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 patted 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 big feet made a loud noise on the floor 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.
People told a story about an old man named Brouwer. 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.