The Fool Teigue comes to the Wise-Man, as the latter is contemplating the meaning of a verse he has found in a book with
much great wisdom. The Fool begs until the Wise-Man gives him 4 (four) pennies to tell hiim why he is carrying a pair of shears. The Fool finally tells him that he uses the shears to cut up the nets men spread upon the hills to catch the angels. The Wise-Man has taught people not to believe in anything they can't see (in the ordinary way). As the Fool leaves, an Angel comes to tell the Wise-Man that he (the old false teacher) has but one hour to live, and that he will go to Hell, since he has denied the existence of Heaven and
Purgatory, and people have stopped going to Heaven because of that.
The old Wise-Man begs for mercy, and the Angel says that if he can find one believer before the sand has run out of the Hour-glass, he can go to Purgatory for his assigned time, and eventually to Heaven. The old teacher asks his pupils, his wife, and even his children, hoping one of them will believe, but all refuse to comfort him, thinking he only wishes to get into a philsophical argument. He has taught them his falsehoods all too well, and they don't believe.
As the old teacher dies, he prays that those he taught will see a sign, so they can believe and be saved. As he dies, they see a winged thing fly from his mouth into the Angel's hands, and so he will eventually win through to Heaven (after his years in Purgatory for false teachings).