The story of Bendegúz, the teenage boy who never succeeds in anything and about whom everybody's first though is "I wish you had been hanged when you were born!" drops out of school and becomes a cowboy. He works for the Stationmaster whose cows he has to graze by the railway. Despite his goodwill and kindheartedness he always manages to spoil everything he touches. No matter his wit, he gets into humiliating situations and regularly fights with the Ugly Witch (the Stationmaster's mother-in-law). However his good spirit and cheerfulness never leave him.

Nehéz az élet a tanyavilágban. Regős Bendegúz, az égetni valóan rossz csemete sokat tudna róla mesélni. Gyerekkorában sokféle dolgot tartottak felőle: hogy csodagyerek, meg, hogy akasztották volna fel kétnapos korában. Most az anyja elszegődteti a bakterházba. A kisfiú szenved a pénzéhes lókupec, a lusta bakter, a fukar paraszt, de legfőképpen a Büdös Banya miatt.