Hello there, and welcome to this week's episode of Down to Sleep, the podcast of softly spoken

stories to help you get a good night's rest. Tonight we return to the legend of Sleepy Hollow

for the second time. There are new episodes of this podcast every Monday. If you would like to get

even more readings, then join me on Patreon at patreon.com slash down to sleep, where you can support the podcast

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Now, let's tuck you in and get back

into the legend of Sleepy Hollow. From the moment that Icobod laid his eyes upon these

regions of delight, the peace of his mind was at an end. His only study was how to gain the

affections of the peerless daughter of Van Tassel.

In this enterprise, however, he had more real difficulties, fell to the lot of a knight-errant of

yore, who seldom had anything but giants, enchanters, fiery dragons and such-like

easily conquered adversaries to contend with, and had to make his

way merely through gates of iron and brass, walls of adamant to the castle keep, where the

lady of his heart was confined, all which he achieved as easily as a man would carve his way

to the centre of a Christmas pie, and then the lady gave him

her hand as a matter of course. Icomod, on the contrary, had to win his way to the heart of a

country coquette, beset with a labyrinth of whims and caprices, which were forever presenting

new difficulties and impediments, and he had to encounter

a host of fearful adversaries of real flesh and blood, the numerous rustic admirers who

beset every portal to her heart, keeping a watchful and angry eye upon each other, but ready

...