A numbskull is warned by a priest that he will fall if he continues to saw off the same branch he is sitting on. When the inevitable happens, the numbskull asks the priest when he will die. The priest tells him when he sees a thread on his jacket. When this happens, he gets his wife to bury him with his head out. He proceeds to trick seven thieves by selling them bogus life-giving stick, an old hat that can pay hotel bill, and finally cutting off their noses.