The story revolves around a priest and his wife living in a village, who struggle with a life of begging. One day, the wife craves puris, leading the priest to gather the necessary ingredients to make them. However, when it comes time to eat, they argue about how many puris each should take, and they decide that whoever wakes up last gets to eat five puris. Both fall asleep, and when they wake up, they find that they've died in their sleep. A neighbor, believing they are dead, prepares them for cremation, and the priest's sudden awakening causes chaos, leading villagers to think he has turned into a ghost.

The couple eventually lives as perceived ghosts on a tree, scaring the villagers. A skeptical soldier decides to confront the ghosts one night, only to be frightened and injured by their antics. The priest and his wife, feeling embarrassed about their ghostly disguise and lack of clothes, devise a plan to collect clothes by scaring the washerman. Although they initially fail, they eventually succeed in obtaining some clothing and return to a semblance of normal life. The tale concludes with the moral lesson against greed, highlighting how their arguments and desires led to absurd and humorous consequences.

एक गाँव में एगो पंडित जी आउ उनकर जनाना रहऽ हलन। उनका नऽ कोई बाले हल, न कोई बच्चे हल । ऊ दिन माँग हलन तो रात खा हलन, आउ रात माँग हलन तो दिन खा हलन । माने कि उनकर जीवन माँगइत-खाइत बीत रहल हल। पंडिताइन जी के इच्छा एक दिन पूआ खाय के भेल। पंडित जी पूआ के सरंजाम जुटवलन। जजमान हीं से दूध-गुड़ आउ आटा माँग लौलन । पंडिताइन जी ओकरा सान-ऊन के पूआ छानलन । पूआ नौ गो तइयार भेल । पंडित जी के खाय के इच्छा भेल। पंडित जी आउ पंडिताइन जी सभे पूआ के कठौत में लेके खाय ला बइठ गेलन । तब पंडी जी कहथ कि हम जादे मेहनत कइली हे, से हम पाँच पूआ खायम। पंडिताइन जी कहलन कि हम सानली बनवली हे, से हमही पाँच पूआ खायम। पाँचे पूआ ला दूनों लड़े लगलन । तऽ विचार कयलन कि दूनो के सत रहे के चाही, जे पीछे उठत ओही पाँच पूआ खायत। एही निश्चय कर के दूनो सूत गेलन । बिहान भेल तइयो दूनो में कोई नऽ उठथ।

ऊ सोचथ कि हम पहिले उठ जायम, तऽ हमरा चारे पूआ मिलत । दूनो अप्पन-अप्पन जिद पर सूतल हलन। पड़ोसिन आग-पानी ले जाय ला केंवाड़ी खोलावथ बाकि ऊ दूनों में से कोई उठवे न करथ । ई देख के पड़ोसिन उनकर केंवाड़ी उठा के देखलन कि ओहनी दूनो एके जगह सूतल हथ । लगल कि मर गेलन हे। जब ई निश्चय हो गेल कि ओहिनी ठीके मर गेलन हे, तब पड़ोसिन सोचलन कि उनकर काम-किरिया कर देवे के चाहीं । एकरा बाद बाँस के ठठरी पर उनका उठा के जरावे ला चिरारी पर ले गेलन । उहाँ चिता बोझायल, आउ उनका ओकरा पर रख देवल गेल। फूँकेओलन भी नवे गो हलन। जब चिता में आग लगावल गेल, तब पंडित जी फुरफुरा के उठलन आउ कहलन कि ''ले हरमजादी, तूहीं पाँच गो खो, हम चारे गो खायम।'' डेरा के फूँकेओलन सब भागलन कि ई तो हमनीये के खाय ला कहइत हवऽ। पंडी जी जब घर में जाय लगलन, तब उनका कोई घरे में घुसे न देवे कि ई तो भूत बन गेलन हे, आउ सउंसे गाँव के खा जथुन।

हार मान के पंडित जी आउ पंडिताइन जी एगो बड़ के पेड़ पर रहे लगलन । सब कोई जान गेलन कि पंडित जी आउ पंडिताइन जी भूत बन के एही बड़ के पेड़ पर रहऽ हथुन । से उनका डरे ऊ रास्ता बन्द हो गेल। ढेर दिन के बाद पंडित-पंडिताइन के नौह आउ बार बड़ा-बड़ा बढ़ गेल, आउ करिया, मैल-कुचैल रूप उनका एकदम सच्चे के भूत बना देलक।

बड़ी दिना के बाद ऊ गाँव में एगो सिपाही आयल। ऊ सिपाही ई बवंडर के सुनलक, तो लोग से कहलक कि भूत-परेत कोई चीज न हे। तब गाँवओलन उनका से कहलन कि तनी रात के तू उनका भिरू जइहँऽ तब जानवऽ । सिपाही बोलल कि हम जायम। रात के एगो घोड़ा के पर सवार होके ऊ उहाँ गेल। रात खानी घोड़ा के अगाड़-पिछाड़ बान्ह देलक, आउ उहई अराम करे के सोचलक । जब अधरतिया भेल तब ऊ दूनो जना पेड़ पर से उतरलन आउ नीचे गिरल फल-उल चुन के खाय लगलन। देख के सिपाही जी के तो प्रान सूख गेलक । ऊ झट से घोड़ा के खाली अगाड़ खोललक आउ सवार हो गेलक । एक चाभुक मारलक तो घोड़ा हनहनाइत भागल। पिछाड़ के खूंटा कुबर के पगहे के साथे लपटायल चलल । जब घोड़ा दउड़े तो पीछे से खूँटा फटाफट सिपाही जी के लगे। तब सिपाही बार-बार कहे लगलक कि अब छोड़ दिहीं पंडित जी, हम फिन न आयब । ओहनी दूनो के सिपाही खूब गोड़ पड़लक तइयो खूंटा के चोट फटाफट सिपाही के लगइत रहल।

सिपाही गाँव में पहुँचलक तो लोग देखलन कि सिपाही जी के देह सगरो से टूटल-फाटल हे। जल्दी-जल्दी ओकरा हरदी-चूना लपेटल गेल । सिपाही कहलक कि अब हम जान गेली कि भूत कइसन हो हे? ओने पंडित जी आउ पंडिताइन जी सोचलन कि हमनी एही भेस में कब तक जिनगी बिताईं। ई सोच के ओहनी अप्पन स्थान बदल देलन । ऊ एगो पोखरा के किनारे जाके रहे लगलन। रोज नेहा-धोआ के अच्छा से रहे लगलन । बाकि उनका पास कपड़ा न हल से गाँव में जाय में ओहनी बड़ी लजा हलन।

ओहनी कपड़ा ला उपाय सोचलन कि जब धोबी इहाँ कपड़ा लेके आवे तो हमनी धड़ाम-धड़ाम पोखरा में कूद जाईं । ऊ धोबी हमनी के भूत जानके सब कपड़ा छोड़ के भाग जायत। दूनो एही उपाय कैलन । पहिलका दिना तो धोबी एगो भी कपड़ा नऽ छोड़लक बाकि दूसरका दिन धोबी एगो-दूगो कपड़ा छोड़ देलक । ओहनी दूनो ओही कपड़ा पेन्ह के घरे चल अयलन । पंडित-पंडिताइन के ई कथा खूब कहल-सुनल जा हे। ज्यादा लालच करे के एही फल हो हे ।

See translation

Once, there was a priest and his wife living in a village. They had neither a child nor any offspring. They spent their days begging for food, eating at night when they begged during the day, and eating during the day when they begged at night. In other words, their life was spent in the cycle of begging and eating. One day, the priest's wife longed to eat puris. The priest arranged to make puris, asking their patrons for milk, jaggery, and flour. The priest’s wife kneaded the dough to prepare the puris. Nine puris were made. The priest felt the urge to eat. Both the priest and his wife sat down with the puris in a plate ready to eat. The priest then said, "I have worked harder, so I will eat five puris." The priest’s wife replied, "I have prepared the puris, so I will also eat five." They both started fighting over the five puris. After some thought, they decided that both should be satisfied; whoever gets up last would eat the five puris. After making this decision, both of them fell asleep. In the morning, neither got up.

He thought, "If I get up first, I will get four puris." Both were stubbornly asleep. A neighbor came to get water and opened the door, but neither of them stirred. Seeing this, the neighbor checked on them and found both sleeping in the same spot. They seemed to have died. When it was determined that they had indeed died, the neighbor thought she should perform their last rites. After this, she picked them up on a bamboo stretcher and took them to the cremation ground. There, a pyre was prepared, and they were placed on it. Even after the pyre was lit, there was no movement. When the pyre was set on fire, the priest suddenly woke up and said, "Hey, you bastard! You eat five, and I’ll eat four." The people around fled, thinking he was talking about their meal. As the priest began to go home, no one allowed him to enter, saying he had turned into a ghost and would eat everyone in the village.

Eventually, the priest and his wife settled on a big tree. Everyone in the village came to know that the priest and his wife were living as ghosts on that tree. Because of them, people were afraid, and that route was avoided. After many days, a soldier came to the village. Hearing the rumors about the ghosts, he told the villagers that there was no such thing as ghosts. The villagers advised him to go check at night, saying, "You’ll understand then." The soldier replied affirmatively and at night rode on a horse to their tree. He tethered the horse and decided to rest there. When it was midnight, the two started coming down from the tree and began picking fallen fruits to eat. Seeing this, the soldier was terrified. He quickly untied his horse and mounted it. He whipped the horse, and it galloped away. The tethered rope got caught around his leg as he ran. As the horse took off, the tether also caught on the soldier repeatedly. The soldier kept calling out, "Let me go, oh priest! I won’t come back again." The soldier was hit constantly by the rope.

When the soldier returned to the village, the villagers saw that his body was all bruised and battered. They hurriedly wrapped him in turmeric and lime. The soldier said, "Now I know what ghosts are like!" Meanwhile, the priest and his wife thought about how long they could live in this disguise. Reflecting on this, they decided to change their location. They moved to the edge of a pond where they lived well, enjoying the water and cleanliness. However, they felt embarrassed to go to the village because they had no clothes.

They devised a plan to get clothes: when the washerman brought clothes to the area, they would jump into the pond with a splash. The washerman would see them as ghosts and would run away, leaving all the clothes behind. They both executed this plan. On the first day, the washerman didn’t drop a single piece of clothing, but on the second day, he left behind one or two pieces. They happily wore those clothes and returned home. The tale of the priest and his wife is widely told. This is what happens when one gets too greedy.