Five loaves of bread

The story

“Five loaves of bread” 

 was written by the Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher

Ion Creanga

. His writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. He was born in Humulesti village, Piatra Neamt county, on 1

st

 of March 1837. He was a smart kid,  but very naughty. In 1875, he met

Mihai Eminescu

, our most famous poet, who became a very important  person in his life and a good friend. It was Eminescu who urged Creanga to write and then to go to

“Junimea” 

 Literary Society and first read his works: the tales

“Soacra cu trei nurori” ("The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law")

 and

“Capra cu trei iezi” (The Goat and  Her Three Kids").

 Besides these stories, his real work is

“Amintiri din  copilarie” (“Childhood Memories”)

, a very popular book who is read by children even today.

Ion Creanga

 was and still is the most famous and beloved author of tales. But that would not have happened without the urging and encouragement of

Mihai Eminescu.

 

“Five loaves of bread” 

 is about two travelers who had stopped to eat something by the road. One of them had two loaves of bread and the other had three loaves. During the lunch, another traveler came to them and kindly asked to share their meal. So they all had lunch together, then, the third traveler wanted to reward them and paid them five

lei

 (our national