Through the character of the hermit who gives his name to the play, Otto Blümel delivers an ironic portrait of his friend Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), whom he regularly visited at his summer residence in Gaienhofen on Lake Constance. A note by Blümel on the back of one of his illustrations for the play attests to a performance of Der Klausner in the writer's house. Of the three pieces in this collection dedicated to Hesse, this is probably the one most personally addressed to him.

Wandering in the forest, Kasperl finds refuge with a hermit, who wants to lead him to repent. The Devil plants a giant radish in Kasperl's path, a magical object that assures its owner that all his wishes will come true. Kasperl immediately orders six litres of beer from the radish, a dish of Leberknödel (liver dumplings) and cabbage, and a sofa to sleep off his drunkenness. The Devil then returns to damn him in the form of a prostitute who wants to lie down beside Kasperl; but he pushes her away violently, shouting that he is drunk and needs to sleep in peace. Then the sky opens up and angelic choirs sing him praises: Kasperl has triumphed over the devil and he receives a halo. Not knowing what to do with it, he leaves it with the hermit, who, in exchange, leads him out of the forest.