THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - INTEF - educaLABplatea.pntic.mec.es/~msanch2/tecnoweb/ny/leyend.pdfTHE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Washington Irving 2/15 Traducciones y notas de Manuel

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Washington Irving 1/15 Traducciones y notas de Manuel Sánchez Profesor del IES Julián Marías de Valladolid

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

Traducciones & notas de Manuel Sánchez, Profesor del IES Julián Marías de Valladolid by Washington Irving

In one of the coves on the eastern shore orilla of the Hudson, near the wide part of the river, called the Tappan Zee, is a small town. Some people call it Greensburgh, but it is generally known as Tarry Town localidad

con actualmente 11 mil habitantes situada al Norte de New York. The women of the region gave it this name because their husbands used to tarry detenerse about the village tavern on market days días de mercado. About two miles from this town is a small valley surrounded by high hills. It is one of the quietest places in the whole word en el mundo entero. The only sounds that disturb the tranquillity are the sound of the stream arroyo, the whistling of a quail silbido de una codorniz or the tapping of a woodpecker

repicoteo de un pájaro carpintero. I remember the first time that I went squirrel hunting cazar ardillas when

I was just a young boy. I was in a grove bosquecillo of tall walnut trees nogales in the valley. It was midday and everything was quiet. Only the sound of my shotgun escopeta broke the silence and it reverberated retumbaba loudly around the valley. If I wanted to escape from all of life’s problems and pressures, this would be the perfect place 2nd conditional. Because of debido a the tranquillity of this spot lugar and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are the descendants of the original Dutch settlers colonos holandeses, this secluded valley is called Sleepy Hollow

Valle Adormecido. A drowsy soñolienta and dreamy soñadora atmosphere impregnates the air. Some say that a German doctor bewitched hechizó

the place during the early days of the settlement colonización. Others say that and old Indian chief, prophet and wizard hechicero of his tribe, held his ceremonies there before the region was discovered by Hendrick Hudson. However sin embargo, it is true that the place is still under the influence of some witching power poder de brujería than holds a spell mantiene un hechizo over the minds of the inhabitants. They are subject to all kinds of fantastic beliefs ecreencias fantásticas, trances and visions. They frequently see strange apparitions and hear music and voices. The whole neighbourhood vecindad

fugaces abounds with stories, haunted spots and superstitions. You can see


more shooting stars estrellas fugaces and meteorites over the valley than in any other part of the country and it is the favourite place of evil spirits los

malos espíritus. However, the dominant spirit that haunts persigue this enchanted region is the Headless Horseman Jinete sin Cabeza. Some say that he is the ghost fantasma of a soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball bala de

cañón during the War of Independence Gerra de la Independencia de los EE.UU contra el

Imperio Británico (1775-1783). . The country folk gente often see him galloping at night. He does not always stay in the valley, but also frequents the adjacent roads and he is often seen near a church. In fact, some of the historians of the region, who have been collecting and collating facts clasificando hechos about the phantom, allege that the soldier is buried in the churchyard cementerio de la iglesia. They say that every night the ghost rides out sale a cabalgar to look for buscar his head and before daybreak el

alba/amanecer he has to hurry back tiene que dares prisa en volver to the churchyard. It is a notable fact that the visionary propensity that I have

mentioned is not only limited to the native inhabitants of the valley, but it is unconsciously incoscientemente absorbed by every person who lives there for a time. Even incluso if they were not superstitious before entering antes de

entrar that sleepy region, in a short time they begin to breathe the witching influence, to dream, and to see apparitions.

Many years have passed since my last visit to Sleepy Hollow, but I can imagine that nothing has changed. This hidden place, in New York State Estado de Nueva York, cuya capital no es Nueva York sino Albany, probably still maintains the way of life forma/estilo de vida of the original Dutch settlers.

The Schoolmaster A long time before my last visit a man named Ichabod Crane lived there. He came from Connecticut and went to Sleepy Hollow to work as a schoolmaster. The surname of Crane grulla was very appropriate to describe him: he was tall, very thin, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs and hands that hung

colgaban a mile out of the sleeves mangas of his jacket. His feet were like shovels grulla. His head was small and flat on top, with huge ears, large green, glassy

vidriosos eyes and long nose. In fact de

hecho, his nose looked like a bird’s beak

pico. To see him walking along on a windy day, with his clothes fluttering aleteando about him, he could have been mistaken equivocado for a scarecrow espantapájaros.


The schoolhouse was a low building made of logs troncos with one large room. It was in a rather isolated aislado but pleasant spot lugar: at the foot of a woody hill, with a stream nearby cercano. On a summer’s day you could hear the murmuring of the pupil’s voices voces de los alumnos as they recited their lessons. Now and then de vez en cuando they were interrupted by the strict voice of the schoolmaster. Sometimes you could hear the horrible sound of the birch vara/abedul/azotar. The schoolmaster was a conscientious concienzudo man and followed the general rule of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child ahorra la vara y echa a perder al niño/la letra con sangre entra’. Ichabod Crane’s pupils were certainly not spoiled. However, Ichabod was not cruel and he administered justice fairly. He didn’t severely punish the weak pupils who were afraid of the birch, but the tougher urchins más duros erizos/más duros golfillos received a double douse. He called this ‘doing his duty deber/obligación for their parents.’ He never inflicted any punishment without telling the sulking

enfurruñado/malhumorado urchin that ‘in later life en la vejez/en el futuro he would remember it and thank his schoolmaster for it.’ When school was over, he became the companion and playmate of the older boys. On holiday afternoons he would accompany used to

accompany some of the younger children home, especially if they had pretty sisters or mothers who were good cooks cocineras. It was to his advantage le era ventajoso to maintain a good relationship with his pupils. The wages el sueldo he received from the school were small, not enough to pay for his daily needs. Even though he was thin, he had an enormous appetite. To make ends meet para arreglárselas, according to the custom of that region, he lodged se hospedaba at the houses of the farmers whose children he taught. He stayed with each family for a week and so he passed from house to house with all his possessions in a cotton handkerchief pañuelo/hatillo. A man of Many Facets

Farmers often consider that school costs

are a burden carga and that school masters are parasites. However, Ichabod made himself useful and agreeable. He helped the farmers with light farm work: he helped to cut hay heno, mended the fences reparaba las cercas, watered the horses, brought the cows from the pasture and cut wood for the winter. When he was not in the schoolroom, his character changed and he become very gentle and ingratiated congraciaba himself in the community. He would often sit used to

sit by the fire with one child on his knee, and rock


the baby’s cradle mecía la cuna del bebé with his foot for hours and hours. In addiction además to his other vocations, he was the singing master

of the neighbourhood and earned a few extra shillings by instructing the young people in psalmody salmodia/arte de cantar salmos. On Sundays he was very proud orgulloso to stand at the front of the church choir with a group of chosen singers. His voice resounded above the rest of the congregation and it is said that even incluso now on Sunday mornings you can sometimes hear his voice coming from the church. All things considered considerando todo esto, Ichabod Crane lived an agreeable life and quite easily managed to make ends meet .

In rural communities the schoolmaster is considered a man of some importance by the women. They think he is a gentleman and that he is superior to the rough country lads rudos muchachos del campo. In fact, the only person of a higher rank rango to the schoolmaster is the parson párroco. Therefore por consiguiente, Ichabod’s appearance at someone’s farmhouse usually caused excitement. The mistress señora of the house would serve a large plate of cakes or sweets and his visit was an excuse to bring out sacar the silver teapot. Our schoolmaster was very happy surrounded by the smile of the women; he used to converse with them in the churchyard on Sundays after the service and read the epitaphs on the tombstones lápidas for them. On other occasions he would go for a walk with a group of them along the banks of the pond laguna. The lads would observe him timidly, envying his superior elegance and manners modales.

Because of his half-itinerant medio itinerante life, he was a type of travelling newspaper, carrying the local gossip chismorreo from house to house. This was another reason why he was always welcome. In addiction, the women though that he was a very educated man because he had read several books. He could recite from recitar de memoria Cotton Mather’s ‘History of New England Witchcraft brujería’, in which, he firmly believe.

Superstition and Imagination In spite of a pesar de his education Ichabod Crane believed in the supernatural sobrenatural . He believed all the fantastic histories that he heard in that enchanted region. No story was too exaggerated for him to believe. After school, he took great pleasure in lying by the stream tendense al lado del

arroyo near the schoolhouse and thinking about Mather’s terrible tales. He would stay there until the evening and then go to the farmhouse where


he was lodged at that time. Every sound of nature; the stream, the croak of a toad sapo, the cry of an owl búho, the rustling susurro of the birds in the bushes arbustos fed alimentaba his imagination. Even the fireflies luciernagas that shone brillaban in the darkness oscuridad would frighten him. If a beetle

escarabajo flew against him, he imagined that he had been hit by a witch. On these occasions his only resource was to sing psalms salmos to drive away alejar the evil spirits. On many occasions, in the evenings, the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow could hear him singing as he walked along the path. Another source of fearful terrible pleasure was to spend the winter evenings with the old women as they sat spinning hilando by the fire. He would listen to their marvellous tales of ghosts and goblins duendes, haunted houses casas encantadas, fields, streams and bridges, and particularly of the Headless Horseman Jinete sin Cabeza. He would entertain them with stories of witchcraft brujería and would explain to them the terrible significance of comets and shooting stars. He found pleasure in all this while he was sitting beside the fire, where no ghost would dare to show its face se atrevía a asomar. However, his journey home was another matter. Every shadow and ray of light stimulated his imagination. He often saw a white phantom in his path, only to discover that it was a bush covered by the snow. He trembled at the sound of his own footsteps pasos and did not dare no se atrevía to look behind him. Very often he thought that the noise of the wind was the Headless Horseman galloping through the night. But all these were terrors of the night, phantoms of the mind that disappeared at daylight de día. One day, however, his path was crossed by a being ser that causes more perplexity perplejidad to mortals than ghosts, goblins and witches; and that was… a woman.

A Woman’s Spell One of Ichabod’s singing pupils alumnas de canto was Katrina Van Tassel, the only daughter hija única of a well-off acomodado farmer. She was a radiant girl of eighteen; plump rechoncha as a partridge perdiz with rosy rosadoas cheeks like her father’s peaches melocootones. She was considered a good catch un buen partido, not only because she was attractive but also because of her father’s fortune. Katrina was a little bit coquettish coqueta and her dresses were a mixture of traditional and modern fashion. She used to wear an appealing atractivo old-fashioned bodice corpiño and a short petticoat enaguas that showed her charming feet and ankles, and jewellery of pure gold, which her great-great-grandmother tatarabuela had brought with her from Holland. Ichabod Crane had a soft and foolish heart with regards con respecto to the opposite sex. He was bewitched embrujado by Katrina, and even


more so after he had visited her father’s farm. Old Baltus Van Tassel was the perfect happy farmer with a generous heard. It was true, however, that he was not very concerned with the world beyond más allá his farm. He was satisfied with his wealth but not proud of it. The farm was on the banks of the Hudson. At the side of the house were a large elm tree olmo and a stream arroyo. Near the farmhouse was a large barn granero in which most of the daily activities took place. Baltus had a lot of animals: fat pigs, pigeons palomas, geese gansos, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowls gallinas de Guinea and chickens. On his first visit to the house, the schoolmaster’s mouth watered when he saw this sumptuous promise of winter food. He imagined himself eating pigeon pie pastel de paloma, roast goose ganso asado, stuffed turkey pavo

relleno and duck with onion sauce. When he looked at the pigs he imagined them roasted with an apple in their mouths or he saw them as large pieces of bacon, succulent hams or strings of sausages tiras de

salchichas. As Ichabod contemplated this scene and the rich fields of wheat

trigo, rye centeno, and Indian corn maiz, and the orchards huertos full of ripe fruit fruta madura, his heart yearned anelaba for the young woman who would inherit heredar all this. He imagined himself already married to Katrina. He had sold the farm and bought a lot of land in the south. He was riding montando a beautiful mare yegua and his wife and children –they had had lots of children- were riding on a wagon loaded with furniture and household del

hogar things. They were going to Kentucky Tennessee, -or Lord knows where! ¡O Dios sabe dónde!

He stopped dreaming and entered the house. Now the conquest of his heart was complete. It was a spacious farmhouse with a high sloping roof tejado inclinado, built in the style of the Dutch settlers colonos

holandeses. Its low eaves aleros projected over a type of porch that was used to store all types of farm tools, harnesses and fishing nets. At one end there was a spinning wheel rueda de hilado/rueca and at the other a churn

mantequera for making butter there was also long bench banco so you could sit outside in summer.

He entered the main room of the house. He saw an enormous dresser vestidor with rows of shinning pewter jugs jarras de peltré brillantes. El peltré es una aleación compuesta de Sn, Cu, Sb y Pb, maleable y blanda que funde a 320ºC y muy utilizada para adornos and plates. In one corner was a huge bag of wool lana, ready to be spun girada/hilada. In another corner was a sack of Indian corn, and strings ristras of dried apples, peaches melocotones and red peppers hanging from the beams

vigas.


There was an open door that led conducia into a large parlor sitting room/cuarto de estar . Ichabod could see expensive chairs and dark mahogany caoba tables. There were various ornaments above the mantelpiece repisa de la chimenea and a corner cupboard -deliberately left open- full of all old silver and expensive china porcelana china. La porcelana es un material cerámico blanco, duro y translúcido, desarrollado en China durante los siglos VII y VIII. Fue muy apreciado en Europa dónde se reinventó. Se obtiene a partir de caolín, feldespato y cuarzo.

From that moment on, Ichabod Crane had no peace. His only concern was how to win the affections of Van Tassel’s and unparalleled incomparable daughter.

The Rival This enterprise empresa, however, was not that easy. In the ancient legends, it was relatively easy for a knight to win the heart of his lady. All he had to do was conquer a few giants, enchanters or dragons, and them climb a castle wall and rescue the lady. The knight achieved all this quite easily. Of course he asked the lady to marry him and she always accepted. But Ichabod’s case was different. He had to win the way to the heart of a coquettish country girl who had a labyrinth laberinto of caprices

caprichos and whims antojos. Each step presented new difficulties and impediments and he also had to face fearful adversaries of flesh and blood carne y sangre/carne y hueso: these were Katrina’s numerous rustic admirers, who watched each other closely and jealousy. In spite of this, her admirers were always prepared to join together against any new competitor. The most formidable of all his rivals was a strong and robust lad

muchacho called Abraham, or, according to the antojos Dutch abbreviation, Brom Van Brunt. He was the hero of the surrounding region and well-

known for his strength and hardiness

resistencia and had earned the nickname Borm Bones. He had broad shoulders and black curly hair. He had and air of arrogance and joviality. He was famous for his skill destreza/habilidad in horsemanship

equitación; he was a dexterous diestro/hábil on horseback a caballo as a Tartar. He would always win all the local horse races. In rural communities people usually respect strength and therefore Born Bones was

often the judge in local disputes. His decision was final definitiva and not many dared atrevía to challenge desafiar /cuestionar it .


He was always ready for a fight or some prank broma. However, he was more mischievous travieso/pícaro than malicious. Despite his roughness

rudeza he had a good sense of humour. He had three or four close friends, who considered him their model and together they attended every festivity in the region. Sometimes you could hear Brom and his companions galloping galopando past the farms at midnight, shouting and laughing like a troop of Cossacks. The old women, woken suddenly

despertadas de repente from their sleep would exclaim: “Ay, there goes Brom Bones and his gang banda!” The neighbours regarded him with a mixture of respect, admiration and benevolence. Whenever a prank or brawl pelea took place in the surrounding area, people always shook their heads and affirmed that Borm Bones was at the bottom of it en el fondo de ello/detrás de ello. This wild rustic hero had chosen Katrina as the object of his gallantries. It was said that despite his rough manners, she did not completely discourage desanimaba his hopes. Rival candidates began to retire. Very often suitors pretendientes would come to Katrina’s house on a Sunday evening, see Brom Bones’ horse outside and go home sadly because they did not want to meet him. This was Ichabod’s formidable rival. Many men would have withdrawn retirado from the competition but Ichabod had an adaptable and persevering character.

To have openly challenged tener que desafiar his rival would have been madness locura. Therefore en consecuencia Ichabod made his advances hizo sus

avances/requirio de amores in a quiet and gentle noble way. The fact that he was Katrina’s singing master gave him a pretext to visit the house. He did not have to worry about the interference of meddlesome entrometidos parents, which is often a problem for young lovers. Baltus Van Tassel was a reasonable man who adored his daughter and let her do what she wanted. His wife was too busy with the housework and her poultry aves de

corral to bother herself molestarse a ella misma/preocuparse with her daughter. “Ducks and geese are foolish things and must be looked after

cuidados, but girls can take care cuidar of themselves,” she wisely sabiamente said.

So while Katrina’s mother did the housework and her indulgent father sat on the porch smoking his pipe, Ichabod would court Katrina by the stream near the elm tree olmo.

I admit that I do not know how to win a woman’s heart. Some women have one door of access while others may be won in a thousand different ways.

The man who wins a thousand normal hearts is clever but the man who wins the heart of a coquette is a hero.

From the moment that Ichabod made his advances, Brom Bones’ horse was not seen outside the farmhouse on Sunday afternoons. A feud enemistad developed between Brom and the schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow.


The Dance

Things continued in this way for some time. One pleasant autumn afternoon, Ichabod was in the schoolroom. The pupils were quiet and studying intently intensamente. This calm was interrupted by a messenger. He had come with an invitation to a dance baile at Van Tassel’s that evening.

Ichabod was very excited and he made his pupils hurry with their lessons. In fact, to the delight deleite of the students, he finished classes an hour earlier than usual.

The gallant Ichabod spent gastó/dedicó at least an extra half hour getting ready preparándose. He brushed his best suit and carefully arranged his hair. He wanted to look elegant for Katrina. To impress her, he borrowed pidió prestado a horse from the farmer who he was lodged with at that time con quién estaba alojado en ese momento. His landlord casero at that time was a bad-tempered man called Hans Van Ripper, The horse was an old plough horse caballo de tiro/arado; he was a bag of bones and his mane crin and tail were tangled enredado. Despite a pesar de his appearance he still had a vicious feroz character and a devilish eye mirada diabólica. In his day, he must have been a fine buen horse. His name reflected his former anterior glory: Gunpowder Pólvora. He had been Van Ripper’s favourite horse.

Ichabod was a suitable rider jinete for a horse like Gunpowder. He rode montaba with short stirrups enredado, with made his knees touch the pommel perilla of the saddle silla de montar. His elbows stuck out enredado and he carried his whip fusta/látigo perpendicularly in his hand, like a sceptre cetro. As the horse trotted Ichabod looked like a bird flapping it s wings. He was wearing a small hat and the tails of his coat fluttered behind him. The schoolmaster mounted on the old horse was a strange sight extraña visión.

The sky was clear and calm and the leaves were chaining into their brilliant autumn colours, and the birds were preparing to fly south. Ichabod rode along happily observing this scene. As he passed the fields of Indian corn, he began to think of all the delicious treats that were waiting for him; food that would be served by Katrina’s delicate hands.

It was getting dark anocheciendo when Ichabod arrived at llegó a/es erroneo

“arrive to” Van Tassel’s farmhouse. The house was full of people. All the farmers from the surrounding region were there, accompanied by their wives, sons and daughters. They were all dressed in their best clothes.

Brom Bones, as usual, was the centre of attention. He had arrived on his fiery ardiente/fogoso horse, Daredevil Temerario/Intrépido. It was a vicious feroz animal that only he could ride. In fact, Brom did not like docile horses. He considered a well-broken bien domado horse to be unworthy indigno of a lad with spirit.

When Ichabod entered the main parlor salon principal , he saw a wonderful sight. It was not the pretty country girls dressed in their finest clothes but the delicious food on the large table. It was traditional Dutch


cooking: doughnuts rosquillas, ginger cakes tartas de jengibre and honey cakes. There were apple, peach and pumpkin pies pasteles de calabaza, and dishes of preserved fruit fruta en conserva. In addition, there were slices of ham and smoked beef buey ahumado, roast chicken and trout trucha. On the table were large bowls of milk and cream and in the middle of it was a large teapot. I would like to describe the banquet in further más detail, but I am in a hurry to continue with my story. However, as you can imagine, Ichabod Crane tried every dish.

Some men become cheerful alegre/de buen humor when they drink; Ichabod became more and more cheerful as he ate. He observed the scene with contentment satisfacción, thinking that one day all this might podría be his. He would be able podría to leave his job at the school –the possibilities were endless interminables/innumerables/infinitas.

Old Baltus Van Tassel attended his guest with good humour. His attentions were brief but warm and he invited everyone to ‘help themselves’.

Ichabod was proud of his dancing abilities as much as tanto como his singing. In spite of his thin, scarecrow

espantapájaros appearance, he danced very well. In fact, San Vitus San Vito, patron de la danza would have been proud of him. Ichabod was very happy because his partner was Katrina, who smiled graciously

whenever he paid a compliment. Brom Bones, who was very jealous, sat in a corner with an expression of bad temper genio on his face.

When the dance finished, Ichabod began talking to the older members of the community. They talked about former times tiempos

pasados/anteriores tiempos and told stories about the war. At the time of my story, this region was famous for his great men and places connected to the war. The British and American troops had passed near it and just enough time had passed so that para que each storyteller could exaggerate his tale of heroism –himself being the hero siendo él mismo el heroe.

For example there was the story of Doffue Martling, a Dutchman, who had nearly captured a British warship barco de guerra single-handed

solo/sin la ayuda de nadie, or the about and old gentleman -whose name I will not mention- who stopped a bullet with the blade of his sword la hoja de su

espada during the battle of White Plains. There were many other stories like these and all the protagonists affirmed that they had had a decisive part to play the war.

However, the war stories could not compare with the ghost stories that followed. As I have mentioned before, this region is rich in legends.


Local legends survive best in traditional communities with little emigration. In most villages, ghosts have hardly apenas time to have their first sleep and turn in their graves tumbas before their surviving friends have travelled away from the neighbourhood vecindad. When they appear at night, they do not know anybody who they can visit. This is why the long-established Dutch communities have so many ghosts.

Some of the stories told that night were about the strange cries lloros

and moans gemidos that were heard near the great tree where Major comandante del ejército/no confundir con ‘mayor`alcalde Andre was captured during the war. Some people told tales of the woman in white who haunted

rondaba/aparecía Raven Rock. She had died there in the snow, so on winter nights, before a storm tormenta, you could hear her scream grito/chillido. However, most of the stories were centred on the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. It was said that only recently he had been heard galloping across the countryside. It was also said that every night he tied up ataba his horse among the tombstones in the churchyard.

The isolated aislada situation of this church made it a favourite place for ghosts. It is on a small hill, surrounded by large elm trees. At the foot of the hill there is a stream. Over the deepest part of the stream is a wooden bridge, and both the bridge and the road that that leads conduce to it are enclosed rodeado=sorrounded by trees. This makes them dark and lugubrious even during the day. This was one of the Headless Horsemen’s favourite places, and where he was most frequently encountered.

Someone told the story of old Brower, who did not believe in ghost. He had met the Horseman one night when he was returning to Sleepy Hollow. The Horseman had forced him to get up behind montrar detrás him and they had galloped over the countryside until they reached the bridge. Suddenly the Horseman turned into se convirtió a skeleton and threw old Brower into the stream. The Horseman then galloped away as fast as a bolt of lightening relámpago/rayo.

Then Brom Bones told his fantastic story about the Horseman. One night he was returning from a revelry juerga and he was overtaken

pasado/adelantado/revasado by the Headless Horseman, who challenged

retó/desafió him to a race carrera. Bones affirmed that he had won the race but when they approached the bridge, the ghost disappeared in a flash of fire destello de luz.

All these stories made a deep impression on impresionaron profundamente a Ichabod. As usual, he told stories by his favourite author, Cotton Mather, and also many marvellous stories from his native state of Connecticut .


Finally he told of the terrifying terroríficas/no confundir con ·terrific” que significa excelente o

extraordinario además de aterrador things he had seen during his nightly walks around Sleepy Hollow.

It was late and little by little poco a poco the farmers got into their wagons carros tirados por caballos and went home. Some of the lads accompanied their sweethearts’ cariños/novias/enamoradas home; the girls mounted behind them on their horses. The sound of wagon wheels, horse’s hooves cascos/pezuñas/el singular es “hoof” and laughter risas/carcajadas echoed resonaban through the silent woods.

Ichabod had not gone home. He wanted to talk to Katrina. He was totally convinced that she would agree to marry him. I do not know what happened during their talk but something went wrong salió mal/fue

confundido. After a short time, Ichabod left the house in a sad and desolate manner. Did that girl play a coquettish trick trampa/engaño on him? Did she encourage animaba/alentaba poor Ichabod’s attentions to make Brom Bones jealous? I don not know. The schoolmaster went straight fue derecho to the stable and mounted his horse.

The Unwanted Companion

It was the midnight when Ichabod rode sadly home. The night was so quiet that he could hear a dog barking on the other side of the Hudson. There was no noise except for the occasional melancholy croak of a frog.

The school master began to think of all the legends and ghost stories that he had heard at dance. The night become darker and the stars did not shine so brightly. He felt very lonely and sad. In addition, he was approaching the place where many of these stories had occurred. He could see the frightening espantoso/aterrador tree where Major had been captured. The tree was enormous and its branches ramas almost touched the ground.

As Ichabod approached the tree he began to whistle silbar. He though that somebody answered his whistle silbido, but it was only the wind. As he came nearer, he saw something white hanging colgaba in the tree. To his relief para su alivio, it was only the moonlight resplandor de la luna shining between the branches. Suddenly he heard a groan gemido!quejido, but it was only the noise of the branches moving in the breeze brisa. He passed the tree safely sin incidentes/de manera segura but new dangers awaited him.

A small stream crossed the road about two hundred yards from the tree and ran into entraba en/se internaba a dense and swampy wood bosque

pantanoso, called Wiley’s Swamp. Where the stream entered the wood there was a group of oak robles and chestnut castaños trees. A few old logs


troncos, placed side by side, served as a bridge over the stream. This was another of Sleepy Hollow’s famous haunted places lugares encantados.

Ichabod’s heart began to beat fast as he approached the stream. He breathed deeply respiró hondo, gave his horse a few kicks espoleço varias veces

a su caballo and attempted intentó to cross the bridge quickly. Instead of en vez

de moving forward hacia adelante the old horse made a lateral movement. Ichabod pulled the reins tiró de las riendas and kicked the horse again, but this time the animal moved off se salió the path and went into the wood. The schoolmaster whipped the horse and he jumped forward. However, when Gunpowder reached the bridge he stopped suddenly and Ichabod nearly fell off cayó. Just at this moment the schoolmaster saw something huge muy grande/inmenso between the trees.

Ichabod was frightened. It was too late to turn round dar la vuelta, and besides además what chance oportunidad did he have of escaping from a ghost or evil spirit espíritu maligno?

‘Who are you?’ he asked again. Again there was no reply. Once more, he kicked Gunpowder, shut his eyes and began to

sing a psalm salmo. Just then the huge shadow moved and placed itself on the side of the road. Even though aunque=although the night was dark the schoolmaster could see an enormous horseman on a formidable black horse. The horseman jinete did no speak but kept pace mantuvo el paso with Gunpowder from the other side of the road.

Ichabod did not relish no disfrutó this strange companion. He though of Brom Bones’ story and he made Gunpowder trot faster, but the stranger also began to trot faster. Ichabod stopped his horse, hoping that the stranger would pass him, but the stranger did the same thing. The schoolmaster was terrified now and he tried to sing again but he could not because his mouth was too dry demasiado seca.

There was something sinister about his companion that he could not explain, but when they reached a small clearing in the road he realized what it was. To his horror he saw that the rider was headless and was carrying his head on the pommel of his saddle! (¡Vamos! que para hacérselo uno encima en ese momento. Si estás leyendo en tu cuarto por la noche mejor que lo dejes en este punto, te vayas a la cama y te tapes hasta las orejas)

Ichabod whipped his horse into a gallop but the phantom followed him a full speed. They reached the part of the road that turns off se desvía to Sleepy Hollow but Gunpowder galloped straight along the road that leads to the wooden bridge.

Gunpowder’s panic had given Ichabod a slight advantage but suddenly the saddle girth la cincha de la silla de montar broke. Ichabod unsuccessfully tried to hold the pommel to prevent it from slipping. He just managed to save himself falling by clasping sujetándose/agarrándose his horse around the neck. He heard the saddle trampled pisoteada by his pursuer

perseguidor . For a moment he was frightened when he thought about Hans Van Ripper’s anger ira/enfado. It was his best saddle. However, this was no time for small fears; it was difficult enough to prevent himself from falling.


Eventually finalmente, Ichabod made out distinguió/divisó/entendió the wooden bridge and the church. He remembered that this was the place where Brom Bones’ equestrian competitor had disappeared.

‘If I can reach the bridge, I am safe,’ he thought. He gave Gunpowder another kick in the ribs costillas and the horse

galloped across the bridge. Ichabod looked behind him to see if his pursuer had disappeared. To his horror he saw the phantom stand up in his stirrups estribos and throw his head at him. The schoolmaster tried to avoid the terrible missile but it hit him on the head with a horrible crash. He fell off his horse and the Headless Horseman passed over pasó por encima him like a tornado.

Ichabod’s Mysterious Disappearance

The next morning Van Ripper found his old horse –without his best saddle- grazing pastando in front of his house. Ichabod did not appear at breakfast time nor did he appear at the schoolhouse. Hans Van Ripper began to feel worried and organized a search party partida o equipo de

búsqueda. The villagers found the broken saddle on the road to the church.

They followed the horses’ hoof prints huellas de los cascos de los caballos to the bridge and found Ichabod’s had and a shattered pumpkin calabaza hecha

añicos. Then they searched investigaron/buscaron the stream but they did not find the body of the schoolmaster.


The mysterious event caused a lot of speculation at church on the following Sunday. Most people thought that Ichabod had been carried off llevado/raptado by the Headless Horseman. But as the schoolmaster was a bachelor soltero and did not owe debía anyone any money, people soon stopped worrying about him.

Shortly after his rival’s disappearance, Brom Bones married Katrina, and whenever the story of Ichabod Crane was told, he would start to laugh when the pumpkin was mentioned. This led some people to suspect that he knew more about the matter than he let on

reconocía/fingía/admitía/divulgaba. Several years after, and old farmer who had just returned from a

visit to New York said that he had heard that Ichabod Crane was still alive. Apparently the school master had left Sleepy Hollow partly through fear of the Headless Horseman, partly through fear of Hans Van Ripper and partly because of Katrina’s rejection rechazo.

The old country women, however, are the best judges jueces of these matters. To this day they maintain that Ichabod was carried away by supernatural forces. The story of the schoolmaster is a favourite tale often told around the fire on a winter night. It is said that sometimes on a summer evening Ichabod’s voice can still be heard; he is singing a melancholy psalm that mixes with the tranquil sounds of Sleepy Hollow.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: The original story and illustrations are in the public domain in the United States and in most, if not all, other countries as well. Short Story: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Author: Washington Irving, 1783–1859 First published: 1819Illustrations first published: 1863

The End

Welcome to Tarrytown!

I’m waiting for Julián Marías high school’s students who don’t do their

English homework.

Look at me!. I lost my head for speaking Spanish in my English class

This is my little joke

Documents

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - INTEF - educaLABplatea.pntic.mec.es/~msanch2/tecnoweb/ny/leyend.pdfTHE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Washington Irving 2/15 Traducciones y notas de Manuel