The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving Learn English Through Story Audiobook

the legend of sleepy hollow by

washington irving

found among the papers of the late

dietrich knickerbocker

a pleasing land of drowsy head it was of

dreams that wave before the half-shot

eye and of

gay castles in the clouds that pass

forever flushing round the summer sky

from castle of indolence

in the bosom of one of those spacious

coves which indent the eastern shore of

the hudson at that broad expansion of

the river denominated by the ancient

dutch navigators the tappan zee

and where they always prudently

shortened sail and implored the

protection of saint nicholas when they

crossed

there lies a small market town or rural

port which by some is called greensburg

but which is more generally and properly

known by the name of tarrytown

this name was given we are told in

former days by the good housewives of

the adjacent country from the

invertebrate propensity of their

husbands to linger about the village

tavern on market days

be that as it may i do not vouch for the

fact but merely advert to it for the

sake of being precise and authentic

not far from this village perhaps about

two miles there is a little valley or

rather lap of land among high hills

which is one of the quietest places in

the whole world

a small brook glides through it with

just murmur enough to lull one into

repose

and the occasional whistle of a quail or

topping of a woodpecker is almost the

only sound that ever breaks in upon the

uniform tranquility

i recollect that when a stripping my

first exploit in squirrel shooting was

in a grove of tall walnut trees that

shades one side of the valley

i had wandered into it at noon time when

all nature is peculiarly quiet

and was startled by the roar of my own

gun as it broke the sabbath stillness

around and was prolonged and

reverberated by the angry echoes

if ever i should wish for a retreat

wither i might steal from the world and

its distractions and dream quietly away

the remnant of a troubled life

i know of none more promising than this

little valley

from the listless repose of the place

and the peculiar character of its

inhabitants who are descendants from the

original dutch settlers this sequestered

glenn has long been known by the name of

sleepy hollow

and its rustic lads are called the

sleepy hollow boys throughout all the

neighboring country

a drowsy dreamy influence seems to hang

over the land and to pervade the very

atmosphere

some say that the place was bewitched by

a high german doctor during the early

days of the settlement others that an

old indian chief the prophet or wizard

of his tribe held his powwows there

before the country was discovered by

master henrik hudson

certain it is that the place still

continues under the sway of some

witching power that holds a spell over

the minds of the good people causing

them to walk in a continual reverie

they are given to all kinds of marvelous

beliefs are subject to trances and

visions and frequently see strange

sights and hear music and voices in the

air

the whole neighborhood abounds with

local tales haunted spots and twilight

superstitions

stars shoot and meteors glare often

across the valley than in any other part

of the country

and the nightmare with her whole

ninefold seems to make it the favorite

scene of her gambles

the dominant spirit however that haunts

this enchanted region and seems to be

commander-in-chief of all the powers of

the air is the apparition of the figure

on horseback without a head

it is said by some to be the ghost of a

hessian trooper whose head had been

carried away by a cannonball in some

nameless battle during the revolutionary

war and who is ever and and on seen by

the country folk hurrying along in the

gloom of night as if on the wings of the

wind

his haunts are not confined to the

valley but extend at times to the

adjacent roads and especially to the

vicinity of a church at no great

distance

indeed certain of the most authentic

historians of these parts who have been

careful in collecting and collating the

floating facts concerning this specter

allege that the body of the trooper

having been buried in the churchyard the

ghost rides forth to the scene of battle

in nightly quest of his head

and that the rushing speed with which he

sometimes passes along the hollow like a

midnight blast

is owing to his being belated

and in a hurry

to get back to the churchyard before

daybreak such is the general purport of

this legendary superstition which has

furnished materials for many a wild

story in that region of shadows and the

specter is known at all the country

firesides by the name of the headless

horseman of sleepy hollow

it is remarkable that the visionary

propensity i have mentioned is not

confined to the native inhabitants of

the valley but is unconsciously imbibed

by

everyone who resides there for a time

however wide awake they may have been

before they entered that sleepy region

they are sure in a little time to inhale

the witching influence of the air and

begin to grow imaginative

to dream dreams

to see

apparitions

i mention this peaceful spot with all

possible lord for it is in such little

retired dutch valleys found here and

there embosomed in the great state of

new york that population manners and

customs remain fixed while the great

torrent of migration and improvement

which is making such incessant changes

in other parts of this restless country

sweeps by them unobserved

they are like those little nooks of

still water which border a rapid stream

where we may see the straw and bubble

riding quietly at anchor or slowly

revolving in their meemic harbor

undisturbed by the rush of the passing

current

though many years have elapsed since i

trod the drowsy shades of sleepy hollow

yet i question whether i should not

still find the same trees

and the same families vegetating in its

sheltered bosom

in the spy place of nature there abode

in a remote period of american history

that is to say some 30 years since

a worthy white of the name of ichabod

crane who sojourned or as he expressed

it tarried in sleepy hollow for the

purpose of instructing the children of

the vicinity

he was a native of connecticut a state

which supplies the union with pioneers

for the mind as well as for the forest

and sends forth yearly its legions of

frontier woodmen and country

schoolmasters

the cognomen of crane was not

inapplicable to his person

he was tall but exceedingly lank with

narrow shoulders long arms and legs

hands that dangled a mile out of his

sleeves feet that might have served for

shovels and his whole frame most loosely

hung together

his head was small and flat at top with

huge ears large green glassy eyes and a

long sniped nose so that it looked like

a weather perched atop his spindle

neck to tell which way the wind blew

to see him striding along the profile of

a hill on a windy day with his clothes

bagging and fluttering about him one

might have mistaken him for the genius

of famine descending upon the earth or

some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield

his schoolhouse was a low building of

one large room rudely constructed of

logs the windows partly glazed and

partly patched with leaves of old copy

books

it was most ingeniously secured at

vacant hours by a with twisted in the

handle of the door and stakes set

against the window shutters

so that though a thief might get in with

perfect ease he would find some

embarrassment in getting out an idea

most probably borrowed by the architect

jost von houten from the mystery of an

eel pot

the schoolhouse stood in a rather lonely

but pleasant situation

just at the foot of a woody hill with a

brook running close by and a formidable

birch tree growing at one end of it

from hence the low murmur of his pupils

voices calming over their lessons might

be heard on a drowsy summer’s day like

the hum of the beehive interrupted now

and then by the authoritative voice of

the master in the tone of menace or

command or per adventure by the

appalling sound of the birch as he urged

some tardy loiterer along the flowery

path of knowledge

truth to say he was a conscientious man

and ever bore in mind the golden maxim

spare the rod and spoil the child

ichabod cranes scholars certainly were

not spoiled

i would not have it imagined however

that he was one of those cruel

potentates of the school who joy in the

smart of their subjects on the contrary

he administered justice with

discrimination rather than severity

taking the burden off the backs of the

weak and laying it on those of the

strong

your mere puny stripping that winced at

the least flourish of the rod was passed

by with indulgence but the claims of

justice were satisfied by inflicting a

double portion on some little tough

wrong-headed broad-skirted dutch urchin

who sulked and swelled and grew dogged

and sullen beneath the birch

all this he called

doing his duty by their parents and he’d

never inflicted a chastisement without

following it by the assurance so

consulatory to the smarting urchin that

he would remember it and thank him for

it the longest day he had to live

when school hours were over he was even

the companion and playmate of the larger

boys

and on holiday afternoons would convoy

some of the smaller ones home who

happened to have pretty sisters or good

housewives for mothers noted for the

comforts of their cupboard

indeed it behooved him to keep on good

terms with his pupils the revenue

arising from his school was small and

would have been scarcely sufficient to

furnish him with the daily bread for he

was a huge feeder and though like he had

the dilating powers of an anaconda but

to help out his maintenance he was

according to country custom in those

parts

boarded and lodged at the houses of the

farmers whose children he instructed

with these he lived successfully a week

at a time thus going the rounds of the

neighborhood with all his worldly

effects tied up in a cotton handkerchief

that all this might not be too onerous

on the purses of his rustic patrons who

are apt to consider the costs of

schooling a grievous burden and

schoolmasters as mere drones he had

various ways of rendering himself both

useful and agreeable

he assisted the farmers occasionally in

the lighter labors of their farms helped

to make hay mended the fences took the

horses to water drove the cows from

pasture and cut wood for the winter fire

he laid aside too all the dominant

dignity and absolute sway with which he

lorded it in his little empire the

school and became wonderfully gentle and

ingratiating he found favor in the eyes

of the mothers by petting the children

particularly the youngest

and like the lion bold which will whom

so magnanimously the lamb did hold he

would sit with a child upon one knee

and rock a cradle with his foot for

hours together

in addition to his other vocations he

was the singing master of the

neighborhood and picked up many bright

shillings by instructing the young folks

in salmony

it was a matter of no little vanity to

him on sundays to take his station in

front of the church gallery with a band

of chosen singers where in his own mind

he completely carried away the palm from

the parson

certain it is his voice resounded far

above all the rest of the congregation

and there are particular quavers still

to be heard in that church and which may

even be heard a half mile off quite to

the opposite side of the middle pond on

a still sunday morning which are said to

be legitimately descended from the nose

of ichabod crane

thus by divers that’ll makeshifts and in

that ingenious way which is commonly

denominated

by hook and by crook

the worthy pedagogue got on tolerably

enough and was thought by all who

understood nothing of the labor of

headwork to have a wonderfully easy life

of it

the master is generally a man of some

importance in the female circle of a

rural neighborhood being considered a

kind of idle gentlemanly personage of

vastly superior taste and

accomplishments to the rough country

swains and indeed inferior in learning

only to the parson

his appearance therefore is apt to

occasion some little stir at the tea

table of a farmhouse and the addition of

a supernumerate dish of cakes or sweet

meats or per adventure the parade of a

silver teapot

our man of letters therefore was

peculiarly happy in the smiles of all

the country damsels

how he would figure among them in the

churchyard between services on sundays

gathering grapes for them in the wild

vines that overran the surrounding trees

reciting for their amusement all the

epitaphs on the tombstones or sauntering

with the whole bevy of them along the

banks of the adjacent millpond while the

more bashful country bumpkins hung

sheepishly back envying his superior

elegance and address

from his half itinerant life also he was

a kind of traveling gazette

carrying the whole budget of local

gossip from house to house so that his

appearance was always greeted with

satisfaction

he was moreover esteemed by the women as

a man of great erudition for he had read

several books quite through and was the

perfect master of cotton mather’s

history of new england witchcraft in

which by the way he most firmly and

potently believed

he was in fact an odd mixture of

shrewdness and simple credulity

his appetite for the marvelous and his

powers of digesting it were equally

extraordinary and both had been

increased by his residence in this

spellbound region

no tale was too gross or monstrous for

this capricious swallow it was often his

delight after his school was dismissed

in the afternoon to stretch himself on

the rich bed of clover bordering the

little brook that whimpered by his

schoolhouse

and there con over old mother’s dire

full tales until the gathering dusk of

evening made the printed page a mere

mist before his eyes

then as he wended his way by swamp and

stream and awful woodland to the

farmhouse where he happened to be

quartered

every sound of nature at that witching

hour

fluttered and excited imagination

the moan of the whippoorwill from the

hillside the boating cry of the tree

toad that harbinger of storm the dreary

hooting of the screech owl or the sudden

rustling in the thicket of birds

frightened from their roost

the fireflies too which sparkled most

vividly in the darkest place now and

then startled him

as one of uncommon brightness would

stream across his path and if by chance

a huge blockhead of a beetle came

winging his blundering flight against

him

the poor violet was ready to give up the

ghost with the idea that he was struck

with a witch’s token

his only resource on such occasions

either to drown thought or drive away

evil spirits was to sing psalm tunes and

the good people of sleepy hollow as they

sat by their doors of an evening were

often filled with awe at hearing his

nasal melody

in linked sweetness long drawn out

floating from the distant hill or along

the dusky road

another of his sources of fearful

pleasure was to pass long winter

evenings with the old dutch wives as

they sat spinning by the fire with a row

of apples roasting and spluttering along

the hearth and to listen to their

marvelous tales of ghosts and goblins

and haunted fields and haunted brooks

and haunted bridges and haunted houses

and

particularly of the headless horseman or

galloping hessian of the hollow as they

sometimes called him

he would delight them equally by his

anecdotes of witchcraft and of the

direful omens and portentious sights and

sounds in the air which prevailed in the

earlier times of connecticut and would

frighten them woefully with speculations

upon comets and shooting stars

and with the alarming fact that the

world did absolutely turn around

and that they were half the time topsy

turvy

but if there were a pleasure in all this

while snuggling cuddling in the chimney

corner of a chamber that was all of a

ruddy glow from the crackling wood fire

and where of course no specter dared to

show its face

it was dearly purchased by the terrors

of his subsequent walk homeward

what fearful shapes and shadows beset

this path amid the dim and ghastly glare

of a snowy night

with what wistful look did he eye every

trembling ray of light streaming across

the waist fields from some distant

window

how often was he appalled by some shrub

covered with snow which like a sheeted

specter beset his very path

how often did he shrink with curdling

awe at the sound of his own steps on the

frosty crust beneath his feet

and dread to look over his shoulder lest

he should behold some uncouth being

tramping close behind him

and how often was he thrown into

complete dismay by some rushing blast

howling among the trees

in the idea that it was the galloping

hessian of one of his nightly scourings

all these however were mere terrors of

the night phantoms of the mind that walk

in darkness

and though he had seen many specters in

his time and had been more than once

beset by satan in divers shapes in his

lonely perambulations yet daylight put

an end to all these evils and he would

have passed a pleasant life of it in

spite of the devil and all his works if

his path had not been crossed by a being

that causes

more perplexity to mortal man than

ghosts goblins and the whole race of

which is put together

and that was

a woman

among the musical disciples who

assembled one evening each week to

receive his instructions in somebody was

katrina van tassel the daughter and only

child of a substantial dutch farmer

she was a blooming glass of fresh 18

plump as a partridge ripe and melting

and rosy cheeked as one of her father’s

peaches and universally famed not merely

for her beauty but her vast expectations

she was with all a little of a coquette

as might be perceived even in her dress

which was a mixture of ancient and

modern fashions as most suited to set

off her charms

she wore the ornaments of pure yellow

gold which her great great grandmother

had brought over from

the tempting stomacher of the olden time

and with all a provokingly short

petticoat to display the prettiest foot

and ankle in the country round

ichabod crane had a soft and foolish

heart towards the sex and it is not to

be wondered that so tempting a morsel

soon found favor in his eyes

more especially after he had visited her

in her paternal mansion old baltus von

tossel was a perfect picture of a

thriving contented liberal-hearted

farmer

he seldom it is true sent either his

eyes or his thoughts beyond the

boundaries of his own farm but within

those everything was snug happy and well

conditioned

he was satisfied with his wealth but not

proud of it and piqued himself upon the

hearty abundance rather than the style

in which he lived his stronghold was

situated on the banks of the hudson in

one of those green sheltered fertile

nooks in which the dutch farmers are so

fond of nestling

a great elm tree had spread its broad

branches over it at the foot of which

bubbled up a spring of the softest and

sweetest water in a little well formed

of a barrel and then stole sparkling

away through the grass to a neighboring

brook that babbled among the alders and

dwarf willows

hard by the farmhouse was a vast barn

that might have served for a church

every window and crevice of which seemed

bursting forth with the treasures of the

farm the flail was busily resounding

within it from morning till night

swallows and martins skimmed twittering

about the eaves and rows of pigeons some

with one eye turned up as if watching

the weather some with their heads under

their wings or buried in their bosoms

and others swelling and cooing and

bowing about their dames were enjoying

the sunshine on the roof

sleek unwieldy

porkers were grunting in the repose and

abundance of their pens from which salad

forth now and then troops of sucking

pigs as if to snuff the air

a stately squadron of snowy geese were

riding in an adjoining pond convoying

whole fleets of ducks regiments of

turkeys were gobbling through the farm

yard and guinea fowls fretting about it

like ill-tempered housewives with their

peevish discontented cry

before the barn door strutted the

gallant that pattern of a husband a

warrior and a fine gentleman clapping

his burnished wings and crowing in the

pride and gladness of his heart

sometimes tearing up the earth with his

feet and then generously calling his

ever hungry family of wives and children

to enjoy the rich morsel which he had

discovered

the pedagogue’s mouth watered as he

looked upon this sumptuous promise of

luxurious winter fair

in his devouring mind’s eye he pictured

to himself every roasting pig running

about with a pudding in his belly and an

apple in his mouth

the pigeons were snuggly put to bed in a

comfortable pie and tucked in with a

coverlet of crust the geese were

swimming in their own gravy and the

ducks pairing cozily in dishes like snug

married couples with a decent competency

of onion sauce

in the porkers he saw carved out the

future sleek side of bacon and juicy

relishing ham not a turkey but he beheld

daintily trust up with its gizzard under

its wing and per adventure and necklace

of savory sausages

and even bright chanticleer himself lay

sprawling on his back in a side dish

with uplifted claws as if craving that

quarter which his chivalrous spirit

disdained to ask while living as the

enraptured ichabod fancied all this and

as he rolled his great green eyes over

the fat meadowlands the rich fields of

wheat of rye of buckwheat and indian

corn and the orchards burdened with

ruddy fruit which surrounded the warm

tenement of van tassel

his heart yearned after the damsel who

was to inherit these domains

and his imagination expanded with the

idea how they might be readily turned

into cash

and the money invested in immense tracts

of wild land and shingle palaces in the

wilderness

they his busy fancy already realized his

hopes and presented to him the blooming

katrina with a whole family of children

mounted on top of the wagon loaded with

household trump ray with pots and

kettles dangling beneath and he beheld

himself astride a pacing mare with a

colt at her heels setting out for

kentucky

tennessee or

the lord knows where

when he entered the house the conquest

of his heart was complete

it was one of those spacious farmhouses

with high ridged but lowly sloping roofs

built in the style handed down from the

first dutch settlers the low projecting

eaves forming a piazza along the front

capable of being closed up in bad

weather

under this were hung flails harness

various utensils of husbandry and nets

for fishing in the neighboring river

benches were built along the sides for

summer use and a great spinning wheel at

one end and a churn at the other showed

the various uses to which this important

porch might be devoted

from this piazza the wondering ichabod

entered the hall which formed the center

of the mansion and the place of usual

residence

here rose of resplendent pewter ranged

on a long dresser dazzled his eyes in

one corner hung a huge bag of wool ready

to be spun in another a quantity of

lindsay woolsey just from the loom

ears of indian corn and strings of dried

apples and peaches hung in gay festoons

along the walls mingled with the god of

red peppers and the door left a jar gave

him a peep into the best parlour where

the claw footed chairs and dark mahogany

tables shone like mirrors and irons with

their accompanying shovel and tongs

glistened from their covert of asparagus

tops

mock oranges and conch shells decorated

the mantelpiece strings of various

colored bird eggs were suspended above

it a great ostrich egg was hung from the

center of the room

and a corner cupboard knowingly left

open

displayed immense treasures of old

silver and well-mended china

from the moment ichabod laid his eyes

upon these regions of delight the peace

of his mind was at an end and his only

study was how to gain the affections of

the peerless daughter of van tassel

in this enterprise however he had more

real difficulties than generally fell to

the lot of a knight errant of yore who

seldom had anything but giants

enchanters fiery dragons and such like

easily conquered adversaries to contend

with and had to make his way merely

through gates of iron and brass and

walls of adamant to the castle keep

where the lady of his heart was confined

all of which he achieved as easily as a

man would carve his way to the center of

a christmas pie

and then the lady gave him her hand as a

matter of course

ichabod on the contrary had to win his

way to the heart of a country coquette

beset with a labyrinth of whims and

caprices which were forever presenting

new difficulties and impediments

and he had to encounter a host of

fearful adversaries of real flesh and

blood

the numerous rustic admirers who beset

every portal to her heart keeping a

watchful and angry eye upon each other

but ready to fly out in common cause

against any new competitor

among these the most formidable was a

burly roaring roystering blade of the

name of abraham

or according to the dutch abbreviation

brahm von brunt

the hero of the country round which

ranged with his feats of strength and

hardy hood

he was broad-shouldered and

double-jointed with short curly black

hair and a bluff but not unpleasant

countenance

having a mingled air of fun and

arrogance

from his herculean frame and great

powers of limb he had received the

nickname

bones by which he was universally known

he was famed for great knowledge and

skill in horsemanship being as dexterous

on horseback as a tartar

he was foremost at all races and

cockfights and with the ascendancy which

bodily strength always acquires in

rustic life

he was the umpire in all disputes

setting his hat on one side and giving

his decisions with an air and tone that

admitted to no gainsay or appeal

he was always ready for either a fight

or a frolic but had more mischief than

ill will in his composition and with all

his overbearing roughness there was a

strong dash of waggish good humor at

bottom

he had three or four boone companions

who regarded him as their model and at

the end of whom he scoured the country

attending every scene of feud or

merriment for miles around

in cold weather he was distinguished by

a fur cap surmounted with a flaunting

fox’s tail and when the folks at a

country gathering described this

well-known crest at a distance whisking

about among the squad of hard riders

they always stood by for a squall

sometimes his crew would be heard

dashing along past farmhouses at

midnight with whoop and hello like a

troop of don cossacks and the old dames

startled out of their sleep would listen

for a moment till the hurry scurry had

clattered by and then exclaimed

i there goes braum bones and his gang

the neighbors looked upon him with a

mixture of awe admiration and goodwill

and when any madcap prank or rustic

brawl occurred in the vicinity they

always shook their heads and warranted

brom bones was at the bottom of it

this rantapol hero had for some time

singled out the blooming katrina for the

object of his uncouth gallantries and

though his amorous toyings were

something like the gentle caresses and

endearments of a bear yet it was

whispered that she did not altogether

discourage his hopes

certain it is his advances were signals

for rival candidates to retire who felt

no inclination to cross a lion in his

armors

in so much that when his horse was seen

tied to van tassel’s paling on a sunday

night a sure sign that his master was

courting or as it is termed sparking

within

all other suitors passed by in despair

and carried the war to other quarters

such was the formidable rival with whom

ichabod crane had to contend and

considering all things a stouterman than

he would have shrunk from the

competition

and a wiser man would have despaired

he had however a happy mixture of

pliability and perseverance in his

nature he was in form and spirit like a

supple jack yielding but tough

though he bent he never broke and though

he bowed beneath the slightest pressure

yet

the moment it was away jerk he was erect

and carried his head as high as ever

to have taken the field openly against

his rival would have been madness for he

was not a man to be thwarted in his

amores any more than that stormy lover

achilles ichabod therefore made his

advances in a quiet and gently

insinuating manner

under cover of his character of singing

master he made frequent visits at the

farmhouse not that he had anything to

apprehend from the meddlesome

interference of parents which is so

often a stumbling block in the path of

lovers

balt van tassel was an easy indulgent

soul he loved his daughter better than

his pipe and like a reasonable man and

an excellent father let her have her way

in everything

his notable little wife too had enough

to do to attend to her housekeeping and

manage her poultry for as she sagely

observed ducks and geese are foolish

things and must be looked after but

girls can take care of themselves

thus while the busy dame bustled about

the house or plied her spinning wheel at

the one end of the piazza honest bolt

would sit smoking his pipe at the other

watching the achievements of a little

wooden warrior who armed with a sword in

each hand was most valiantly fighting in

the wind in the pinnacle of the barn

in the meantime ichabod would carry on

his suit with the daughter by the side

of the spring under the great elm or

sauntering along in the twilight that

hour so favorable to the lover’s

eloquence

i profess not to know how women’s hearts

are wooed and one to me they have always

been matters of riddle and admiration

some seem to have but one vulnerable

point or door of access while others

have a thousand avenues and may be

captured in a thousand different ways

it is a great triumph of skill to gain

the former but a still greater proof of

generalship to maintain possession of

the latter for a man must battle for his

fortress at every door and window

he who wins a thousand common hearts is

therefore entitled to some renown

but he who keeps undisputed sway over

the heart of a coquette is indeed a hero

certain it is this was not the case with

the redoubtable brom bones and from the

moment ichabod crane made his advances

the interests of the former evidently

declined his horse was no longer seen

tied to the palings on saturday nights

and a deadly feud gradually arose

between him

and the preceptor of sleepy hollow

brahm who had a degree of rough chivalry

in his nature would feign have carried

matters to open warfare and have settled

their pretensions to the lady according

to the mode of those most concise and

simple reasoners the knights errant of

yore by single combat

but ichabod was too conscious of the

superior might of his adversary to enter

the lists against him

he had overheard a boast of bones that

he would double the schoolmaster up and

lay him on a shelf of his own

schoolhouse

and he was too wary to give him an

opportunity

there was something extremely provoking

in this obstinately pacific system

it left brahm no alternative but to draw

upon the funds of rustic waggery in his

disposition

and to play off boorish practical jokes

upon his rival

ichabod became the object of whimsical

persecution to bones and his gang of

rough riders they hurried his hitherto

peaceful domains smoked out the singing

school by stopping up the chimney broke

into the schoolhouse at night in spite

of its formidable fastenings of why than

window stakes

and turned everything topsy-turvy so

that the poor schoolmaster began to

think all the witches in the country

held their meetings there

but what was still more annoying

brahm took all the opportunities of

turning him into ridicule in the

presence of his mistress

and a scoundrel dog whom he taught to

whine in the most ludicrous manner and

introduced as a rival of ichabods to

instructor in salmony

in this way matters went on for some

time without producing any material

effect on the relative situations of the

contending powers

on a fine autumnal afternoon ichabod in

pensive mood sat enthroned on the lofty

stool from whence he usually watched all

the concerns of his little literary

realm

in his hand he swayed a feral that

scepter of despotic power the birch of

justice reposed on three nails behind

the throne

a constant terror to evildoers while on

the desk before him might be seen

sundry contraband articles and

prohibited weapons detected upon the

persons of idol urchins such as half

munched apples pop guns whirly gigs fly

cages and whole legions of rampant

little paper game

apparently there had been some appalling

act of justice recently inflicted for

his scholars were all busily intent upon

their books or slyly whispering behind

them with what i kept on the master and

a kind of buzzing stillness reigned

throughout the school room

it was suddenly interrupted by the

appearance of a negro in a tow cloth

jacket and trousers a round crowned

fragment of a hat like the cap of

mercury and mounted on the back of a

ragged wild half-broken cult which he

managed with a rope by way of a halter

he came clattering up to the school with

an invitation to ichabod to attend a

merrymaking or quilting frolic to be

held that afternoon at my near van

tassels and having delivered his message

with that air of importance and effort

at fine language which a negro is apt to

display on petty embassies of the kind

he dashed over the brook and was seen

scampering away up the hollow full of

the importance and hurry of his mission

all was now bustle and hubbub in the

late quiet school room the scholars were

hurried through their lessons without

stopping at trifles those who were

nimble skipped over half with impunity

and those who were tardy had a smart

application now and then in the rear to

quicken their speed or help them over a

tall word books were flung aside without

being put away on the shelves zinc

stands were overturned ventures thrown

down and the whole school was turned

loose an hour before the usual time

bursting forth like a legion of young

imps yelping and racketing about the

green in joy at their early emancipation

the galantica pod now spent at least an

extra half hour at his toilets brushing

and refurbishing up his best and indeed

only suit of rusty black and arranging

his locks by a bit of broken looking

glass that hung up in the schoolhouse

that he might make his appearance before

his mistress in the true style of a

cavalier

he borrowed a horse from the farmer with

whom he was domicilated a choleric old

dutchman of the name of hans bound

ripper and thus gallantly mounted issued

forth like a night errant in quest of

adventures

but it is meat i should in the true

spirit of romantic story give some

account of the looks and equipments of

my hero and his steed

the animal he bestrode was a broken down

plow horse that had outlived almost

everything but its viciousness

he was gaunt and shagged with a u-neck

and a head like a hammer his rusty mane

and tail were tangled and knotted with

burrs

one eye had lost its pupil and was

glaring and spectral but the other had

the gleam of a genuine devil in it

still he must have had fire and metal in

his day if we may judge from the name he

bore of gunpowder he had in fact been a

favorite steed of his masters the

choleric van ripper who was a furious

rider and had infused very probably some

of his own spirit into the animal for

old and broken down as he looked there

was more of the lurking devil in him

than in any young philly in the country

ichabod was a suitable figure for such a

steed he rode with short stirrups which

brought his knees nearly up to the

pommel of his saddle his sharp elbows

stuck out like grasshoppers he carried

his whip perpendicularly in his hand

like a scepter and as his horse jogged

on the motion of his arms was not unlike

the flapping of a pair of wings

a small wool hat rested at the top of

his nose for so his scanty strip of

forehead might be called and the skirts

of his black coat fluttered out almost

to the horse’s tail

such was the appearance of ichabod and

his steed as they shambled out of the

gate of hans von ripper and it was

altogether such an apparition as is

seldom to be met with in broad daylight

it was as i have said a fine autumnal

day the sky was very clear and serene

and nature wore that rich and golden

livery which we always associate with

the idea of abundance

the forests had put on their sober brown

and yellow while some trees of the

tenderer kind had been nipped by the

frosts into brilliant eyes of orange

purple and scarlet streaming files of

wild ducks began to make their

appearance high in the air the bark of

the squirrel might be heard from the

groves of beech and hickory nuts and the

pensive whistle of the quail at

intervals from the neighboring stubble

field

the small birds were taking their

farewell banquets

in the fullness of their revelry they

fluttered chirping and frolicking from

bush to bush and tree to

capricious from the very profusion and

variety around them

there was the honest robin the

favorite game of stripling sportsman

with its loud queerless note and the

twittering blackbirds flying in sable

clouds and the golden winged woodpecker

with his crimson crest his broad black

gorget and splendid plumage and the

cedar bird with its red-tipped wings and

yellow tipped tail in its little montero

cap of feathers and the blue jay that

noisy cock’s comb in his gay light blue

coat and white underclothes screaming

and chattering nodding and bobbing and

bowing and pretending to be on good

terms with every songster of the grove

as ichabod jogged slowly on his way his

eye ever opened to every symptom of

culinary abundance ranged with delight

over the treasures of jolly autumn

on all sides he beheld vast store of

apples

some hanging in oppressive opulence on

the trees some gathered into baskets and

barrels with the market others heaped up

in rich piles for the cider press

farther on he beheld great fields of

indian corn with its golden ears peeping

from their leafy converts and holding

out the promise of cakes and hasty

pudding and the yellow pumpkins lying

beneath them turning up their fair round

bellies to the sun and giving ample

prospects of the most luxurious of pies

and anon he passed the fragrant

buckwheat fields breathing the odor of

the beehive and as he beheld them

soft anticipation stole over his mind of

dainty slap jacks well buttered and

garnished with honey or trickle by the

delicate little dimpled hand of

katarina van tassel

thus feeding his mind with many sweet

thoughts and sugared suppositions he

journeyed along the sides of a range of

hills which look out upon some of the

goodliest scenes of the mighty hudson

the sun gradually wheeled his broad disk

down in the west the wide bosom of the

tapanzi lay motionless and glassy

accepting that here and there a gentle

undulation waved and prolonged the blue

shadow in the distant mountain

a few amber clouds floated in the sky

without a breath of air to move them

the horizon was of a fine golden tint

changing gradually into a pure apple

green

and from that

into the deep blue of the mid heaven

a slanting ray lingered on the woody

crests of the precipices that overhung

some parts of the river giving greater

depth to the dark grey and purple of

their rocky sides

a sloop was loitering in the distance

dropping slowly down with the tide her

sail hanging uselessly against the mast

and

as the reflection of the sky gleamed

along the still water

it seemed as if the vessel

was suspended in air

it was toward evening that ichabod

arrived at the castle of the

van tassel

which he found thronged with the pride

and flower of the adjacent country

old farmers a spare leather and faced

race in home spun coats and britches

blue stockings huge shoes and

magnificent pewter buckles

their brisk withered little dames in

close crimped caps long wasted short

gowns home spun petticoats with scissors

and pin cushions and gay calico pockets

hanging on the outside

buxom lasses almost as antiquated as

their mothers accepting where a straw

hat a fine ribbon or perhaps a white

frock gave symptoms of city innovation

the suns in short square skirted coats

with rows of stupendous brass buttons

and their hair generally cued in the

fashion of the times especially if they

could procure an eel skin for the

purpose

it’s being esteemed throughout the

country as a potent nourisher and

strengthener of the hair

brahm bones however was the hero of the

scene having come to the gathering on

his favorite steed daredevil a creature

like himself full of metal and mischief

and which no one but himself could

manage

he was in fact noted for preferring

vicious animals given to all kinds of

tricks which kept the rider in a

constant risk of his neck for he held a

tractable well-broken horse as unworthy

of a lad of spirit

fein would i pause to dwell upon the

world of charms that burst upon the

enraptured gaze of my hero as he entered

the state parlor of van tassel’s mansion

not those of the bevy of buxom lasses

with their luxurious display of red and

white but the ample charms of a genuine

dutch country tea table in the sumptuous

time of autumn

such heaped up platters of cakes of

various and almost indescribable kinds

known only to experienced dutch

housewives

there was the doughty donut the tender

only cook

and the crisp and crumbling crueler

sweet cakes and shortcakes ginger cakes

and honey cakes and the whole family of

cakes and then there were apple pies

and peach pies and pumpkin pies and

besides slices of ham and smoked beef

and moreover delectable dishes of

preserved plums and peaches and pears

and quinces not to mention broiled shad

and roasted chickens together with bowls

of milk and cream all mingled

higgledy-piggledy pretty much as i have

enumerated them with the motherly teapot

sending up its clouds of vapor from the

mist

heaven bless the mark

i want breath and time to discuss this

banquet as it deserves and am too eager

to get on with my story happily ichabod

crane was not in so great a hurry as his

historian but did ample justice to every

dainty

he was a kind and thankful creature

whose heart dilated in proportion as his

skin was filled with good cheer

and whose spirits rose with eating as

some men’s do with drink

he would not help too rolling his large

eyes about him as he ate and chuckling

with the possibility that he might one

day be lord of all this scene of almost

unimaginable luxury and splendor

then he thought how soon he’d turn his

back upon the old school house snap his

fingers in the face of hans van ripper

and every other niggerly patron and kick

any itinerant pedagogue out the doors

that he should dare to call him comrade

old balthus von tassel moved about among

his guests with a face dilated with

content and good humor round and jolly

as the harvest moon

his hospitable attentions were brief but

expressive being confined to a shake of

the hand a slap on the shoulder allowed

laugh and a pressing invitation to fall

to and help themselves

and now the sound of the music from the

common room or hall summoned to the

dance

the musician was an old gray-headed

negro who had bid the itinerant

orchestra out the neighborhood for more

than half a century

his instrument was old and battered as

himself the greater part of the time he

scraped on two or three strings

accompanying every movement of the bow

with a motion of his head

bowing almost to the ground and stamping

with his foot whenever a fresh couple

were to start

ichabod prided himself upon his dancing

as much as upon his vocal powers not

only another fiber about him was idle

and to have seen his loosely hung frame

in full motion and clattering about the

room you would have thought saint vitus

himself that blessed patron of the dance

was figuring before you in person

he was the admiration of all the negroes

who having gathered of all ages and

sizes from the farm and the neighborhood

stood forming a pyramid of shining black

faces at every door and window gazing

with delight at the scene rolling their

white eyeballs and showing grinning rows

of ivory from ear to ear

how could the flogger of urchins be

otherwise than animated and joyous

the lady of his heart was his partner in

the dance and smiling graciously in

reply to all his amorous arglings while

brom bones sorely smitten with love and

jealousy sat brooding by himself in the

corner

when the dance was at an end ichabod was

attracted to a knot of the sager folks

who with old van tassels sat smoking at

one end of the piazza gossiping over

former times and drawing out the long

stories about the war

this neighborhood that’s the time of

which i am speaking was one of those

highly favored places which abound with

chronicle and great men

the british and american line had run

near it during the war and it had

therefore been the scene of marauding

and infested with refugees cowboys and

all kinds of border chivalry

just sufficient time had elapsed to

enable each storyteller to dress up his

tale with a little becoming fiction and

in the indistinctness of his

recollection to make himself the hero of

every exploit

there was the story of dofu martling a

large blue bearded dutchman who had

nearly taken a british frigate with an

old iron nine pounder from a mud

breathwork only that his gun burst at

the sixth discharge

and there was an old gentleman who shall

be nameless being too rich a miner to be

lightly mentioned

who in the battle of white plains being

an excellent master of defense parried a

musket ball with a small sword in so

much that he absolutely felt it whiz

round the blade and glance off the hilt

in proof of which he was ready at any

time to show the sword with the hilt a

little bent

there were several more that had been

equally great in that field not one of

whom but was persuaded that he had a

considerable and in bringing the war to

a happy termination

but all these were nothing to the tales

of ghosts and apparitions that succeeded

the neighborhood was rich in legendary

treasures of the kind

local tales and superstitions thrive

best in these sheltered long settled

retreats

but are trampled underfoot by the

shifting throng that forms the

population of most country places

besides there is no encouragement for

ghosts in most of our villages for they

have scarcely had time to finish their

first snap and turn themselves over in

their graves before their surviving

friends have traveled away from the

neighborhood so that when they turn out

at night to walk their rounds they have

no acquaintance left to call upon

this is perhaps the reason why we so

seldom hear of ghosts

except in our

long-established dutch communities

the immediate cause however of the

prevalence of supernatural stories in

these parts was doubtless owing to the

vicinity of sleepy hollow

there was a contagion and the very air

that blew from that haunted region

it breathed forth an atmosphere of

dreams and fancies infecting all the

land

several of the sleepy hollow people were

present at van tassels and as usual were

doling out their wild and wonderful

legends

many dismal tales were told about

funeral trains and mourning cries and

wailings heard and seen about the great

tree where the unfortunate major andre

was taken

and which stood in the neighborhood

some mention was also given of the women

in white that haunted the dark glen at

raven rock

and was often heard to shriek on winter

nights before a storm

having perished there in the snow

the chief part of the stories however

turned about the favorite specter of

sleepy hollow the headless horseman

who had been heard several times of late

patrolling the country and it was said

tethered his horse nightly among the

graves in the churchyard

the sequestered situation of this church

seems always to have made it a favorite

haunt of troubled spirits

it stands on a knoll surrounded by

locust trees and lofty elms from among

which its decent whitewashed walls shine

modestly forth like christian purity

beaming through the shades of retirement

a gentle slope descends from it to a

silver sheet of water

bordered by high trees between which

peeps may be caught at the blue hills of

the hudson

to look upon its grass-grown yard where

the sunbeams seem to sleep so quietly

one would think that there at least the

dead might rest in peace

on one side of the church extends a wide

woody del along which raves of a large

brook among broken rocks and trunks have

fallen down trees

over a deep black part of the stream not

far from the church was formerly thrown

a wooden bridge

the road that led to it and the bridge

itself were thickly shaded by

overhanging trees which cast a gloom

about it even in the daytime but

occasioned a fearful darkness at night

such was one of the favorite haunts of

the headless horseman

and the place where he was most

frequently encountered

the tale was told of old brewer the most

heretical disbeliever in ghosts of how

he met the horsemen returning from his

foray into sleepy hollow and was obliged

to get up behind him and how they

galloped over bush and break over hill

and swamp

until they reached the bridge

when the horsemen suddenly turned into a

skeleton through old brewer into the

brook and sprang away over the treetops

with a crap of thunder

this story was immediately matched by a

thrice marvelous adventure brahm bones

who made light of the galloping hessian

as an errant jockey he affirmed that on

returning one night from the neighboring

village of xinxing he had been overtaken

by this midnight trooper

that he had offered to race him for a

bowl of punch and should have won it too

for daredevil beat that goblin horse all

hollow but just as they came to the

church bridge the hessian bolted and

vanished in a flash of fire

all these tales told in that drowsy

undertone with which men talk in the

dark the countenances of the listeners

only now and then receiving a casual

gleam from the glare of a pipe

sank deep in the mind of ichabod

he repaid them in kind with large

extracts from his invaluable author

cotton mother

and added many marvelous events that had

taken place in his native state of

connecticut and fearful sights which he

had seen in his nightly walks about

sleepy hollow

the rebel now gradually broke up the old

farmers gathered together their families

in their wagons and were heard for some

time rattling along the hollow roads and

over the distant hills

some of the damsels mounted on pillions

behind their favorite swains and their

light-hearted laughter mingling with the

clatter of hooves

echoed through the dark silent woodlands

sounding fainter and fainter until they

gradually died away and

the late scene of noise and frolic was

all silent

and deserted

ichabod only lingered behind according

to the custom of country lovers to habit

with the heiress

fully convinced that he was now on the

high road to success

what passed at this interview i will not

pretend to say for in fact i do not know

something however i fear me must have

gone wrong for he certainly sallied

forth after no very great interval with

an heir quite desolate and chapfallen

oh these women these women could that

girl have been playing off any of her

coquettish tricks

was her encouragement of the poor

pedagogue all the mere sham to secure

her conquest of his rival

evan only knows not i let it suffice to

say that ichabod stole forth with the

air of one who has been sacking a hen

roost rather than a fair lady’s heart

without looking to either left or right

to notice the scene of rural wealth on

which he had so often gloated he went

straight to the stable and with several

hearty cuffs and kicks roused his steed

most uncourteously from the comfortable

quarters in which he was soundly

sleeping

dreaming of mountains of cord and oats

and whole valleys of timothy and clover

it was the very witching time of night

that ichabod heavy hearted and

crestfallen pursued his travels

homewards along the sides of the lofty

hills which rise above tarrytown

and which he had traversed so cheerily

in the afternoon

the hour was as dismal as himself

far below the tappan zee spread its

dusky and indistinct waste of waters

with here and there the tall mast of a

snoop riding quietly at anchor under the

land

in the dead hush of midnight

he could even hear the barking of the

watchdog from the opposite shore of the

hudson but it was so vague and faint as

to only give an idea of his distance

from the faithful companion of man

now and then to the long drawn-out

crowing of a accidentally awakened

with sound

far far off

from some farmhouse away from the hills

but it was like a dreaming sound in his

ear no sounds of life occurred near him

but occasionally the melancholy chirp of

the cricket or perhaps the guttural

twang of a bullfrog in its neighboring

marsh as if sleeping uncomfortably and

turning suddenly in his bed

all the stories of ghosts and goblins

that he had heard in the afternoon now

came crowding upon his recollection

the night grew darker

and darker

the stars seemed to sink deeper in the

sky and driving clouds occasionally hid

them from his sight

he had never felt so lonely and dismal

he was moreover approaching the very

place where

many of the scenes of the ghost stories

had been laid

in the center of the road stood an

enormous tulip tree which towered like a

giant above all the other trees of the

neighborhood and formed a kind of

landmark

its limbs were gnarled and fantastic

large enough to form trunks for ordinary

trees twisting down almost to the earth

and rising again into the air

it was connected with the tragical story

of the unfortunate andre

who had been taken prisoner hard by and

was universally known by the name of

major andre’s tree

the common people regarded it with a

mixture of respect and superstition

partly out of sympathy for the fate of

its ill-starred namesake

and partly from the tales of strange

sights and dullful lamentations told

concerning it

as ichabod approached this fearful tree

he began to whistle

he thought his whistle was answered but

it was but a blast sweeping sharply

through the dry branches

as he approached a little nearer he

thought he saw something white hanging

in the midst of the trees

he paused and ceased whistling but

on looking more narrowly he perceived

that it was a place where

the tree had been scathed by lightning

in the white wood laid there

suddenly he heard a groan his teeth

shattered his knees smote against the

saddle

it was but the rubbing of one huge bow

upon another as they were swayed about

by the breeze

he passed the tree in safety

but new perils lay before him

about a hundred yards from the tree a

small brook crossed the road and ran

into a marshy and thickly wooded glen

known by the name of wiley’s swamp

a few rough logs laid side by side

served for a bridge over this stream

on that side of the road where the brook

entered the wood

a group of oaks and chestnuts matted

dick with wild grapevines threw a

cavernous gloom over it

to pass this bridge was the severest

trial

it was at this identical spot

that the unfortunate andre was captured

and under the covert of these chestnuts

and vines were the sturdy yeoman

concealed who surprised him this has

ever been considered a haunted stream

and fearful are the feelings of the

schoolboy who has to pass it alone after

dark

as he approached the stream his heart

began to thump

he summoned up however all his

resolution gave his horse half a score

of kicks in the ribs and attempted to

dash briskly across the bridge

but instead of starting forward the

perverse old animal made a lateral

movement and ran broadside against the

fence

ichabod whose spears increased with the

delay jerked the reins on the other side

and kicked lustily with the contrary

foot

it was all in vain his steed started it

is true but it was only to plunge to the

opposite side of the road into a new

thicket of brambles and older bushes

the schoolmaster now bestowed both whip

and heel upon the quivering ribs of old

gunpowder who dashed forward snuffling

and snorting but came to a stand just by

the bridge with a suddenness

that had nearly sent his rider sprawling

over his head

just

at this moment

a plushy by the side of the bridge

caught the sensitive ear of ichabod

in the dark shadow of the grove on the

margin of the brook

he beheld something

huge

misshapen and towering

it stirred not but seemed gathered up by

the gloom like

some gigantic monster ready to spring

upon the traveler

the hair of the affrighted pedagogue

rose upon his head with terror what was

to be done to turn and fly was now too

late and

besides what chance was there of

escaping a ghost or a goblin if such it

was which could ride upon the wings of

the wind

summoning up there for a show of courage

he demanded in stammering accents

who who are you

he received no reply

he repeated his demand in a still more

agitated voice

still there was no answer

once more he cudgeled the sides of the

inflexible gunpowder and shutting his

eyes broke forth with involuntary fervor

into a psalm tune

just then the shadowy object of alarm

put itself in motion with a scramble and

a bounce stood at once in the middle of

the road

though the night was dark and dismal yet

the form of the unknown might now in

some degree be ascertained

he appeared to be a horseman of large

dimensions and mounted on a black horse

a powerful frame he made no offer of

molestation or sociability but came

aloof on one side of the road jogging

along on the blind side of old gunpowder

who had now got over his fright and

waywardness

ichabod who had no relish for this

strange midnight companion and before

himself of the adventure of brom bones

with the galloping hessian now quickened

his seed in hopes of leaving him behind

the stranger however quickened his horse

to an equal pace ichabod pulled up fell

into a walk thinking to lag behind but

the other did the same

his heart began to sink within him he

endeavored to resume his psalm to him

but his parched tongue clothed to the

roof of his mouth and he could not utter

a stave

there was something in the moody and

dogged silence of this pretentious

companion that was mysterious

and appalling

it was soon fearfully accounted for on

hunting a rising ground which brought

the figure of his fellow traveler in

relief against the sky gigantic in

height and muffled in a cloak

ichabod was horror struck on perceiving

that

he was headless

but his horror was still more increased

on observing that the head which should

have rested on his shoulders

was carried before him on the pommel of

his saddle

his terror rose to desperation he

reigned a shower of kicks and blows upon

gunpowder hoping by sudden movement to

give his companion the slip

but the specter started full jump with

him

away then they dashed through the thick

and thin stones flying sparks flashing

at every bound ichabod’s flimsy garments

fluttered in the air as he stretched his

long lank body away over his horse’s

head in the eagerness of his flight

they had now reached the road which

turns off to sleepy hollow

but gunpowder who seemed possessed with

a demon instead of keeping up it made an

opposite turn and plunged headlong

downhill to the left

this road leads to a sandy hollow shaded

by trees for about a quarter of a mile

where it crosses

the famous bridge of the goblin story

and just beyond swells the greed knoll

on which stands the whitewashed church

as yet the panic of the steed had given

his unskillful rider an apparent

advantage in the chase but just as he

had got halfway through the hollow the

girths of the saddle gave way and he

felt it slipping under him he seized it

by the pommel and endeavored to hold it

firm but in vain and he had just time to

save himself by clasping old gunpowder

round the neck when the saddle fell to

the earth and heard it trampled

underfoot by his pursuer for a moment

the terror of hansman rippers wrath

passed across his mind for it was his

sunday saddle but this was no time for

petty fears the goblin was hard on his

haunches and unskillful rider that he

was he had much to do to maintain his

seat sometimes sleeping on one side and

sometimes on another and sometimes

jolted on the high ridge of his horse’s

backbone the violence that he verily

feared would cleave him asunder an

opening in the trees now cheered him

with the hopes that the church bridge

was at hand the wavering reflection of a

silver star and the bosom of the brook

told him he was not mistaken he saw the

walls of the church dimly glaring under

the trees beyond he recollected the

place where brom bones ghostly

competitor has disappeared if i can but

reach that bridge thought ichabod i am

safe

just then he heard the black steed

panting and blowing close behind him and

even fancy that he felt its hot breath

another convulsive kick in the ribs an

old gunpowder sprang upon the bridge he

thundered over the resounding planks he

gained the opposite side and now ichabod

cast a look behind to see

if his pursuer should vanish according

to rule in a flash of fire and brimstone

just then

he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups

and in the very act of hurling his head

at him

ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible

missile but too late it encountered his

cradium with a tremendous crash

he was tumbled headlong into the dust

and gunpowder the black steed and the

goblin rider all passed by like a

whirlwind

the next morning the old horse was found

without his saddle

and with the bridle under his feet

soberly cropping the grass at his

master’s gate

ichabod did not make his appearance at

breakfast

dinner hour came but no ichabod

the boys assembled at the schoolhouse

and strolled idly about the banks of the

brook but no

schoolmaster

hans von ripper began to feel some

uneasiness about the fate of poor

ichabod and his saddle

an inquiry was set afoot and after

diligent investigation they came upon

his traces

in one part of the road leading to the

church

he found the saddle trampled in the dirt

the tracks of horses hooves deeply

dented the road and evidently at furious

speed were traced to the bridge

beyond which

on the bank of a broad part of the brook

where the water ran deep and black was

found

the hat

of the unfortunate ichabod

and close beside it

a

shattered pumpkin

the brook was searched but the body of

the schoolmaster was not to be

discovered

hans von ripper as executor of his

estate examined the bundle which

contained all his worldly effects they

consisted of two shirts and a half two

socks for the neck a pair of two worsted

stockings an old pair of corduroy small

clothes a rusty razor a book of psalm

tunes full of dog ears and a broken

pitch pipe

as to the books and furniture of the

schoolhouse they belong to the community

accepting cotton mathers history of

witchcraft a new england almanac and a

book of dreams and fortune telling in

which last was a sheet the fool’s cap

much scribbled and blotted in several

fruitless attempts to make a copy of

verses in honor of the heiress of

antacil

these magic books and the poetic scroll

were forthwith consigned to the flames

by hans von ripper who from that time

forward determined to send his children

no more to school

observing that he never knew any good

game of that same reading and writing

whatever money the schoolmaster

possessed and he had received his

quarters pay but a day or two before

he must have had about his person at the

time of his disappearance

the mysterious event caused much

speculation at the church on the

following sunday

lots of gazers and gossips were

collected in the churchyard at the

bridge and at the spot where the hat and

pumpkin had been found

the stories of broar of bones and of a

whole budget of others were called to

mind and when they had diligently

considered them all and compared them

with the symptoms of the present case

they shook their heads and came to the

conclusion that ichabod had been carried

off by the galloping hessian

as he was a bachelor and in nobody’s

debt nobody troubled his head anymore

about him and the school was removed to

a different quarter of the hollow

and another pedagogue reigned in his

stead

it is true an old farmer who had been

down to new york on a visit several

years earlier and from whom this account

of the ghostly adventure was received

brought home the intelligence that

ichabod crane was still alive and that

had left the neighborhood partly through

fear of the goblin and hans van ripper

and partly in mortification that having

been suddenly dismissed by the heiress

that he had changed his quarters to a

distant part of the country and kept

school and studied law at the same time

had been admitted to the bar turned

politician electioneered written for the

newspapers and finally had been made a

justice of the ten pound court

brom bones too who shortly after his

rival’s disappearance conducted the

blooming katrina in triumph to the altar

was observed to look exceedingly knowing

whenever the story of ichabod was

related and always burst into a hearty

laugh at the mention of the pumpkin

which led some to suspect that he knew

more about the matter than he chose to

tell

the old country wives however who were

the best judges of these matters

maintain to this day that ichabod was

spirited away by supernatural means

and it is a favorite story often told

about the neighborhood round the winter

evening fire

the bridge became more than ever an

object of superstitious awe

and that may be the reason why the road

has been altered of late years so as to

approach the church by the border of the

millpond

the schoolhouse being deserted soon fell

to decay and was reported to be haunted

by the ghost of the unfortunate

pedagogue and the plow boy loitering

homeward of a still summer evening

has often fancied his voice at a

distance

chanting a melancholy psalm tune among

the tranquil solitudes

of sleepy hollow

and so ends the legend of sleepy hollow

by washington irving