Pahom teaches the peasants a lesson by demonstrating the folly of their greed. He begins by acquiring as much land as he can, but finds that it was impossible for him to farm all of it. After this, he convinces them to give up their land to him in exchange for a small yearly payment. This payment soon becomes burdensome to him and he can't afford it anymore.
Pahom eventually finds himself in a situation where he is unable to pay the peasants or feed himself and ends up dying. This serves as a lesson to the peasants that greed can lead to ruin and that it is important to be content with what one has.