Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. Short summary

5 seconds

One day Rip van Winkle was walking along the banks of the Hudson River and met an old man dressed in period clothing, carrying a barrel of vodka. Rip tasted the drink from the barrel and took a nap.

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In a village at the foot of the Kaatskill Mountains lived a simple farmer named Rip van Winkle. He was a sympathetic and kind fellow, and all his neighbors loved him. But his wife was so grouchy that Rip tried to go home less often.

One day the hero was walking along the shore of Hudson’s Bay, and suddenly he was called out by an old man dragging a barrel of vodka. Rip helped the old man. Silently they reached a small ravine, where Rip saw a strange company in ancient garb playing skittles. The old man began to pour vodka into cups. Rip drank, too, and fell soundly asleep.

Rip woke up in the morning at the place where he had met the old man. He felt strangely aged. When he reached the village, Rip did not recognize the familiar places. His house was dilapidated and falling apart.

Rip soon met a woman with a child who told him that her father’s name was Rip Van Winkle and it had been twenty years since he had left home and disappeared. Rip’s wife had died several years before. The daughter took in her old father and he lived out the rest of his days in perfect contentment.