knows.
They said, "If he has stolen, a brother of his has stolen before him."
But Joseph kept it secret in his soul, and disclosed it not to them. Said he, "Ye are in a bad case, and God knows best about what ye
