The motif of this ‘moral comedy’, as well as the name of the author, goes back to The Thousand and One Nights. The Sleeper and the Waker tells the story of how the caliph Haroun al-Rachid kidnapped Abou Hassan while he was asleep, so that he could spend a day as a prince, before being taken back to his old room. This story inspired many rewrites, including the comedy Der verwunschene Prinz [Tale of the Doomed Prince] by the German actor and playwright Carl August Görner (1806-1884): it is likely that Pocci knew about it.

Surprised by a downpour, Prince Alfred and his companion von Edelfels take refuge in Casperl’s household while Grethl waits for her husband to return from the inn. Casperl arrives in a very drunken state and immediately falls asleep. The prince, who had retired with von Edelfels to a nearby hovel, has an idea for a joke. He has the sleeping Casperl taken to a luxurious room, where he is treated with full honours. Soon Casperl does not know whether he is Casperl or Prince Schnuri... Pretending to be his doctor, Prince Alfred gives him a sleeping pill, and Casperl wakes up a few hours later in his old room. Von Edelfels, disguised as a magician, assures him that he is indeed Prince Schnuri, but that as a punishment for being a drunkard he has been turnt into a ‘dumb man’. Casperl finds Grethl and promises to make amends, all while announcing that he will drink many more litres of beer.