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'''Rip Van Winkle''' is a short [[story]] about a man who while hunting ends up falling asleep in the woods because of these fairy things he saw. He then wakes up a long time later as a old man. When he wakes up the world is very different from the world he knew. Mainly the [[American Revolution]] was successful. Mind you he fell asleep before the American Revolution was ever even thought of so it was a surprise when he woke up.

'''Rip Van Winkle''' is a fictional short story by [[Washington Irving]] published in 1819. It tells the story of a man with a history of [[idleness]] and family troubles who went out for a day of strolling and hunting for squirrels in the woods. Late in the afternoon, he became exhausted and fell asleep on a grassy knoll.

 

After waking up and returning to his village, he noticed his family home was abandoned, and that he did not know many of the townsfolk. They told him that some of his neighbours had been dead for many years, and an [[American Revolution]] had also taken place. What felt like an overnight sleep for Rip Van WInkle turned out to be 20 years.

 

The story became well-known during the 19th century and was adapted into an opera in 1920.<ref>New York Times [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F40B12FF3E5A11738DDDAA0894D9405B808EF1D3 ''RIP VAN WINKLE IN OPERA.; Chicago Company Gives First Performance of De Koven's Work.'']; (January 3, 1920)</ref> Rip Van Winkle's name has become a byword for sleeping<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IMYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ucwFAAAAIBAJ&dq=rip%20van%20winkle&pg=2982%2C2911391 ''Americans Like Rip Van WInkle—King''] The Palm Beach Post; p. 112 (Jun 14, 1964)</ref> or leaving a place and returning to it after many years, only to realize how much it has changed.<ref>Klingman, H.C. [http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jan/13/back-then-coming-back-america-felt-i-was-rip-van-w/ ''Back Then...: Coming back to America felt like I was Rip Van Winkle'']; Naples News (Jan 13, 2011)</ref>

 

 

*[http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Irving/Winkle/Irving_Winkle.pdf ''Rip Van Winkle'' by Washington Irving]

[[Category:Fairy tales]]

[[Category:Fairy tales]]