The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

Found among the papers of the late Deidrich Knickerbocker.

A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, of dreams that wave before the half-shut-eye,

and of gay castles in the clouds that pass, forever flushing round a summer sky.

Castle of indolence

In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson,

at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Z, and where

they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of St. Nicholas when they crossed,

there lies a small market town or rural port, which by some is called Greensburg, but which is

more generally and properly known by the name of Terrytown.

This name was given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country,

from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days.

Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact, but merely merely advert to it for the sake of being precise and authentic not far from this village perhaps about two miles there is a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills which is one of the quietest places in the whole world a small brook glides it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose,

and the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound

that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility.

I recollect that when a stripling, my first exploit in squirrel shooting, was in a grove of tall walnut trees that shades one side of the valley.

I had wandered into it at noontime when all nature is peculiarly quiet, and was startled by the roar of my own gun as it broke the Sabbath stillness around, and was prolonged and reverberated by the angry echoes.

If ever I should wish for a retreat whether I might steal from the world and its distractions,

and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this

little valley. From the listless repose of the place and the peculiar character of its inhabitants,

who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been

known by the name of Sleepy Hollow, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow boys

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