RIP VAN WINKLE - A Story from the Catskill Mountains

ISSN: 2397-9607 Issue 200
In this 200th issue of the Baba Indaba’s Children's Stories series, Baba Indaba narrates the American tale of “RIP VAN WINKLE.” Set in New York’s Catskill’s Mountains, Rip Van Winkle was a lazy hunter who did just enough to keep his family fed and to keep the debtors at bay.
Ready to help his neighbours, but seldom found to be working on his own property, he received yet another scolding at the hands of Frau (wife) van Winkle. Not unusually, Rip stood there and listened in silence. When she finished her tirade, he picked up his musket and set off into the mountains with his trusty dog, Wolf, to hunt.
On this day when the shadows were getting longer, he called his dog and started for home. Then he heard a voice crying his name “Rip van Winkle, Rip van Winkle.” Following the voice he found an old man, short and square, with a shock of thick bushy hair, and a long greyish beard. He was dressed after the Dutch fashion of a hundred years back, in a jacket belted round the waist, and several pairs of breeches, weighed down by a heavy load. Being his helpful self, Rip offers to help the man carry his load home. Pausing to ease his load, up ahead he spied a hollow. At the entrance to the hollow Rip paused again, for before him was a group of little men playing ninepins.
They invited him in and offered to share some of their ale with him. Thirsty, Rip readily agreed and not long after Rip felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Not being able to keep his eyes open any longer, Rip succumbed to the sleep now overtaking his whole body.
Download and read the story of Rip Van Winkle, more astounding for what he found after he awoke than for his life before he met the small men.

Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children's stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as "Father of Stories".

Each issue also has a "WHERE IN THE WORLD - LOOK IT UP" section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story. HINT - use Google maps.

33% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities.
INCLUDES LINKS TO DOWNLOAD 8 FREE STORIES