NCERT Book Class 5 English Marigold Rip Van Winkle

Many years ago, at the foothills of the Kaatskill (Kat-skill) mountains, was a little village. In the village lived a simple, good-natured fellow named Rip Van Winkle. He was a kind neighbour, ready to help anyone. Everyone in the village liked him. The children of the village shouted with joy whenever they saw him because he played with them, he taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them long stories.

The only problem with Rip was that he was very lazy. He did no work on his own farm and just idled away his time. His fences were falling to pieces. His cow was going astray. Weeds grew on his farm. Rip's constant companion was his dog, named Wolf. To avoid work, he would walk away into the forest with his dog.

One day, Rip just walked on and on and reached the highest part of the mountains. It was late in the afternoon when he reached there. Tired after his long climb, he lay down and began daydreaming. It was soon evening and he realised it would be night by the time he reached his village.