Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving

A kindly but idle man escapes his nagging wife by wandering into the mountains, where he mysteriously falls asleep for twenty years. When he awakens, the world has changed—his friends are gone, his village transformed, and the American Revolution has come and gone. Rip’s long slumber becomes both a loss and a liberation. The tale blends gentle humor and fantasy to reflect on change, time, and the comforts of nostalgia.