The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Let's go back into the past - far back, to the good old days of America. Tarry Town is a little village on the Hudson River.

Not far away, there's a quiet valley. Sleepy Hollow is its name.

People there tell many stories about magic and ghosts. The most important of these is the legend of a Headless Horseman.

Ichabod Crane teaches the children in Sleepy Hollow. He's tall and thin, and he's got long arms, big hands and feet, a little head, and cold green eyes.

The students in his school usually work well. When they don't, he hits them with a big stick.

After school, he walks some of the younger schoolboys home. He likes seeing their beautiful older sisters and meeting their mothers (and getting nice things to eat).

Ichabod eats, sleeps, and lives with the families of his students. After a week in one house, he puts all his things into a little bag and moves to the next family.

From time to time, he helps the men with their work on the farm. He always looks for easy things to do, here and there.

At other times, he stays with the young children in the house - telling them stories or getting them to sleep. This makes their mothers very happy.

In the evenings, Ichabod teaches singing to make some extra money. On Sundays, he directs his singers in the church. He feels very important then.

Country women usually think teachers are interesting. Teachers know more than farmers, they speak better, and they like nice things, too.

Ichabod can talk to young women very easily. The farmers' sons watch and listen, but they are afraid to speak in front of him.

After school, Ichabod reads for hours about witches and black magic. Before he knows it, it's night time and he can't see his book.

When he walks home, all the little noises in the night make him feel afraid. Then he begins to sing, and this makes him feel brave again.

Ichabod likes to listen to the old women of the village when they tell stories of ghosts and haunted houses. He loves the legend of the Headless Horseman.

Ghost stories are exciting when he's sitting in a nice, warm room. But they're frightening when he's walking home later on a cold, dark night.

He often thinks that he hears the Headless Horseman not far behind him!

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valley land between two hills

legend an old story - half true, half not true

headless without a head

horseman a man on a horse

thin not fat

school students learn here

stick a long thin piece of wood

extra more than usual

direct to make people begin and stop singing

church Christian people go here to pray

witch a woman who can fly through the sky and do bad things

black magic bad magic

brave not afraid

haunted where people see lots of ghosts