In “Rip Van Winkle”, Washington Irving repeatedly describes Rip as idle, and further proves this description by telling the reader that he had an “insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor” (Irving, 63) which we read more about throughout the story. It was Rip’s idleness that led him and his dog, Wolf, to the Catskill Mountains, where he encounters the Catskill gnomes, the dead crew of the long dead Henry Hudson, who come to the Catskill Mountains every 20 years to guard the land that Hudson once explored. The gnomes offer him a drink, which he finds absolutely delectable, and drinks until he passes out. When he wakes, he finds that his gun that his gun encrusted with rust, and Wolf gone. When Rip tries to call after Wolf he gets
