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Gimpel the Fool, as he is called by the people of the Jewish town of Frampol, is constantly ridiculed and poked practical jokes at. Gimpel himself does not believe himself to be a fool, however. He states that people call him that because of his naievity, and not because he is trully stupid and unwise. The rabbi advises Gimpel that it is better to be a fool than evil, for innocence is always the better …

…the plot takes a sudden twist. One day, as he bakes bread, he is tempted by the spirit of evil to taint the bread he bakes by urinating in it. As luck would have it, he is visited by the tormented soul of Elka and brings Gimpel back to his clean senses. Gimpel finally decides that leaving the town will be better for him, and so leaves for a journey into the world to learn.