He could smell the green leaves of spring. The sun wasn't terribly crispy or uncomfortable and he walked on the pebbles and patches of grass along side his father's sheep. He loved to tap the stones and patches of dirt and grass with his staff. It felt like an adventure. His sandals were neat, his clothes simple, but comfortable and he loved being out of his home for a while to tend to the flock. God knew Joseph's heart, as he knew the hearts of his brothers. He made them and little by little they all grew in their mother's womb. They were all different, some were better looking than others, but God made a plan for Joseph, a plan that nobody would have ever predicted or believed.

  He believed that being a shepherd was very important, even though all of his brothers disagreed. His brothers thought it was boring. They all wanted to be warriors or have some special title of some sort. They dreamed with having treasure and many wives and concubines, but Joseph loved the sheep, the simplicity of life and above all he adored and worshiped the God of Abraham. That's why, from all of his brothers, Joseph was the chosen one.

God knew Joseph's heart, as he knew the hearts of his brothers. He made them and little by little they all grew in their mother's womb. They were all different, some were better looking than others, but God made a plan for Joseph, a plan that nobody would have ever predicted or believed.

He sat on a large rock, next to one of his favorite lambs, Joan and he started to talk to her.

"Hey, Joan. I see you're eating. I'm so glad. You are looking very beautiful today," Joseph told the lamb and then he petted her. The lamb looked up at him and stuck her tongue out to him. Joseph laughed.

"What? You are sticking your tongue out at me? Why, what a bad lamb are you. Bad, bad, bad," he said and laughed.

"Baah," the lamb said and Joseph looked at her and petted her again gently.

"I'm so glad you're here with me. All of my brothers hate me," Joseph said. He looked up and watched them. They were all sprawled on the grass, like ten feet away, sleeping and some were even snoring.

"Imagine being so lazy, that you can't even stay awake to watch over the most important merchandise of your family," he said to Joan. Now of course, Joan didn't understand a word Joseph was saying, the lamb twitched her ears a little bit, took her tongue out at Joseph again and began to lick his face. Joseph laughed.

"Oh, no you don't. I'm clean. Now, I'm going to have to go to the river. Do you know how much I have to walk to just clean my face? I love you too, but no, I don't want to be licked," he said and laughed again. It was convenient to be under the shadow of a olive tree branch.

A growl was heard behind Joseph, he looked back and saw a wolf in the area. He got up immediately and confronted the wolf. The wolf snarled at him and watched him with furious eyes. It's teeth were knife sharped. The wolf drooled as it desired to feast on the flesh of the sheep. Joseph grabbed a rock and tossed it, but missed. The wolf in it's anger charged against Joseph. The sheep went crazy and began to run on all directions. There wasn't a shepherd awake to keep them in order and they began to flee the area.

Joseph blocked the wolf's teeth with his staff. The wolf growled menacingly and Joseph's eyes opened as wide as the moon.

"Reuben!" Joseph screamed. His big brother though had a heavy sleep and could not hear him. The wolf pulled back and attacked again. He went for Joseph's face, but Joseph rolled over and ran, heading for the hill below him. The wolf followed him with force and Joseph screamed again, but his brothers were in deep sleep.

The wolf went straight for his ankle and bit him. Joseph fell to the ground and shrieked with excruciating pain. Nobody was there to save him, so Joseph had no choice, but to confront this wolf on his own. He smacked the wolf on the snout with his staff as hard as he could. The wolf howled and more wolves were approaching the area, running and coming from an opening of a forest that many people avoided going into.

Joseph hit the wolf again in the face and this time the wolf backed away with a shriek and fell to the ground. Then, it got right back up and fled towards the other sheep with two other wolves that were coming to eat the flock.

Joseph ran back as fast as he could, limping towards his brothers. Blood streamed down his ankle and with each step, he cried in pain. His neat sandles were now so uncomfortable to walk on because they were now sticky and smeared in his blood, that they were slippery and he almost tripped again. His staff was now a walking stick and it was bitten, but not broken, so he was able to use it as he limped. The sheep were all gone and scattered, including his favorite one, Joan.

"Reuben, Simeon, Levi!" He screamed, still far away. Levi woke up slowly. His eyes still stuck like glue. He yawned as he stretched his strong arms upwards to the sky. He liked wearing a blue girdle and a blue hyke.

"Wolf, wolf, wolf!" Joseph yelled and Levi finally heard his little brother. He squinted his large brown eyes, as he tried to focus on his small brother. He shook Reuben's shoulder, waking him up.

"I'm tired!" Reuben protested with closed eyes.

"Wolf!" Joseph screamed again to the top of his lungs.

"Wolf? Who cares?" Reuben mumbled, but then his eyes hooded eyes suddenly opened wide and he jumped from the ground.

"Did you say wolf?" Reuben asked and looked over at Joseph who was limping towards them. Reuben screamed, waking up his brothers. Reuben ran to his brother, oblivious of Joseph's bleeding foot.

"Where?" Reuben asked him and Joseph pointed North, West. The other brothers woke up. Reuben pulled Levi with him and screamed to his other brothers to wake up. Joseph tried to help, but he was too wounded, only Simeon, who had a very small beard noticed his blood.

"Go home," Simeon told Joseph. The brothers ran North West as the wolves killed and feasted on the blood of the sheep. Jacob, Joseph's father, was going to be seriously disappointed.