The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Reading)

10 клас PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIP

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

(after Washington Irving)

Part I

On the Eastern bank of the Hudson River there was a little valley, among high hills, which was one of the quietest places in the whole world. The first white people who came to live there were the Dutch settlers of the seventeenth century, and since this time this valley had long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow.

Once there lived in this village a schoolmaster whose name was Ichabod Crane. He came there from another state to teach the children of the neighbourhood to read, write and sing.

Ichabod Crane was a tall and very thin man with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs. His head was small and flat at the top, with big ears, large green eyes, and a long sharp nose.

All the women of the village believed that he was a man of great learning. It was always a pleasure to Ichabod to pass the long winter evenings with them, listening to their tales of ghosts. The most frightful, however, was the story of a headless horseman. It is said that it was the ghost of a soldier who had been killed in a battle.

In the same village lived Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and the only child of a rich farmer. She was a pretty girl and attracted the attention of every young man in the village.

No wonder, Ichabod fell in love with Katrina, especially after he had visited her father's farm. Everything on his farm was comfortable, happy and in good order. His mouth watered when he thought of the farm’s roast pig with apples, goose in gravy, duck with onion sauce – all his favourite dishes, not to mention ham and bacon, which he loved most of all. From the moment that Crane saw all these riches, he began to make plans and invent ways to win Katrina’s heart.

 But if the schoolmaster meant to win her heart, he would have to get rid of all his rivals. The one he feared most was a young man Brom Van Brunt. He was a tall and strong young man and most people liked him for his bravery and great skill of a horseman.

Ichabod Crane was clever enough to understand that he could not fight openly, he, therefore, made his advances in a quiet and gentle manner. Being Katrina's singing-teacher, he was able to visit Van Tassel's farmhouse as often as he liked. Brom had fewer opportunities of seeing the girl.

It is clear that Crane would have lived quietly in his little village to the end of his life if a very strange thing had not happened one night. In the afternoon of that day Crane was in his school when a servant brought him an invitation to a party at Van Tassel's. As soon as the servant went away, Ichabod told the pupils to finish their lessons quickly and go home. The pupils happily ran out of school and Crane spent no less than half an hour in front of the mirror dressing up for the party. He wished to look his best that night. Then he went to his neighbour and borrowed an old horse. The horse's name was Gunpowder.

It was late in the afternoon when Crane arrived at Van Tassel’s farmhouse. The house was crowded with friends and neighbours. As usual, Brom Van Brunt was among them. There were many good things to eat, like honey cakes, apple and pumpkin pies. Ham and smoked beef drove Ichabod crazy, but he did not hurry; he tasted every dish in turn and went on eating and drinking long after the others had finished.

And then the music from the hall called the guests to dance. Ichabod was happy beyond words, because Katrina agreed to be his partner.

When the dance was nearly over, Crane suddenly left the hall where the guests were dancing. He wanted to have a private conversation with Katrina before going home. It is difficult to say what happened during this conversation, but the schoolmaster looked very sad when he ran out of the house. He went straight to Gunpowder, jumped on its back and rode off.

Answer the questions:

1. Where was Sleepy Hollow situated?

2. About whom was the most frightful story told in the village?

3. Who was Crane in love with?

4. Whom did Crane fear most?

5. Where did the schoolmaster ride one night?

6. Why do you think the schoolmaster looked sad after his conversation with Katrina?

Part II

It was past midnight. As the schoolmaster rode on and on, the night grew darker and darker: there was no moon.

He came to a place where the road ran over a small bridge across a stream. As Crane approached it, his heart began to beat fast. He suddenly remembered all the stories about ghosts that he had heard. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. He got frightened and gave his horse a kick: at first the animal rushed forward but then suddenly stopped. In the dark shadows of the trees Ichabod saw something big and black. The hair on the teacher's head stood on end.

Just then the black thing moved forward, and though the night was dark Ichabod could see a tall man sitting on a black horse. It stood on the bank of the stream now. The poor schoolmaster got still more frightened. He gave his horse another kick and rode on as fast as he could. The horseman followed him.

Having reached the top of a hill, Crane looked behind and was struck with horror as he saw that the horseman was headless! Ichabod’s horror increased when he saw that the ghost held his own head in his hands. The horror-stricken teacher kicked Gunpowder fiercely, hoping to leave the other horse behind. Crane tried to get away from the ghost, but it was too late: the faster he rode, the faster the headless horseman rode after him. Ichabod looked behind him and saw the ghost picking up his own head and throwing it at him. Crane was struck on the head and fell off his horse. The headless horseman and his black horse quickly passed by and disappeared.

The next morning Crane's old horse was found standing near his master's gate. The village people went out to look for him, but the schoolmaster disappeared. On the bank of the stream they found the Ichabod's old black hat and near it a pumpkin broken to small pieces. The place was searched but the body of the schoolmaster was not found. The stories of ghosts were told again.

The villagers concluded that the schoolmaster must have been carried off by the headless horseman. A few years later an old farmer who had been to New York brought the news that Crane lived in another village and had been made a judge.

Shortly after Ichabod disappeared, Brunt married Katrina. It was noticed that each time the story of Crane was told, he laughed or smiled. This made some people think that he knew about the matter more than cared to tell.

Answer the questions:

1. Why did the schoolmaster’s heart begin to beat fast as he approached the bridge?

2. Why did Crane fall off his horse?

3. Why do you think Brunt laughed each time the story of Crane was told?