Once you start talking about bread and baking it seems a lot of people have stories to tell: about the baking they used to do as a child, grandparents baking their favourite recipes, the traditions of their country. Baking and bread also feature strongly in traditional folktales. This page will soon include a bit of everything – folklore, myth, personal anecdote. If you have any stories to share please contact me.

The farmer and his sons

A farmer lay ill on his bed. He knew that he would soon die and he wanted to make sure that his three sons would give the same care to the land as he himself had given to it over the years. He called them to his bedside and whispered: ‘My sons there is a great treasure buried in these fields.’

Soon after his death, the three sons took their shovels and hoes and carefully dug over every portion of their land. They found no treasure. So they carefully dug every field another time. Still not finding the buried treasure they decided to dig over all the fields one last time, just to be sure. Still they found nothing and they wondered why their elderly father would have ricked them so.

It wasn’t until harvest time that they realised where the real treasure lay. For in turning the fields three times they had brought great fertility to the soil. The harvest of wheat was plentiful and more abundant than ever.

Aesop

The King’s Loaves

Once there were two beggars who went daily to the palace to beg at the king’s gate. Every day the king gave each of them a loaf of bread. One of the beggars would always thank the king for his generosity. But the other thanked God for giving the king sufficient wealth to give charity.

The second beggar’s words always hurt the king. So the king decided to teach him a lesson. The king ordered his baker to bake two identical loaves, but in one he had him conceal precious jewels. Then he instructed the baker to give the loaf with the hidden jewels to the beggar who always thanked the king for his charity.

The next day the baker went to the king’s gate and handed the two loaves to the beggars. He took great care not to confuse the two, for he feared the king’s wrath if he should make a mistake.

When the beggar with the special loaf felt how heavy and hard it was, he concluded that it was poorly made and asked the other beggar to exchange loaves with him. The second beggar, always eager to help a friend, agreed. Then they went their separate ways.

When the second man bit into the loaf, he discovered that it was filled with jewels. He thanked God for his good fortune, grateful that he would no longer have to beg for his bread.

The next morning the king was surprised to find only the first beggar at the palace gate. He had the baker brought before him and asked him, “Did you mix up the two loaves I had you bake?”

“No, your majesty,” answered the baker. “I did exactly as you commanded.”

The king turned to the beggar and asked, “What did you do with the loaf you received yesterday?”

The man replied, “It was hard and poorly baked, so I gave it to my friend in exchange for his.”

Then the king understood that all his riches had indeed come from God, and that only the Holy One can make a poor man rich and a rich man poor. Not even a king can change the will of heaven.

Folktale from Afghanistan