The Rip Van Winkle full story was written by the American author Washington Irving in the year 1819. The story is about a Dutch-American villager, Rip Van Winkle, in colonial America who meets mysterious Dutchmen and falls asleep. He wakes up 20 years later to a changed world and has missed the American Revolution. The actual story is a bit longer than this version, but for kids, this version is perfect. Continue to read the Rip Van Winkle story in English to your little ones as a perfect bedtime story.
Origin And History Of Rip Van Winkle
The author of the Rip Van Winkle short story claims that the story was inspired by a nostalgic conversation he had with his American expatriate brother-in-law. The story was first published in his collection of stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. The story has since been adapted into various formats such as plays, movies, music, cartoons and comics.
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Story Type Of Rip Van Winkle
The Rip Van Winkle is a short story written by the American author Washington Irving.
Story Characters
- Rip Van Winkle
- Rip’s Mother
- Rip’s Daughter
- Rip’s Wife
- Man Carrying the Keg
- Nine-pin Playing Men
- Villagers
Rip Van Winkle Story For Children
Once upon a time, in a small Dutch village at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, there lived a man named Rip Van Winkle. He was an extremely lazy man. His favourite pass time was going to the inn with his friends or enjoying his time alone in the woods at the foot of the mountains. Even as a child, he hated working. Each time his mother found him a job, he could not retain it. “What will you do, my child?” Rip Van Winkle’s mother would worry.
Somehow, Rip Van Winkle had grown up and managed to get married. However, his attitude and activities remained the same as the ones he had in his childhood. He could never keep a job and enjoyed his time alone, away from people.
Rip Van Winkle was loved by the villagers and children alike. He was popular among the kids as he liked repairing their broken toys.
One day, Rip Van Winkle’s wife began nagging him to get a job. He ran away from his wife, taking his dog along with him. As Rip Van Winkle is walking up Catskill Mountain, he meets a man lugging a keg up the mountain. Rip Van Winkle helps the man and takes the keg to a cleft in the rocks from which thunderous noises are emanating. The source of the sounds was men playing nine-pins. Rip Van Winkle doesn’t ask about the men and joins them. After some time, he gets tired and falls asleep there.
When Rip Van Winkle wakes up, he discovers that everything is different. His beard had grown a foot long. “Oh, dear! Why does everything look so different?” “I must’ve slept here all night! What will I tell my wife?” Rip calls out for his dog numerous times, but the dog doesn’t come to him. So, Rip decides to go back home, “The dog must be out chasing something. He’ll find his way back.” Sluggishly, Rip Van Winkle finds his way back home but notices that everything looks different. Even the village looked unrecognisable. “What on Earth is happening?” he thought to himself.
When he entered the village, he couldn’t recognise even a single face. Even the people were looking at him with awe and surprise. Rip couldn’t understand anything going on around him. Seeing everything change around him, he quickly walked to his home. “My wife will have the answers to this strange phenomenon.” he thought to himself as he marched his way home.
However, when he reaches his home, he sees that it has almost fallen apart. There, he met a woman who looked a lot like his wife but was not his wife. Rip goes to her and asks her, “Who are you?” She tells Rip her name, and Rip realises that the woman is actually his daughter. He becomes happy, but his happiness is cut short when she says, “My father disappeared almost 20 years ago. I haven’t seen him or our dog since then. My mother died a few years ago.”
Before Rip could tell her that he was indeed her father, the woman left. Rip Van Winkle realises his mistakes. His laziness had cost him his life such that even his own daughter failed to recognise him. Even the villagers who loved him had forgotten all about him. If he had worked hard from the beginning, he would have lived a happy and fulfilling life with his wife, daughter and dog.
Story Summary
The Summary of Rip Van Winkle Short Story with Pictures.
There was once a man named Rip Van Winkle who lived in a small Dutch village at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. He was an extremely lazy man who only liked to hang out at the inn with his friends or enjoy his time alone at the foot of the mountains. Even as a child, he hated working, and his mother would often worry about him. However, Rip managed to grow up into a well-liked man who has a wife and a daughter. The village children liked him because he liked repairing their broken toys.
One fine day when Rip’s wife was nagging him, he ran away to the Mountains with his dog. There he met a man trying to carry a keg up the mountain. Rip helped him and soon joined the man and his friends in some partying. Soon, he got tired and slept there.
When he wakes up, he sees that things around him seem different. The men had disappeared, and he could not find his dog. Rip decided to head back home as he thought his wife would be upset with him. Upon entering the village, Rip could not recognise a single face. The village looked very different, and he couldn’t understand what was going on. When he reached his home, he saw that his house had almost fallen apart. There he saw a woman who looked like his wife and approached her.
The woman was his daughter, who informed him that her father, Rip Van Winkle, had disappeared nearly 20 years ago and that her mother had died a few years ago. Before Rip could say anything else, the woman walks away. This is when Rip realised his mistake and wished that if he would’ve acted responsibly earlier, he would have had a fulfilling life with his wife and daughter.
Moral Of The Story
The moral of the story is, “If you snooze, you lose”. We should all work hard in order to make our lives count and make a difference in other people’s lives. Rip wasted his life away; he dodged any opportunity to take up work and hence found himself at the foothill of the mountain where he met the mysterious man. If he had worked hard, he wouldn’t have been there and wouldn’t have wasted 20 years of his life.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Of The Story In Their Real Life?
The Rip Van Winkle story with pictures teaches our children to work hard and not waste their lives away. You must teach your child to have dreams, expectations and goals for their life and not expect things to happen for them on their own. Each one of us must work hard in order to lead a successful and fulfilling life. Hard work and consistency pay off in the long run. Being lazy and just floating through life gets us nowhere, just like Rip Van Winkle lost 20 years of his life because of his laziness. Your actions and determination create your destiny!
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