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THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN

IS COMING FOR YOU.

THE
LEGEND
OF
Sleepy
Hollow based on the famous story by

WASHINGTON IRVING
GARY HANNA


SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • SEPTEMBER 2015 11
 CHARACTERS
Circle the character you will play. *Starred characters are major roles.

*Stage Directors 1, 2 & 3 *Katrina Van Tassel: the village Wolf

(SD1, SD2 & SD3) beauty New Schoolmaster
Knickerbocker: the storyteller *Brom Bones: the village brute Villagers: Martha, Ida, Van Ripper,
*Ichabod Crane: a schoolmaster Baltus Van Tassel: Katrina’s dad Brouwer, Jansen

AS YOU READ, What kind of person is Ichabod (startled): Why, good day, ladies.
THINK ABOUT: Brom Bones?
Ida: You are quite absorbed in your book.
Ichabod: Yes, A History of Witchcraft. The dark arts are a
SCENE 1 fascination of mine.
SD1: The lights come up on Knickerbocker standing Martha: We’ve no witches here, only ghosts.
next to a rickety wooden bridge. Ida: Did you hear the Wailing Widow last night?
SD2: Wild ducks squawk in the silver sky. A crisp wind Ichabod: No, but I did hear the wind in the trees.
rustles the fallen leaves. Martha: That wasn’t wind. That was the widow’s ghost.
Knickerbocker: I was never one for ghost stories—not She always shrieks when a terrible storm is coming.
until I happened upon a village called Sleepy Hollow. SD3: The women walk on. Ichabod looks up at the
SD3: Knickerbocker picks up a crumpled wool hat. darkening sky and shivers.
Knickerbocker: Sleepy Hollow is a drowsy, dreamy
place—a place of hauntings and superstitions. It was SCENE 2
here I heard tell of a man named Ichabod Crane. SD1: At the Van Tassels’ mansion, Ichabod has just
SD1: A lanky fellow enters, absentmindedly whistling. finished giving a singing lesson to Katrina.
His long nose is buried in a book. Katrina: Would you like to stay for tea?
Knickerbocker: Ichabod was very tall, with long arms Ichabod: I would be delighted.
and hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves. His SD2: While Katrina pours tea, Ichabod devours a slice of
head was small, with huge ears and big green eyes. honey cake. He reaches for another.

CREDITS TK
SD2: Two old women shuffle by. Katrina: So . . . are you enjoying Sleepy Hollow?
Martha: Good day, Schoolmaster. Ichabod (with his mouth full): Yes, quite.
Katrina: And where are you staying this week?
Ichabod: With the Van Rippers.

GHOSTS OF THE WAR

In 1790, when this tale
takes place, America was
a brand-new country. But
memories of the American
Revolution—and its bloody
battles—were still raw
in people’s minds. Many
ghost stories revolved
around tragedies suffered
during the war.

12 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • SEPTEMBER 2015

 Katrina: You don’t mind going from place to place, Ichabod: I can see why. His neck is the size of my waist.
carrying all your belongings? Van Ripper: You’re a worthy lad. Take my old horse,
Ichabod: Alas, that is the life of a schoolmaster. I must Gunpowder, and go to the party.
rely on the kindness of my students’ parents to house
and feed me. SCENE 4
Katrina: But don’t you get paid? SD2: Ichabod arrives at the party.
Ichabod (turning red): My wages are hardly enough for a SD3: Wide-eyed, he stares at the table laden with
loaf of bread. But I am quite rich in the mind. platters of ginger cakes, pumpkin pies,
I’ve read so many books— smoked beef, and roast chickens.
SD3: Ichabod is interrupted by the thundering SD1: Ichabod sinks his teeth into an apple
of hooves. Katrina leaps up. pastry. Sugar falls down the front of his suit.
Katrina: That must be Brom Bones, come to SD2: Just then, a man—so broad-shouldered
take me riding. His black horse Daredevil is Washington Irving that he must turn sideways to fit through the
the finest in the valley! (1783-1859) was door frame—struts into the room.
born at the end
of the American SD3: He and Ichabod lock eyes.
SCENE 3 Revolution. He was Ichabod (coldly): Good evening, Brom Bones.
America’s first
BY GARY HANNA; ANDREW HOWE/GETTY IMAGES (WASHINGTON IRVING)

SD1: Ichabod eats dinner with his host, famous writer and Brom (coldly): Ichabod.
Mr. Van Ripper. is still widely read Martha: That Brom Bones looks ready
today. Go, Irving!
Ichabod: Katrina and her father are having a for a fight.
party tonight. Should I attend? Ida: Come, now. Brom is more mischievous than mean.
Van Ripper: Of course. Why wouldn’t you? SD1: Brom walks up to Katrina.
Ichabod: Well, Brom Bones will be there. He said if he Brom: What is that gangly grasshopper doing here?
caught me near Katrina, he’d flatten me like a pancake. Katrina: The schoolmaster? He is an honored guest.
Van Ripper (laughing): Brom may be rough, but he’s full Brom: Ha! Honored guest? He’s got dinner plates where
of good humor. his ears should be and shovels for feet.
Ichabod: I am merely giving Katrina singing lessons. I Katrina: Oh Brom, you’re just jealous.
cannot deny, of course, her many charms.
Van Ripper: And that she stands to inherit a large estate. SCENE 5
CREDITS TK

Ichabod: Shouldn’t Brom have some competition? SD2: The guests dance merrily to the lively

ILLUSTRATION

Van Ripper: Once he began courting Katrina, no other sounds of a fiddle.

suitor dared come near.

SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • SEPTEMBER 2015 13

Ichabod: Dear Katrina, may I have this dance? Ichabod (gulping): What happened next?
SD3: Katrina glances slyly at Brom. Brouwer: How we galloped—over bush and bramble,
Katrina: Why certainly, Mr. Crane. hill and swamp. We reached the old church bridge.
SD1: As Ichabod dances, his long limbs fly around the That’s when the Horseman . . .
room like an octopus in a tornado. Ichabod: What? When the Horseman what?!
SD2: Katrina laughs with delight. As she spins, she sees Brouwer: He turned into a skeleton, threw me into the
Brom Bones brooding in the corner. brook, and with a clap of thunder (claps hands loudly),
sprang over the treetops!
SCENE 6 Ichabod: Oh my!
SD3: Later that night, Ichabod joins a group of guests by Brouwer (shivering): I will never forget it.
the fire. Brom: I too have seen the Headless
Martha: In these parts, Mr. Crane, you must take Horseman. I was coming home one night
care to live a decent life. Those who don’t are when he overtook me.
carried away by ghouls in the dead of night. Jansen: What did you do?
Jansen: Oh yes, many ghosts haunt Brom: Rather than give in to terror,
Sleepy Hollow. There’s the old I offered to race him
Dutchman who walks the docks, for a bowl of punch.
shouting for a musket— That’s right, a bowl of punch!
Baltus: —and the woman in white. You can Ida: Well, did you win?
hear her crying in the very spot where she Brom: I would have won, but just as we came
froze to death in the snow— to the old church bridge, the Horseman
Jansen: But no ghost compares to the vanished in a flash of fire.
Headless Horseman. The British hired Martha: Of course! It is said that the
Ichabod (trembling): The headless who? 30,000 soldiers Horseman cannot pass the old church bridge.
from the region
Jansen: The Headless Horseman. He is said that later became Brom (looking at Ichabod): So if the
to be the ghost of a Hessian soldier whose Germany to fight Horseman comes after you, head for the
in the American
head was blown clean off by a cannonball. Revolution. These bridge. If you can but reach the bridge, you
Martha: His body is buried in the churchyard. mercenaries were will be safe.
called “Hessians.”
Every night he rides forth in search of his They were known
head. for their cruelty. SCENE 7
Ida: He cannot rest until he finds it, so take SD3: On his way home that night, Ichabod,
care not to be on the roadway at the witching hour! pale as a tombstone, trots along on Gunpowder. The
Baltus: I have seen his horse tethered among the graves shadows are long in the moonlight.
in the churchyard. Wolf: Ah-rooooooo!
Brouwer: Well, I once met him on the road. I called to SD1: Ichabod flinches.
him: “Show me your face, good man.” Ida (offstage): Take care not to be on the roadway at the
SD1: The room is silent. All are listening, rapt. witching hour!
Brouwer: When he turned, there was nothing there— Ichabod: Keep it together, Ichabod.
ILLUSTRATION BY GARY HANNA

only the stump of a neck. SD2: Suddenly, there is a rustling in the thicket.
Ichabod: Heavens! SD3: Something huge appears in the shadows.
Brouwer: He pulled me up onto his horse. Martha (offstage): Every night he rides forth in search of
SD2: Brouwer takes a bite out of his apple and chews it his head.
slowly. SD1: Ichabod’s hands tremble as he clutches the reins.

14 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • SEPTEMBER 2015

 SD1: Ichabod cracks his whip
wildly in the air.
Ichabod: Hyaw, hyaw! Come
MASSACHUSETTS
NEW YORK
Hudson on, Gunpowder!

r
River

Hu d s o n R ive
Valley SD2: Gunpowder’s hooves
pound the bridge. Ichabod
CONNECTICUT
looks back again, expecting
er
iv the Headless Horseman to
0 50 miles aR Sleepy Hollow
ha n n
ue Tarry Town vanish in a clap of thunder.
sq
Su

New York Instead, he sees the ghoul

P E N N S Y L VA N I A
NEW Atlantic raise an arm and hurl its
JERSEY
Ocean head . . . at him!
Philadelphia Ichabod: Ahhhhhhhhhh!
MARYLAND SD3: All goes dark.

SCENE 8
Washington D. C.
under construction DELAWARE SD1: Several months later,
guests gather for the wedding
of Brom Bones and Katrina
CITIES OF DEATH Irving may have gotten his idea for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Van Tassel.
when he was 15. An epidemic of deadly yellow fever was spreading through the cities, so SD2: The villagers sit by the
his parents sent him from their home in Manhattan to a friend’s house in Tarry Town, a fire telling tales to the new
small village on the Hudson River. Irving fell in love with the Hudson River Valley, as the
area was known, including its Dutch-American people and their many ghost stories. schoolmaster.
Brouwer: The next morning,
Ichabod: Who’s there? Gunpowder wandered home, but Ichabod Crane did
SD2: The figure is mounted on a powerful black horse. not return.
Ichabod: I say, s-s-s-sir, who are you? New Schoolmaster: What happened to him?
SD3: The figure does not respond. Ichabod rains a Jansen: Nobody knows. A search led to the bridge.
STEVE STANKIEWICZ (MAP); NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (THE KNICKS)

shower of kicks upon Gunpowder, and the horse Ichabod’s crumpled wool hat was found on the bank of
takes off. the brook, and close beside it, a shattered
SD1: When Ichabod looks back over his pumpkin, of all things.
shoulder, he is horror-struck by what he sees SD3: Brom Bones chuckles to himself.
chasing him. Ida: Mr. Crane’s body was never found.
Whole Class: The Headless Horseman! Martha: Another victim of the Headless
SD2: The head that should be resting on his “Knickerbocker” was Horseman.
a term for Dutch
shoulders hangs from the saddle in the form Baltus: It is said that on quiet evenings, you
settlers, based on
of a fiery jack-o’-lantern! the knee-length can hear the ghost of Ichabod Crane whistling
pants they wore.
Ichabod: Fly, Gunpowder, fly! near the schoolhouse.
Thanks to Irving,
SD3: Away they dash, sparks flashing under “Knickerbocker” SD1: Knickerbocker walks onstage.
came to mean a New
Gunpowder’s hooves. Knickerbocker (holding the crumpled wool
Yorker. (And the
Brom (offstage): If you can but reach the New York Knicks hat): Others suspected that perhaps Brom
basketball team
bridge, you will be safe. Bones knew much more of this matter than
was originally the
Ichabod: The church bridge! Knickerbockers!) he chose to tell. •

SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • SEPTEMBER 2015 15

 ESSAY

If You Lived in Sleepy Hollow

It’s 1790. You’re a 12-year-old boy. And you kind of smell. BY ADEE BRAUN

I
t’s dark outside when entertains you with thrilling the woods, pretending to be
you wake up. Your two stories about General George soldiers of the Continental
little brothers are still Washington. You remember the Army. Now that you’re older,
sleeping on the cramped blasting cannons and ringing bells your time in the woods is spent
straw mattress you share. when Washington was elected fishing and hunting with your
You shake them awake, president last year—the first dad. But there’s no time for
then groggily get dressed. president of the brand-new United hunting or fishing today.
Your clothes smell as bad as States of America!
they look: rough brown pants, A Sweet Treat
a grimy flax shirt, a vest of Working the Land At the day’s end, your family
simple wool that your sister Your mother calls you in Dutch gathers for a simple meal of
made, and a coat to keep out to come eat breakfast. (Your family fresh milk and bread, roasted
the autumn chill. Your leather came here from the Netherlands meat, and a salad with vinegar.
boots are caked in mud and 130 years ago when New York If you are lucky, you will get a
cow dung. was still a Dutch colony, and your dessert of homemade koekjes,
Normally you would be family speaks English and Dutch.) tasty little flat cakes, or krullen,
heading to school, but it’s After you eat, you grab your sickle delicious deep-fried dough.
harvest time, and your whole and head to the fields, which glow After supper, you and your
family must pitch in. After the in the pale morning light. Reaping brothers sit by the fire, telling
harvest, your father will take is hard work, and by noon, you’re ghost stories. If she isn’t too
the wheat from your farm tired and sweaty. tired, your mother will sing an
downriver to sell at the market Thankfully, it’s time for a well- old Dutch folk song.
in New York City. earned meal of bread, turnips, As a bright moon rises,
You miss going to your one- cabbage, and porridge with grated you drag your weary body to
room schoolhouse. You like cheese that your mother makes bed. You drift off to sleep to
learning about the American from the milk of your cows. (She the sound of the wheat fields
Revolution and all the battles keeps the best cheeses to sell at rustling in the wind. •
that were fought in the Hudson market.) You wash it all down with
River Valley, where you live. weak beer. This essay portrays what life was
like in the Hudson River Valley in
Sometimes your teacher When you were little, you 1790. What information in the
comes over for dinner and and your friends would play in essay is reflected in the play?
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/GETTY IMAGES

WRITING CONTEST
What do you think happened to Ichabod Crane? Answer this question in a short essay. Support
your ideas with text evidence from the play. Send your essay to SLEEPY HOLLOW CONTEST.
Five winners will each get The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. See page 2 for details.
GET THIS
ACTIVITY
ONLINE

16 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • SEPTEMBER 2015