Reader's Theatre: Fools is a comic fable set in the small village of Kulyenchikov, Ukraine during the 19th century. The story follows Leon Steponovich Tolchinsky, a schoolteacher who takes a new job educating Sophia, the daughter of Doctor Zubritsky and his wife Lenya. Leon soon learns that there is a curse on the village that makes everyone stupid, but complications ensue when Leon falls in love with his pupil.