The Bread Tree Legend – Armenian Symbol of Patience and Hope

Once, a miller renowned for all his limitless hard work got so tired that he barely crawled out of his mill and fell to the ground. The mill was still full of grain. But there was no strength in him to get up and go to the market, buy food, eat to the full, and go back to work. So he stayed on the ground and quietly fell asleep.

In his dream, he saw the goddess of fertility Anahit who had more than once contemplated the noble work of the miller from heaven. The goddess told him:

“From the flour of your mill, I created a tree that will produce fruits from bread and flour. Go out into the yard and turn left – you will see this tree there.”

Having said this, goddess Anahit disappeared into a cloud of fog.

The miller wouldn’t sleep for the rest of the night, looking forward to the morning. He really wanted the prophecy from the dream to come true. And as soon as dawn broke, he left his yard and saw a bread tree on the bank of a stormy river nearby.

It was a tree named Pshat. It stretched its silvery velvet leaves and golden, showered with fine flour fruits towards the miller. Miller rushed towards it and dropped down onto his knees before it…

Such is the story of the birth of the grain wheat tree. It is no coincidence that it became widely spread in Armenia and was favored by its inhabitants. A fruit from legends, it is a symbol of patience and hope in Armenian tradition.