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To escape her shouting, he often went to a nearby inn to relax and
exchange stories with his friends. The forest was the only other place
where Rip felt safe from his wife’s shouting.

One wintry afternoon, Rip and Wolf
inn went into the hills, again, to escape Where did Rip
whole day hunting for squirrels, though they did not ? meet the little
Dame’s shouting. They spent the

catch anything. When it was time to return home, man?
they heard a voice calling Rip.

They thought it was Dame until they saw a small man dressed in strange clothes.

The little man was carrying a heavy drum and asked for Rip’s help. Rip hurried to help him.

As Rip and the little man carried the drum, they heard a loud booming
sound like thunder. After walking for quite a while, they came to an
open field, where Rip saw many little bearded men playing a game

ninepins called ‘ninepins’.
The noisy game was being played with huge balls that made a
booming sound when they hit one another. Rip recognised the sound
that he had been hearing all along. The sound of their bowling echoed
throughout the mountains.
echoed
The drum that Rip had helped to carry was filled with a tasty drink,
which the small men shared with Rip. After drinking three full glasses, he began to feel
sleepy. The Sun had gone down and the noise of the bowling continued, as Rip fell
asleep in the moonlight.

When Rip woke up, he was surprised! Wolf was gone, Rip’s
clothes were tattered and torn, his gun had rusted, and his
beard had grown – a foot in length! He looked around to
tattered see if he could find the little bearded men, but he could rusted
not recognise the place. Rip decided to go home, though
he knew he would be scolded by his wife for being careless again!

When Rip entered his village, he stopped in surprise. There were many new buildings.
The children of the village were curious and gathered around him, whispering. He did
not recognise any of them. He went to his own house and found it empty, silent.

He called out his wife’s name and the names of his children, but no one answered.

The house looked lonely and empty. Now even more confused than before, Rip
walked through town to the inn. However, the old inn was gone. There was a bigger,
newer inn in its place.

Rip Van Winkle 75

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