About this book
Rip Van Winkle, a good-natured but idle man living in a Dutch-American village, seeks refuge from his nagging wife in the Kaatskill Mountains. There, he encounters a silent, ghostly party playing ninepins and drinks their potent liquor, falling into a deep, enchanted sleep. He awakens to a world utterly changed: his gun is rusted, his beard is long, and twenty years have passed. Returning to his village, he finds the portrait of King George replaced by General Washington, his wife deceased, and his children grown. Initially a stranger, Rip’s incredible story is eventually accepted, and he finds a new, peaceful life as a living relic of the past, free from domestic tyranny in a newly independent nation.
