MOSAIC: voices from Polson High School

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Be honest. Be kind. Be temperate.

Rip Van Winkle and the Changes He Went Through--Jessica Huntley

Rip Van Winkle went through many changes in his life. He played with the children and everyone in the town knew him well. “The children of the village too would shout with joy whenever he approached. He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them stories of ghosts, witches, and Indians. Whenever he went dodging about the village he was surrounded by a troop of them hanging on his skirts, clambering on his back and playing a thousand tricks on him with impunity; and not a dog would bark at him throughout their neighborhood.” Page 156, Column 1, Paragraph 1. However, suddenly, twenty years has passed while he slumbered and when he returns to the town, he finds astonishing facts. “He had now entered the skirts of the village. A troop of strange children ran at his heels, hooting after him and pointing at his grey beard. The dogs too, not one of which he recognized for an old acquaintance, barked at him as he passed. The very village was alteredit was larger and more populous.” Page 160, Column 2, Paragraph 3. He used to know everyone in the town, but now, he knows no one. The dogs used to never bark at him, but now, they all bark at him. He used to be friends with King George III, but now, congress has been established and those who call the King their ally are shunned and called a “Tory.” Poor Rip searched around the town and noticed the different fashions and that his old house was obstructed and his family was to be found no where.