We are in a Zealand village in the years before the reading of the staves. Jacob, the son of alderman Jeppe, goes from farm to farm and blows for the town meeting. Today the farmers are to meet to discuss when to start the rye harvest. The young farmer, who is eager to get started, does not have much confidence that they will be able to agree. When he gets home, he asks his father why they cannot harvest right away. Maybe it will be like last time, when the rye was rotting in the field. He does not understand that they always have to wait for the others. The old farmer gives him a sharp rebuke: "Don't pretend to be smarter than you are!“