Kindly Rip Van Winkle, loved by all, lives a quiet existence in a small village at the foot of the Catskill Mountains. One day, travelling in the mountains, he somehow falls asleep; upon waking, he finds that twenty years have passed! For adults and children alike, Rip Van Winkle paints a charming picture of rural life before and after the American War of Independence. It is counted among the earliest examples of American fiction. The collection also contains The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving's story about the headless horseman, which explores the nature of legend, and The Pride of the Village, a mythic tale of love and loss.