Near the Hudson River in New York, there is a small town. People call it Tarry Town. The wives in the country gave the town this name. Their husbands stayed too long at the village tavern (a place to drink and talk).
Two miles from the town, there is a very quiet valley. It is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook (a very small river) flows through it. You can hear the sound of birds and woodpeckers.
When I was a young man, I went to this valley to hunt squirrels. It was very quiet at noon. The sound of my gun was very loud. I thought the valley was a good place to hide from the busy world.
People call this place Sleepy Hollow. A strange power seems to live there. Some people say a doctor put a spell (a magic power that controls people) on the land. Others say an old Indian chief held his meetings there.
The people in Sleepy Hollow see strange things. They hear voices in the air and see lights in the sky. They believe in many ghost stories. The most famous ghost is a man on a horse without a head.
People call him the Headless Horseman (a ghost with no head). They say he was a soldier in a big war. A cannonball took off his head. Now, he rides his horse at night to look for it. He is always in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before the sun comes up.
Every person who lives in Sleepy Hollow begins to believe these stories. They begin to dream and see ghosts too. Even people who move there soon feel the magic in the air.
Many years ago, a man named Ichabod Crane lived in Sleepy Hollow. He was a schoolmaster (a male teacher). He came from Connecticut. He moved to Sleepy Hollow to teach the children.
Ichabod Crane was very tall and very thin. He had narrow shoulders and long arms and legs. His hands were very large. His feet were as big as shovels.
Ichabod Crane had a small, flat head. He had huge ears and large green eyes. His nose was long and thin. He looked like a scarecrow (a wooden person in a field to frighten birds) that escaped from a cornfield.
His schoolhouse was one big room. It was made of logs. The windows were small and broken. He fixed the windows with paper from old books. The school stood near a hill and a small stream.
Ichabod Crane was a strict teacher. He believed that he must hit children to make them learn. He used a rod (a long stick used for hitting) on the students. But he was not a cruel man.
He only punished the strong children. He did not hit the weak children. He told the students he did this because he loved them. He said they would thank him when they were older.
Ichabod Crane was very poor. He did not have much money for food. He ate a lot of food, but he stayed very thin. He lived in the houses of the farmers.
He stayed at a different house every week. He carried all his clothes in a large cloth. He helped the farmers with their work. He cut wood for the fire and took the horses to water.
He also helped the mothers with the children. He sat with the babies for many hours. This made the mothers like him. They gave him good food to eat.
Ichabod Crane was also a singing teacher. He taught the young people how to sing in church. He was very proud of his voice. People could hear him singing from far away.
The women in the town liked Ichabod Crane. He was a gentleman and he was very smart. He read many books. The other men in the town were rough and simple.
Ichabod Crane loved to walk with the young women. He picked fruit for them and told them stories. The simple country men were jealous of him. They did not like Ichabod Crane.
Ichabod Crane was a "traveling newspaper." He moved from house to house and told everyone the local news. He also loved to read a book about witchcraft (magic used by witches). He believed every story in the book.
He loved to read these scary stories after school. He sat by the brook and read until it was dark. Then he had to walk home. Every sound made him afraid.
He heard birds and insects in the dark woods. He thought they were ghosts. He sang church songs to feel brave. The people in the town heard him singing on the dark roads.
On winter evenings, Ichabod Crane sat with the old Dutch wives. They sat by the fire and cooked apples. They told stories about ghosts and the Headless Horseman. Ichabod Crane told them stories about witches too.
But Ichabod Crane was very afraid when he walked home after these stories. The snow looked like ghosts. The wind sounded like the Headless Horseman. He was terrified of the dark.
One day, Ichabod Crane met a girl named Katrina Van Tassel. She was eighteen years old. She was very beautiful and plump. She was the only child of a very rich farmer.
Katrina Van Tassel wore gold jewelry and expensive clothes. She liked to show her pretty feet and ankles. Ichabod Crane liked her very much. He liked her even more when he saw her father’s farm.
Baltus Van Tassel was a happy and rich farmer. His farm was beautiful and full of food. There were many pigs, geese, ducks, and turkeys. There were also many big trees and a clear stream.
Ichabod Crane looked at the animals. He did not see pets; he saw dinner. He thought about roasted pigs and turkey pies. He wanted to marry Katrina Van Tassel and own the farm.
He imagined selling the farm for a lot of money. He wanted to take the money and move to the West. He saw himself with Katrina Van Tassel and many children on a big wagon.
Ichabod Crane went inside the farmhouse. It was very big and clean. He saw many expensive things made of silver and china. He decided he must marry Katrina Van Tassel.
But there was a problem. Many other men wanted to marry her too. Ichabod Crane had a rival (a person who wants the same thing as you). His name was Brom Van Brunt.
Everyone called him Brom Bones. He was very big and strong. He had short, curly black hair. He was the best horse rider in the country. He was always ready for a fight or a joke.
Brom Bones was the leader of a group of rough men. When people heard a loud noise at night, they said, "That is Brom Bones and his friends!" Everyone in the town respected and feared him.
Brom Bones wanted to marry Katrina Van Tassel too. When his horse was outside her house, the other men stayed away. They did not want to fight a man as strong as a lion.
Ichabod Crane was not strong, but he was smart. He did not fight Brom Bones. He visited Katrina Van Tassel often to teach her singing. This made Brom Bones very angry.
Brom Bones wanted to fight Ichabod Crane. But Ichabod Crane stayed away from him. So, Brom Bones began to play jokes on the schoolmaster.
Brom Bones and his friends broke into the schoolhouse at night. They turned over the desks and chairs. They also blocked the chimney with smoke. Ichabod Crane thought witches were in his school.
One autumn afternoon, Ichabod Crane was in his school. The students were very quiet. Suddenly, a man arrived on a horse. He invited Ichabod Crane to a party at the Van Tassel house.
The students were very happy because Ichabod Crane let them go home early. Ichabod Crane spent a long time getting ready. He cleaned his only black suit.
He wanted to look like a brave knight. He borrowed an old horse from a farmer named Hans Van Ripper. The horse’s name was Gunpowder.
Gunpowder was old and thin. He had a white head and a long tail. He was blind in one eye. But Gunpowder was once a fast horse. Ichabod Crane rode Gunpowder toward the party.
Ichabod Crane looked very strange on his horse. He rode with short stirrups (metal loops for a rider’s feet). This made his knees sit very high. His elbows moved out like the legs of a grasshopper.
He held his whip straight up in his hand. His arms moved like wings when the horse walked. He wore a small wool hat on his head. His long black coat fluttered in the wind behind him.
Ichabod Crane and his horse, Gunpowder, left the gate of Hans Van Ripper. They looked like a strange ghost in the bright daylight. It was a beautiful autumn day.
The sky was clear and blue. The forest was full of brown and yellow leaves. Some trees were bright orange and purple because of the cold. Wild ducks flew high in the sky.
Squirrels made noise in the nut trees. You could hear the whistle of birds in the fields. Small birds were eating and flying from tree to tree.
There were red robins and many blackbirds. There were woodpeckers with red heads and beautiful feathers. There were also blue jays in bright blue coats. They made loud noises and moved their heads up and down.
Ichabod Crane rode slowly. He looked at all the food on the farms. He saw many apples on the trees. Some apples were in baskets for the market.
Others were in big piles to make cider (a drink made from apples). He saw big fields of corn and yellow pumpkins. He thought about eating delicious pumpkin pies.
He passed fields of buckwheat. He thought about eating pancakes with butter and honey. He hoped Katrina Van Tassel would cook these for him with her own hands.
Ichabod Crane felt very happy. He rode through the hills near the Hudson River. The sun began to go down in the west. The water was very quiet and smooth.
A few gold clouds floated in the sky. The horizon changed from gold to green and then to deep blue. The sun touched the tops of the tall rocks near the river.
He saw a sloop (a small ship with one mast) far away. It moved slowly with the water. The sail did not move because there was no wind. The ship looked like it was hanging in the air.
In the evening, Ichabod Crane arrived at the Van Tassel house. Many people from the country were there. The old farmers wore homespun coats and big shoes with metal buckles.
The wives wore small caps and colorful pockets on their dresses. The young women wore straw hats and ribbons. The sons wore coats with big brass buttons. They used eel-skin to tie their hair in the back.
Brom Bones was the hero of the party. He arrived on his favorite horse, Daredevil. Daredevil was a wild horse, and he liked to cause trouble. Only Brom Bones could ride him.
Brom Bones liked dangerous animals. He thought quiet horses were boring. He was a very brave and strong rider.
Ichabod Crane went into the large parlor of the house. He saw a big table full of food. There were many kinds of cakes made by the Dutch wives.
There were doughnuts and many sweet cakes. There were apple pies, peach pies, and pumpkin pies. He saw slices of ham and smoked beef. There were also roasted chickens and bowls of milk and cream.
A large teapot sat in the middle of the table. Ichabod Crane was very hungry. He began to eat everything on the table. He was a very happy man when he was eating.
Ichabod Crane looked around the room as he ate. He felt very proud. He hoped to own this house and all this food one day. He wanted to leave his old schoolhouse forever.
He wanted to say goodbye to Hans Van Ripper. He did not want to be a poor teacher anymore. He wanted to be a rich man and kick other teachers out of his house.
Baltus Van Tassel walked among his guests. He was a very happy and jolly man. He shook hands with everyone and hit the men on the shoulder. He laughed and told everyone to eat more food.
Then the music started in the hall. An old man with gray hair played the fiddle (a type of violin). He had played music in this area for fifty years. He moved his head and his foot to the music.
Ichabod Crane loved to dance. He moved his long arms and legs all around the room. His thin body clattered as he jumped. Everyone watched him with big smiles.
Ichabod Crane was the happiest man at the party. He danced with Katrina Van Tassel. She smiled at him during the dance. Brom Bones sat alone in a corner. He was very jealous and angry.
When the dance finished, Ichabod Crane went to talk to the older men. Baltus Van Tassel and the other farmers were smoking pipes. They told stories about the war from many years ago.
The British and American soldiers had fought near this town. Every man told a story about how he was a hero. One man said he almost captured a big ship with an old gun.
Another man said he stopped a bullet with his small sword. He said the sword was still bent from the bullet. Every man believed he helped win the war.
Then they began to tell ghost stories. Many people in Sleepy Hollow believe in ghosts. They said ghosts do not like busy towns. Ghosts like quiet places like Sleepy Hollow.
The people at the party told scary stories. They talked about a woman in white who screamed at Raven Rock. She died there in the snow many years ago.
But most stories were about the Headless Horseman. People said he traveled on the roads at night. They said he tied his horse to the trees in the churchyard.
The church was in a very lonely place on a hill. It had white walls and was surrounded by large trees. Near the church, there was a dark valley with a big brook.
There was a wooden bridge over the water. Large trees made the bridge very dark. This was a place where people often saw the Headless Horseman.
An old man named Brouwer told a story. He did not believe in ghosts until he met the Horseman. The Horseman made Brouwer get on his horse.
They ran over hills and through swamps. When they reached the bridge, the Horseman turned into a skeleton. He threw Brouwer into the water and disappeared.
Brom Bones told a story too. He said he met the Headless Horseman one night. Brom Bones was on his horse, Daredevil. He asked the ghost to race him.
Brom Bones was winning the race. But when they got to the bridge, the ghost disappeared in a flash of fire. Brom Bones laughed at the story.
Ichabod Crane listened to all these stories. He told stories from his own books about witches. He also told everyone about the strange things he saw in Sleepy Hollow at night.
The party ended late at night. The farmers put their families in wagons and drove away. The young women rode on horses behind the young men. Soon, the house was quiet.
Ichabod Crane stayed behind to talk to Katrina Van Tassel. He wanted to ask her to marry him. He was sure he would be successful.
We do not know what they said to each other. But Ichabod Crane looked very sad when he left. He did not look like a happy lover. He looked like someone who had failed.
Maybe Katrina Van Tassel was only being nice to him to make Brom Bones jealous. Ichabod Crane went straight to the stable. He kicked Gunpowder to wake him up.
It was the middle of the night. Ichabod Crane felt very sad and afraid as he rode home. The hills looked very high and dark. He could see the Hudson River far below him.
Everything was very quiet. He heard a dog barking far away. He heard a bird and a frog in the marsh. These sounds made him feel very lonely.
He remembered all the ghost stories from the party. The night became darker. Clouds moved across the sky and hid the stars. He felt very dismal.
He was near the place where many ghost stories happened. In the middle of the road, there was a giant tulip-tree (a very tall tree with large flowers).
The tree was very big and had twisted branches. People called it Major André’s tree. A soldier named Major André was captured there during the war. People were afraid of the tree and told many stories about it.
Ichabod Crane approached the scary tulip-tree. He began to whistle because he was afraid. He thought he heard an answer to his whistle. But it was only the wind in the dry branches. He saw something white in the tree and stopped whistling. He looked closely and saw it was only a white spot on the wood. Then he heard a loud groan. His teeth chattered and his knees shook against the saddle. It was only two branches rubbing together in the wind. He passed the tree, but there was more danger ahead.
A small brook crossed the road near a dark swamp. A bridge made of logs went over the water. This was the place where the soldier Major André was captured. People said the stream was haunted. Every schoolboy was afraid to pass it at night. Ichabod Crane’s heart began to beat very fast. He kicked Gunpowder to go across the bridge quickly. But the horse did not go forward. Gunpowder ran sideways against a fence.
Ichabod Crane pulled the reins (the leather straps used to control a horse). He kicked the horse again. Gunpowder jumped into a thicket of bushes. Ichabod Crane used his whip and his heels on the horse. The horse finally moved forward but stopped suddenly at the bridge. Ichabod Crane almost fell over the horse’s head. He heard a loud sound in the water. In the dark shadows, he saw something huge and black. It looked like a giant monster ready to jump.
Ichabod Crane was terrified. He could not run away now. He asked in a shaking voice, "Who are you?" There was no answer. He asked again. Still, there was no answer. Ichabod Crane closed his eyes and began to sing a church song. Suddenly, the black shape moved into the middle of the road. It was a very large man on a big black horse. The stranger did not speak. He just rode beside Ichabod Crane and old Gunpowder.
Ichabod Crane did not like this companion. He remembered the story about Brom Bones and the ghost. He tried to ride fast to leave the stranger behind. But the stranger rode fast too. Ichabod Crane slowed down. The stranger slowed down too. Ichabod Crane’s heart sank. He tried to sing, but he was too afraid to speak. They went up a hill. Ichabod Crane saw the man’s shape against the sky. He was shocked. The man had no head on his shoulders! He carried his head on the front of his saddle!
Ichabod Crane began to kick and hit Gunpowder. He wanted to escape the ghost. The ghost’s horse jumped forward too. They ran very fast through the dark woods. Stones flew and sparks flashed from the horse’s feet. Ichabod Crane’s clothes moved in the wind as he leaned over his horse. They reached the road to Sleepy Hollow. But Gunpowder turned the wrong way. The horse ran down a hill toward the old church bridge.
Ichabod Crane was a bad rider. Suddenly, the girth (the leather strap that holds the saddle on a horse) broke. The saddle began to slip. Ichabod Crane tried to hold it, but it fell to the ground. He heard the ghost’s horse step on the saddle. He was afraid Hans Van Ripper would be angry. But he was more afraid of the ghost. He held Gunpowder’s neck tightly. He jumped up and down on the horse’s back. It was very painful.
He saw the church bridge through the trees. He saw a star reflecting in the water. "If I reach that bridge, I am safe," Ichabod Crane thought. He heard the black horse breathing behind him. He felt its hot breath. Ichabod Crane kicked Gunpowder one more time. The horse ran onto the bridge. Ichabod Crane looked back. He wanted to see if the ghost disappeared in fire. But he saw the ghost throw its head at him! The head hit Ichabod Crane’s head with a loud crash. He fell into the dust. The ghost and the black horse ran past him like a strong wind.
The next morning, Gunpowder was at Hans Van Ripper’s gate. The horse was eating grass. Ichabod Crane did not come to breakfast. He did not come to dinner. The students waited at the school, but the teacher was not there. Hans Van Ripper began to worry. People began to look for Ichabod Crane. They found the saddle in the dirt. They saw horse tracks on the road. Near the bridge, they found Ichabod Crane's hat. Next to the hat, there was a broken pumpkin.
They looked in the water, but they did not find Ichabod Crane’s body. Hans Van Ripper looked at the teacher’s things. Ichabod Crane had only two shirts, some socks, and a razor. He also had a book of church songs and a book about witches. Hans Van Ripper burned the books. He decided his children should not go to school anymore. He thought reading and writing were bad for people. Ichabod Crane had no money and no family. So, the people soon stopped looking for him.
The people at the church talked about the event on Sunday. They believed the Headless Horseman took Ichabod Crane. But many years later, an old farmer went to New York. He said he saw Ichabod Crane there. He said Ichabod Crane left because he was afraid of the ghost. He was also sad because Katrina Van Tassel did not want to marry him. In the city, Ichabod Crane studied law and became a politician. Finally, he became a judge.
Brom Bones married Katrina Van Tassel soon after the teacher disappeared. Whenever people told the story of Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones looked very smart. He always laughed when people mentioned the broken pumpkin. Some people thought Brom Bones knew the truth. But the old wives of Sleepy Hollow did not agree. They still say a ghost took Ichabod Crane. They say his ghost still haunts the old schoolhouse. On quiet evenings, people think they hear his voice singing in the valley of Sleepy Hollow.