A self-loving and arrogant priest, strolling through the market square, is looking for a "cook, stable boy and carpenter" who would work for him diligently and a lot, and take only a little money for it. He meets a brave young man, Balda, who is hired as a servant by the popes for a purely symbolic payment - "a year for three cheeks on the forehead". Soon the Pope will have to learn the power of Balda's slap.