In the town of Schilda, the female population is growing angry because, apart from the town clerk, the pastor, and the gatekeeper, all the men in town are away on business. This is because the citizens of Schilda enjoy an excellent reputation worldwide and have therefore been taken into the service of the high lords of other countries. However, since the women of Schilda no longer want to do without their husbands, they threaten them with divorce. Of course, the men return immediately and immediately discuss what to do so that they can remain in Schilda in peace. The swineherd Georg Christian Trölsch has the saving idea: since the cleverness and skill of the Schildbürger was the reason for their absence, it is decided that from now on they will act foolish and stupid. This way, hardly any foreign lord will be interested in bringing a Schildbürger to his court.