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Found in the Handwriting of Mr. Knickerbocker

From The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving

This postscript concludes Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, first published in 1820 as part of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crashaw, Gent. Irving frames the supernatural tale as a story heard at a civic meeting in New York, narrated by a shabby raconteur and challenged by a sceptical auditor who demands proof and moral clarity. The story-teller's reply—a mock syllogism followed by a cheerful confession that he believes none of it—encapsulates Irving's playful treatment of folklore, oral tradition, and the American appetite for the marvellous. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. It is worth reading because it raises, with wit and economy, the question of what we owe to a story: belief, moral extraction, or simply the willingness to take a joke as we find it.

Band

Silver · First-year university levelTypical starting range: adult

Length

long · about 1482 words in 4 sections · 1 picture

Source

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

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