The pretty lady, taking a break from farm management, decided on a little fun with her stuffy other neighbour – the old bachelor – and pretended to fancy him. Unfortunately, he took her seriously.
Still, her affections were toyed with too. The dastardly solider professed to love her and then gambled his way through her money before pretending to drown himself.
His reappearance sparked off furious jealousy from the bachelor, meriting a crime of passion.
The patient shepherd triumphed in the end.