A kindly Dalmatian herdsmen named Joseph lived long before the
times of Jesus. He lived a simple life with his family tending his
sheep and caring for his three cows. He secretly owned a few small
nuggets of precious gold, which were passed on through three
generations before him, originally owned by his great, great
grandfather.
Fearing the loss of such valuable property, Joseph lovingly
carved a secret container in order to hide the only precious thing
his family owned – those nuggets. He carved the container in such a
way that anyone trespassing would not suspect its value. He planned
for the nuggets to be inherited by future generations, for their
financial security, or perhaps to be used for dowry toward a wife
for his firstborn son when he came of age. These gold nuggets were
all Joseph had beside his small abode, his small herd of goats and
his 3 cows, which sustained his family. He secretly watched with
interest the tally sticks other herdsmen used to keep count of
their livestock, as Joseph clearly needed no tally system for his
small flock.
One cold winter day, Joseph had a heated discussion with a
neighbor, Amos, after several of Amos'goats suddenly died. Joseph’s
boy was accused of poisoning the goats after a dispute between Amos
and Joseph's sons flared. Later that week, on a cold winter’s
morning, Joseph’s house was unexplainably found burning in flames
when he returned from milking the cows. Fortunately, his family
awoke and escaped unharmed. Little did they know that the goats had
expired from a severe infection cased by salmonella, a condition
unknown to the herdsmen at the time, and quite unrelated to
activities of the boys. The fire resulted in Joseph moving the gold
nuggets and their container to a safe haven away from his property,
in order to preserve the small treasure of security for future
generations.
Shortly afterward, Joseph befell a wonderful windfall when he
saved a town girl from drowning after he heard screams from a
rapidly moving stream near his herd. The girl’s father, a rich
businessman, was so grateful for his daughter’s life that he gave
Joseph two fat leather pouches full of valuable gold medallions.
Wanting to make the most of his money, the wise herdsman extended
his property and bought many more cows, in order to continue to
double the value of the money through trading and selling of cows
he bred. His wealth continued to grow, but true to his roots, he
continued doing what he loved doing most: herding and spending his
days outside with his family. He hired farmhands to help him handle
the large and growing herd, and his descendants today remain
financially comfortable due to the way Joseph handled his money so
well in establishing his business and securing wealth for future
generations to build upon.
The original golden nuggets were never spent by Joseph, but kept
as a reminder of the poverty from which he came. Today, the
nugget-filled container still remains hidden, placed carefully
according to custom by the many, many generations that have
followed Joseph. Tradition is that it continues to be hidden near a
rapidly moving stream to remind them of how the wealth of their
family originated, and one of the original gold nuggets have
remained untouched through the years as a loving memento of their
ancestor, Joseph.
Below you will find a picture of two ancient tally sticks his
family has passed on through generations. These sticks are alleged
to have been carved by Joseph, and they note the number of dairy
cows (top stick) and the number of sterile cows, or bulls (bottom
stick) that he owned through the many years of his hard work.
There is one remaining gold nugget preserved by this family.
Please keep it intact when you find the container, for the good
will of his family. It is not for trade. Should you take it by
mistake, please kindly return it. If it becomes lost, just let me
know.
