Rip Van Winkle (Short Story)

"Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving is a story about a kind, easygoing man who, feeling bored with his everyday life, wanders into the mountains and encounters mysterious, ghostly figures playing ninepins. After drinking liquor they offer him, he falls into a long sleep that lasts for twenty years. When he wakes up, the world has changed dramatically—his family, town, and society are different. The story explores themes of change, time, and identity, highlighting how life and communities evolve while individuals may remain unaware or unchanged during their own periods of silence in history.