Rip Van Winkle

"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by Washington Irving. It was first published in Irving's The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. in June 1819. Irving wrote the story one night while staying with his sister's family in Birmingham, England. He read it to his hosts at breakfast the next morning. It was one of the first stories Irving proposed for The Sketch Book. The story is similar to a German story called "Karl Katz". "Rip Van Winkle" has been adapted to theater, cartoons, television, and other media many times.

Story
Rip Van Winkle is a lazy, happy Dutchman. He's a henpecked husband; a man who is being constantly nagged by his wife. He lives in a quiet village near the Catskill Mountains in North America. One day he wanders into the mountains with his dog Wolf.  In a lonely place, he meets the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his men.  They give him a strange drink. He falls asleep for 20 years. When he wakes, he learns that the American Revolution has been fought and won. His family and friends welcome him home to the village.

Other websites  

"Rip Van Winkle", illustrated by N. C. Wyeth (1921).
"Rip Van Winkle", e-text from Bartleby.
"Rip Van Winkle" , audio version from 1946.
"Rip Van Winkle", 1896 film.
 "Karl Katz", a comparison.
1948 Theatre Guild on the Air radio adaptation at Internet Archive
 Rip Van Winkle Study Guide
Irving in Birmingham 
"Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" – Irving's Fictions of Revolution

Category:19th-century American short stories
Category:Works by Washington Irving