Chapters 1-10 Summary

1) Gimpel the Fool: Gimpel undeservedly becomes the butt of ridicule and abuse in the small village of Frampol, Poland. As a child, his schoolmates tell him all sorts of fantastic lies that he pretends to believe simply because he does not want to fight them. Gimple is dragged to wedding with Elka, the town whore who already has a bastard child. When he comes home at night from working in the bakery, he discovers her in bed with various men but wants to believe that it is only an illusion. During their twenty-year marriage, she bears six children but confesses to Gimpel on her deathbed that none of them are his. He leaves Frampol and travels around the country, stopping here and there and telling stories to children. As death approaches, he is grateful that whatever happens will finally be real...