The Brave Journey

Long ago, in the land of Egypt, there lived a woman named Jochebed. She had a beautiful baby boy, and she loved him more than anything in the world.

But Jochebed was afraid. The Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had ordered that all baby boys should be taken away. He was afraid that one day they would grow up and challenge his power.

For three months, Jochebed hid her baby. She kept him quiet. She kept him safe. But she knew she couldn't hide him forever.

She had to make an impossible choice — keep him and risk both their lives, or let him go and hope someone would find him and keep him safe.

Jochebed made a plan. She wove a basket from reeds, coating it with tar so it would float. She lined it with soft blankets and placed her baby inside, tucking him in gently.

"Be brave, my little one," she whispered. "You are loved. You are precious. And somehow, someway, you will be safe."

She carried the basket to the river Nile. The water was wide and mysterious, flowing like a ribbon of silver under the hot sun. With tears streaming down her face, Jochebed placed the basket on the water and gave it a gentle push.

The baby's older sister, Miriam, watched from a distance. She would follow the basket and see where it went.

The basket floated along the river. It passed fishermen and merchants. It passed birds and crocodiles. And then it came to rest near the riverbank, where the Pharaoh's daughter had come to bathe.

The princess saw the basket and sent her servant to bring it to her. When she opened it and saw the baby inside, her heart melted.

"This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said, understanding immediately what had happened. "Someone loved him very much to let him go like this."

The baby began to cry. The princess's heart went out to him. "Don't cry, little one," she said. "I will take care of you. You will be my son."

Miriam had been watching everything. Now she stepped forward.

"Princess," she said bravely, "would you like me to find someone to nurse the baby for you? Someone who can take good care of him?"

The princess was surprised. "Yes, that would be wonderful. Please go quickly."

Miriam ran as fast as she could — straight to her mother, Jochebed.

"Mama! The princess found him! She wants to keep him safe! And she needs someone to nurse him. Can you?"

Jochebed could hardly believe it. Her baby was alive. Her baby was safe. And now — she could still be his mother.

Jochebed went to the princess, and when she saw her baby, she wept with joy. The princess didn't understand that this was the baby's own mother — she just thought Jochebed was a kind woman willing to help.

"Take him," the princess said. "Raise him until he is grown. And I will pay you for your trouble."

And so a miracle happened. Jochebed got to raise her own son, teach him about her people and her God, and love him for years. When he was old enough, he went to live in the palace with the princess, who named him Moses, which means "drawn out of the water."

Moses grew up wise and strong. He never forgot where he came from. He never forgot that his mother had been brave enough to let him go, and that a stranger had been kind enough to save him. And when he grew up, he did something brave too — he helped free his people from slavery.