Comprehension and Discussion. 1. What was the girl like who came along?

1. What was the girl like who came along?

2. What did she do when she saw the bee?

3. What thoughts did the girl have as she left?

4. Who were the two men who came next? What did they look like?

5. What were they going to do to David?

6. How was he saved?

7. What happened when David woke up?

8. What do you think the author was trying to tell us in this story?

9. What are some things that might have happened to you if you had been aware of them?

10. Tell of a time when you fell asleep in an unusual place.

Exercises

A. Use each of the following terms in a sentence:

to pass us by, coming or going, on foot, convenient, spring of water, middle-aged, strong drink, carriage, innocent, For­tune, ridiculous, buzzing, appreciation, thriving, to fall in love, tranquilly, thirstily, had better do something, just in time.

B. Give two negative forms for each of the following sentences.

Example: I see someone over there.

I don't see anyone over there. I see no one over there.

1. There is someone at the door.

2. There was somebody sleeping by the side of the road.

3. She has some money in the bank.

4. I have somebody in mind for that job.

5. We saw some stores.

6. We can do something about it.

7. I have something to do now.

8. There is some bread in the refrigerator; there’s some on the table, too.

9. He has something to give you.

10. They have gone somewhere.

C. Circle the word on the right that RHYMES with the word on the left.

Example: I'd led / lad / lied / lid

1. I'll hill / mail / mile / feel

2. laugh ought / rough / half / saw

3. owe sew / new / two / saw

4. kneeled killed / needed / solid / field

5. heir ear / there / or / are

6. buzz buys / does / goes / sneeze

7. does is / goes / laws / was

8. we'd led / word / wide / need

9. I'm him / time / came / jam

10. you're our / year / door / fire

D. Circle the term on the right that has the SAME meaning as the word on the left.

Example: cancel put away / look up / look over / call off

1. promise give one's word / hesitate / refuse / deny

2. fortunate early / lucky / late / famous

3. occurred arrived / delayed / happened / walked

4. at once one time later / seldom / immediately / later

5. elderly young / middle-aged / old / charming

6. event change / occurrence / accident / surprise

7. evidently always / probably / seldom / apparently

8. grateful thankful / agreeable / hopeful / disappointed

9. confused mixed up / worn out / uneasy / difficult

10. main fresh / remaining / native / principal

Unit 8: Rip Van Winkle

Washington Irving

In his character of Rip, Washington Irving (1783-1859) created an interesting man who has been known to schoolchildren for more than 160 years.

PART ONE

Rip Van Winkle was a gentle, good-natured man who was a kind neighbor and an obedient husband. He was a poor man, but most people loved him, and he was a favorite among children.

One fine autumn day, Rip climbed to one of the highest parts of the Catskill Mountains. He was doing what he liked to do— hunting squirrels—and the quiet woods echoed and re-echoed with the sound of his gun. Out of breath and tired, he lay down on the green grass at the top of the hill. From here he looked out over all the lower country for many miles. He saw the noble Hudson River far, far below him, moving slowly along. He looked down the other side into a deep valley. The bottom of the valley was filled with rocks which had fallen from the moun­tains above. For some time, Rip lay there half asleep. Evening was approaching, and the mountains began to throw their long, blue shadows over the valley. Rip saw that it would be dark long before he reached the valley, and he sighed deeply when he thought about Mrs. Van Winkle.

He started to go down the valley when he heard a voice calling, "Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkle!" He looked around but could see nothing except a lone bird flying across the moun­tains. He thought that he had been mistaken and began again to descend when he heard the same voice: "Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkle!" At the same time, his dog Wolf gave a low bark and came close to his side. Rip now began to feel a little afraid. He looked anxiously into the valley and then saw a strange little man slowly climbing up the mountainside and carrying something heavy on his back. Rip was surprised to see anyone in this lonely place, but he thought it was possibly one of his neighbors in need of some help, so he hurried down to meet him.

As he came nearer, he was greatly surprised at the strangeness of the man's appearance. The man was a short, square-built old fellow with thick hair and a beard. He was dressed in the old Dutch fashion. He wore a very short coat and several pairs of trousers. The outer trousers were very large and were decorated with rows of buttons down the sides. This strange little man carried on his back a small barrel that seemed full of liquor, and he motioned for Rip to come and help him. Rip was rather afraid, but as usual he was always ready to assist anyone. He helped the man, and together they proceeded up the mountain. They proceeded some distance along what seemed to be the dry bed of a former mountain stream. Occasionally Rip heard what sounded like distant thunder, although the skies were clear and there were no signs of storms. These sounds seemed to come from the direction in which they were walking. They passed around the side of the mountain and thus came at last to a level place that resembled a small amphitheater, surrounded by tall trees. All this time Rip and his companion had climbed the mountain in silence. Kip wondered why this stranger was carrying a small barrel of liquor up this wild mountain, but there was something so strange about the unknown man that Rip was deeply impressed and was afraid to speak to him.

When they entered the amphitheater, Rip saw other strange things. In the center was a group of unusual-looking men playing an old Dutch game called ninepins, in which they rolled large balls at small sticks placed upon the ground. All the men were dressed in very strange costumes, similar to the costume of Rip's companion. Their faces, too, were not quite normal. One had a large beard, a broad face, and small eyes like those of a pig. The face of another was almost entirely nose, and he wore a round white hat with a red feather in it. They all had beards of various shapes and colors. There was one who seemed to be the com­mander. He was a fat old gentleman with a weather-beaten face. He wore a short coat, broad belt, high hat with a feather in it, red stockings, and high-heeled shoes. These men made Rip think of the men in a very old Dutch painting, brought from Holland, that he had once seen.

Rip thought that it was very strange that while these men were amusing themselves, they all had such serious faces and remained so mysteriously silent. Nothing interrupted the quiet except the noise of the balls which echoed along the mountains like thunder and which was the noise which Rip had heard as they came up the mountain.

When Rip and his companion came near, the men stopped playing and stood looking at Rip. They looked at him in such a strange manner and with such strange, deathly faces that Rip's heart turned within him and his knees began to knock together. His companion now emptied the liquor into large bottles and made signs to Rip to wait a moment. Rip obeyed with fear. The strange men drank the liquor in deep silence, and then they returned to their game.

Little by little Rip's fears grew less. He even dared, when no one was looking, to taste the liquor, which was excellent Hol­land gin. Rip was naturally a thirsty soul, and he soon took another drink. One taste made him want another. He repeated his drinks so often that his eyes swam in his head, his head became heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, he found himself back on the green grass from where he had first seen the old man coming towards him up the mountain. He rubbed his eyes. It was a bright, sunny morning. The birds were singing in the trees. "Surely," thought Rip, "I have not slept here all night." He thought of what had happened before he fell asleep. He remembered the strange man with the small barrel of liquor on his back. He remembered the sad group of men playing ninepins. "Oh, that liquor! That ter­rible liquor," thought Rip. "What excuse shall I make to my wife?"

He looked around for his gun, but he found only an old rusty one lying beside him. He thought that the strange men whom he had met had played a trick on him. They had given him liquor and then stolen his gun. Wolf, too, had disappeared, but he possibly had gone after a squirrel. Rip whistled for his dog and shouted his name. The echoes repeated his whistle and shout, but no dog came.

He decided to go where he had been last evening, and if he found any of the men, he would demand his dog and gun. As he got up to walk, however, he found that his legs and his whole body were stiff.

"These mountain beds do not agree with me," thought Rip. With great difficulty, he climbed the mountain along the route that he and his companion had taken the night before. To his great surprise, he found a stream of water now running where last night there had only been the dry bed. He finally came to the amphitheater, but it was now filled with trees and great stones. He again called and whistled for his dog, but there was no answer. It was now almost noon and Rip was very hungry. He did not wish to lose his dog and gun and he was afraid to meet his wife, but he also did not want to die of hunger. He shook his head, put his rusty gun on his shoulder, and, with a heart full of trouble, started down the mountain.

As Rip approached the village, he met a number of people whom he did not know. This surprised him, for he thought he knew everyone in the surrounding country. The people's clothes were different from those to which he was accustomed. They all looked at him in a very strange way. They did this so often that finally Rip passed his hand over his face to find out what was wrong and discovered, to his surprise, that his beard had grown a foot long.

Comprehension

1. What kind of a man was Rip Van Winkle? Did people like him?

2. Where did Rip go hunting? What did he hunt for?

3. What happened when he started to go down the mountain?

4. What was odd about the little man's appearance?

5. Where did they walk to?

6. What did Rip see when they arrived?

7. How did he act with the unusual little people?

8. How did Rip fall asleep?

9. What did he say when he awakened?

10. What happened when Rip had descended the mountain? How had he and the people changed?

PART TWO

Rip now came to the edge of the village. A crowd of strange children ran after him, shouting and pointing at his gray beard. The dogs, too, which he did not recognize, barked at him as he passed. The village itself was changed; it was larger and there were more people. There were houses which he had never seen before, and the houses which he had known so well had disap­peared. Rip couldn't believe his eyes. Surely this was his native village, which he had left only the day before! There stood the Catskill Mountains—there was the beautiful Hudson River. Rip was badly confused. "That bottle of liquor last night," he thought, "has mixed up my poor head badly."

At last, with great difficulty, Rip found the way to his own house, expecting every minute to hear the sharp voice of Mrs. Van Winkle. He found the house, but the roof had fallen in and the windows and doors were broken. The house was also empty and abandoned. He went in and called loudly for his wife and children; the lonely rooms rang for a moment with his voice, and then all was silence.

Next, he hurried toward the old village inn—but that was gone. In its place was a large building with big windows and over the door a sign reading The Union Hotel. Instead of the great tree under which Rip and his friends used to sit and smoke, there was now a tall pole with a strange-looking flag of stars and stripes. There was also a crowd of people around the door, but Rip did not recognize any of them. The very character of the people seemed to have changed. They were all busy and hurrying about instead of quietly sitting and smoking long Dutch pipes. He looked for Nicholas Vedder and for Von Bummel, the schoolmaster, but they were not there.

Rip Van Winkle, with his long beard, his rusty gun, his old clothes, and so many children at his heels, soon attracted the attention of the people at the door of the inn. They crowded around him and looked at him from head to foot with great curiosity. They began to ask questions about politics, and one man asked him on which side he was going to vote in the elections. Rip could not understand these questions.

"But what has brought you to the election with a gun on your shoulder and a crowd of people at your heels?" asked a second man in a severe tone.

"I am a poor, quiet man—and a native of this place," ex­plained Rip.

"But where did you come from and what do you want?"

Rip assured them that he was simply looking for some of his neighbors who always used to sit on the bench in front of the inn.

Someone said, "Well, who are they? Name them."

Rip thought a moment and asked, "Where's Nicholas Ved­der?"

There was a silence in the crowd and no one seemed to rec­ognize the name. Then an old man replied in a thin voice, "Nicholas Vedder? Oh, he has been dead and buried some eigh­teen years."

"Where's Brom Dutcher?" asked Rip.

"Oh, he went off to the army at the beginning of the war. Some say he was killed, others say he was drowned—but he never came back again."

"Where's Von Bummel, the schoolmaster?"

"He went off to the war, too, was a great general, and he is now in Congress."

Rip's heart died within him when he heard of these sad changes in his home and friends. He was alone in the world. Also, he was confused by the fact that Nicholas Vedder had been dead for eighteen years. And what army and what war were they talking about? What did they mean by "Congress"? But Rip had no courage to ask for any more friends, and he cried out at last in despair.

"But does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle?"

"Oh, Rip Van Winkle," said two or three. "That's Rip Van Winkle over there, standing against that tree."

Rip looked and saw an exact image of himself as he was when he went up the mountain, apparently as lazy and certainly as poorly dressed. Poor Rip was now completely confused. He doubted his own identity. Was he himself or was he another man? Suddenly someone asked him who he really was and what his name was.

"God knows," replied Rip. "I'm not myself. I'm somebody else. That's me over there. No, it's somebody else in my shoes. I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on the mountain, and they have changed my gun and taken my dog. Everything is changed, and I'm changed, and I can't tell who I really am."

The people began to exchange glances with one another as if to say that they thought the poor old fellow was crazy. At this moment, a good-looking young woman pushed her way through the crowd in order to get a look at the old man. She had a child in her arms who became frightened when he saw Rip and began to cry. "Quiet, Rip," the young woman said to the child. "Don't cry. The old man won't hurt you." The name of the child, the manner of the mother, and the tone of her voice awakened memories in Rip's mind.

"What is your name, my good woman?" he asked.

"Judith Gardinier."

"And what was your father's name?"

"Oh, poor man, his name was Rip Van Winkle, but he went away from home twenty years ago with his gun, and no one has seen him since. His dog came home without him, but I don't know whether he shot himself or was captured by the Indians. Nobody knows. I was only a girl when he went away."

Rip had only one more question to ask, and he asked it with a trembling voice.

"Where's your mother?"

"Oh," said the young woman, "my mother died a short time ago."

The old man could control himself no longer. He caught his daughter and her child in his arms. "I am your father!" he cried, "I was young Rip Van Winkle once—I am old Rip Van Winkle now. Does nobody here know poor Rip Van Winkle?"

All stood surprised until an old woman, coming out of the crowd, put her hand to her forehead, and looking closely into his face for a moment, said, "Yes, it is Rip Van Winkle. Wel­come home again, old neighbor. Where have you been these twenty years?"

Rip soon told his story, for the twenty years seemed to him to be only one night.

To make a long story short, Rip's daughter finally took him home with her and there he continued to live for some years. She had a comfortable little home and a pleasant husband. Rip remembered the husband as one of the small boys who used to climb upon his back.

Rip soon took up his old walks and old habits. He found a few of his old friends, but they were all very old now. Once more he sat on the bench at the inn, but it was a long time before he could understand the strange events that had taken place during his long sleep. There had been a Revolutionary War with England, and now he was a free citizen, of the United States.

Rip used to tell his story to every stranger that arrived at the hotel. At first, he used to vary on some points, but finally it became the exact story which has been told here. Every man, woman, and child in the neighborhood knew it by heart. Some people doubted the truth of the story, but all the old Dutch inhabitants believed it entirely. Even to this day, when they hear a thunderstorm in the Catskills, they say that the strange little men are playing a game of ninepins.