Simeon was busy putting oil on the sheep's wounds to try to heal them.  Three sheep though, had not survived the treatments so their meat was consumed and their wool collected.  Reuben was lying on the ground and looking up at the stars.  His mind traveled towards the past.  He was in his father's room.  No one was in the house except for Bilha.  She turned around and she was completely naked, from head to toe.  Her breasts were large and round, her belly flat and her legs long and beautiful.  He walks closer towards her and she holds out her hand towards him.  He grabs it and she walks gently towards him.  She is a masterpiece.  He leans towards her and kisses her.  He kisses her over and over and over again.

"Reuben!"  Simeon shouted.  Reuben woke up from his erotic dream wishing that he never would have been shouted at to begin with.  

"Yes?" He asked, sitting up.

"This is the fourth lamb that dies.  I don't know what are we going to do," Simeon said.  Reuben heard.

"Brother, I think we should return to Hebron," Reuben said.

"But what about the others?" Simeon asked.  Zabelum who had warned Reuben about this was now paying attention to the conversation.  He was lying like five feet away from Reuben.

"I don't think we can do anything about them," Reuben remarked.

"What did I tell you, brother?  Was I right or was I right?" Zabelum said.  Reuben rolled his eyes annoyed.  

"I thought you were sleeping," Reuben told Zabelum.  Zabelum placed his hands behind his head.

"You know very well how difficult it is for me to sleep in the wilderness," Zabelum said.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping.  That's rude," Simeon scorned him, but Zabelum laughed. 

"Truth hurts.  I told you so," Zabelum replied.

"Oh, shut up and go to sleep," Reuben told Zabelum.  Zabelum laughed.

"Jerk," Reuben remarked.

"Oh, ignore him.  At least we tried to save the sheep," Simeon remarked.

"And failed," Zabelum replied.

"Well, maybe next time you try to heal them, since you're so intelligent," Simeon said.  Zabelum sat up.

"There wouldn't be a next time because I told you that those animals were not going to make it.  It will be a miracle if any of them survives the trip," Zabelum said.

"You don't believe in miracles, now?" Simeon said and Zabelum laughed.

"I've never believed in such things.  They are only stories," Zabelum said.

"Stop blaspheming Zabelum.  Why would our people make stories up?" Reuben said.

"Because they're bored," Zabelum said.

"If father heard you!" Simeon remarked with disbelief.

"But he won't so, it doesn't really matter," Zabelum replied.

"Father fought with God.  How can you say it was a myth?" Reuben said.

"Oh, that's what father says.  He was probably drunk," Zabelum replied.

"Blasphemy! Father doesn't get drunk," Simeon said.

"Maybe he used to when he was younger," Zabelum replied.  

"Be quiet.  You were right about 4 sheep only.  The rest are still alive, but I have decided that healed or not, tomorrow we are packing our things and leaving.  I will tell father that there are more wolves here than usual and he will understand," Reuben said.

"I hope so, for your sake," Zabelum said.

"Wait a minute, but what about Judah and Levi?  Shouldn't we wait for them to see if they have found Joseph.  We don't know if he made it to Hebron," Simeon said.

"We'll have to risk it or maybe Judah and Levi already have information.  We'll have to find out on our own by traveling on our way home.  I don't think there's much else to do.  The faster we arrive home, the faster we can put all of this situation behind us.  I don't think there's anything else we can do.  Hopefully, father's punishment will not be so severe," Reuben said.

"If you say so," but none of this was my fault.  I'm not in charge of tending the sheep," Simeon said.

"No, I am.  I will take the full responsibility of the situation.  The rest of you will be spared," Reuben said.  The brothers stared at him quietly, but they didn't really say anything.  They were scared of what their father might do, but appreciative of Reuben for taking all the blame.  Simeon returned next to the wounded sheep and he stayed with them until he fell asleep on top of gentle grass.  Reuben could no longer dream of Bilha although he wished he could and Zabelum tilted his body and slept in a baby like position, although he was the last one to fall asleep.  The rest of the brothers were already snoring, without a care in the world. 

The next day when the brothers woke up, Reuben instructed them that they would part.  Simeon, Zabelum and Dan would carry the wounded sheep on a cart.

"But this is absurd.  Those sheep don't have a chance!" Zabelum protested.  

"We are going to try to save them as the good shepherds that we are.  It's our job to try," Reuben said.  Zabelum said no more, but clearly he was furious.  

Reuben ordered the brothers to build carts for the wounded sheep.  With disbelief the brothers built the carts.  Reuben also told them about Judah and Levi.  The brothers accepted Reuben's explanation and in silence they built the carts.  The day wasn't so hot, yet they were still sweating as they made the carts with the wood that was available to them in the wild.  With their sharp blades, they did the best they could to cut the wood, but it wasn't easy.  They didn't carry axes with them which would have been convenient, so it took more energy out of them to cut the wood and it took them more time.  Their hands were marked by blisters.  Callouses would form in their already strong hands.  They heaved and wiped their sweat from their brows, foreheads, or cheeks to catch a little break.  After hours of cutting and making knots, the carts were all done for the sheep.  The brothers made carts for the amount of 21 wounded sheep.  The 4 sheep that were wounded had not survived.  Reuben thought that Zabelum might be right, but he wanted to believe Simeon instead.  He had hope that perhaps the sheep that were left might survive.  It was better for him that 214 sheep instead of 193 sheep survived.  The more sheep, the smaller the punishment, or at least he was hoping so.

The brothers placed the wounded 3 sheep in the carts.  Five on one of the carts and 6 on one of them.  The eight brothers took turns dragging the sheep.  They pulled and walked away from the green pastures where the sheep had been fed.  Although it wasn't as hot as the summer, the use of excessive force to pull the carts wore down the shepherds.  They were sweating and heaving as they pulled the cents with the heavy weight of the sheep mounted upon them.  The other sheep, the hundreds that were healthy and vibrant followed the brothers on the road.  Sometimes a gentle breeze made their long tunics ruffle.  Their heads were safe from the sun, covered by simple, brown tunics that they carried loosely over their shoulders all of the time.  The dust travelled with the wind and some of it moved onto their clothes.  They didn't mind.  They were used to the nature of the wind mixed with the bits of dust on them.  They wore leather sandals made of crocodile skin that had been imported from Egypt by merchants from Canaan.

Baa... uttered the sheep.  They were obedient and cheerful for the most part.  The most annoying thing from the trip was definitely the sick sheep that had to be dragged home in what could be a false hope, but nonetheless, hope.  By the end of the first day, another one of the wounded sheep died.  The brothers collected the wool and ate the meat.  It was one less body to carry into the carts.  Now there were 20 left.

Simeon did what he could, adding oil and herbs to the wounded animals.  Reuben kept him company and helped him lift a paw or move a tail to the side or tilt a muzzle.  One of the sheep was missing an ear.  From all of them, he seemed to have promise to live.  There were others that seemed to be healing. 

"The wound is closing," Simeon told Reuben, excitedly. 

"Yes!" 

"We need some grass and water to feed him," Simeon said and Reuben gave him a nod.  He got up and went to do as Simeon had suggested, but they had to stop what they were doing to help Dan.  Dan couldn't help Neftali because of his wounded knee.  The first half an hour that he did try, his knee began to bleed and everyone had to stop the move.  Simeon treated him for a few minutes.  Dan was panting.

"He can't move the sheep," Simeon explained to Reuben.

"Yes, I can.  It's nothing.  It's just a little scrape," Dan said.

"Shut up.  I can do it on my own," Neftali said glaring at Dan.

"No, I can-"

"Dan, you're wounded.  Walk next to the other sheep.  You're not carrying the cart," Reuben said.

"But, what about Neftali?" Dan asked.  Neftali brushed it off.

"I am a man, I can do it on my own," Neftali said, but Reuben decided that he would carry less sheep.

"You will only have two sheep. We'll distribute the rest," Reuben said.   Nobody really complained because they knew that it was fair and they also knew that Neftali would be incapable of carrying so much weight, so, the sheep were re-distributed and after the break they carried on.

"Reuben, we need some grass and water to feed him," Simeon reminded Reuben. 

"Yes, let's," Reuben said.  Zabelum and Gad dealt with the dead sheep for supper.  Asher and Gad led the sheep for supper.  Asher and Gad led the sheep to a resting place where they could easily be watched over.

After the tasks, the brothers all gathered around the fire and Reuben told the story about the creation of the world.

"I seriously don't know how Adam wasn't cold," Zabelum said.

"He was in paradise.  There is no cold in paradise," Reuben said. 

"How do you know?  You weren't there," Zabelum replied.

"Oh, be quiet and let him tell the story, Dan said.  Neftali listened, but he didn't look at his brother.  Neftali wished that he could live his life away from Reuben.  He knew that Reuben was his stepbrother, but what had happened between him and his mother was unforgivable.  Neftali thought that if Reuben would have just stopped thinking of his mother in that way maybe he could forgive him, but Reuben made matters worse because he didn't forget about Bilha.  Instead, he day dreamed about her all day long.  Reuben was a pervert,  Neftali thought to himself.  He hadn't told anything to Dan, who was the only brother that shared the same mother.  He resented Bilha and Jacob as much as he did Joseph.  Why did Joseph had to be the legitimate son?  

They were sons of a fool, a slave, and not of the legitimate women, Rachel.    Maybe if Rachel would have been their mother instead of Bilha, they would be the favorites.  

"So, Eve ate the fruit because the serpent had fooled her into believing that if she ate it, she would be like God, that she wouldn't die, so she ate the fruit and she shared it with Adam.  The snake only told them half the truth, but lied to them about their supposed immortality," Reuben said.  Reuben was a good storyteller, even Neftali admitted it.  He looked at Gad and at Isaachar and at all of the others, everyone except the pervert who loved his mother, Reuben.    His gaze then shifted to the fire.  

"And God banished Adam and Eve from paradise forever," Reuben concluded.  The brothers began to yawn and stretch their arms up. 

"Well, it's late and we must continue to walk on tomorrow," Reuben said.  The brothers nodded.

"Remember to check Dan's knee, tomorrow," Reuben told Simeon after the incident with the cart.

"Will do," Simeon replied.  Everyone chose a spot somewhere near the fire as possible and in those spots they fall asleep.