Rip van Winkle, AEn del af Easy readersaf Washington Irving

The American War of Independence was fought from 1775 to 1783. General George Washington became the first president of the United States in 1789.

These facts, and an old German folk-tale, formed the material from which Washington Irving made up his tale of Rip Van Winkle, who fell asleep in 1765 and woke up in 1785.