English Original
One cold winter night, early in the New Year, a Dutchman left the tavern in Tarrytown and started walking home to the nearby hollow. His path took him past the old Sleepy Hollow cemetery, where a headless Hessian soldier was buried. At midnight, he neared the graveyard. The week's warm weather had melted most of the snow. It was a moonless night, and his lantern provided the only light.
The Dutchman was nervous, recalling the rumors of a galloping ghost he'd heard at the tavern. He stumbled along, humming for courage. Suddenly, he saw a light rise from the cemetery ground. He stopped, heart pounding. Before his startled eyes, a white mist burst forth from an unmarked grave and formed into a large horse carrying a headless rider.
As the horse charged at a full gallop, the Dutchman screamed and fled, running for a bridge—knowing spirits avoid running water. He stumbled, fell, and rolled into a patch of melting snow. The headless rider thundered past, allowing the man a second look: the ghost wore a Hessian commander's uniform.
After the ghost vanished, the Dutchman waited a full hour before crawling from the bushes and heading home. Fortifying himself with schnapps, he told his wife. By the next noon, the story spread through Tarrytown. The townsfolk were divided: some believed the ghost roamed at night searching for its head; others thought the Hessian soldier rose to lead a charge up nearby Chatterton Hill, unaware the British already held it.
Whatever the reason, the Headless Horseman has roamed the roads near Tarrytown on dark nights ever since.
中文翻译
新年伊始的一个寒冷冬夜，一位荷兰人离开塔利镇的小酒馆，步行返回附近山谷的家。他的路途经过古老的睡谷公墓，那里埋葬着一名无头的黑森士兵。午夜时分，他接近了墓地。一周的温暖天气已融化了大部分积雪。这是一个没有月亮的夜晚，他的提灯是唯一的光源。
荷兰人很紧张，想起了在酒馆听到的关于一个奔腾鬼魂的传闻。他跌跌撞撞地走着，哼着歌给自己壮胆。突然，他看到一束光从墓地地面升起。他停下脚步，心脏狂跳。在他惊恐的注视下，一团白雾从一个无名的坟墓中喷涌而出，化作一匹骏马，驮着一名无头骑士。
当那匹马全速冲来时，荷兰人尖叫着逃跑，奔向一座桥——他知道鬼魂不愿穿过流水。他绊了一跤，摔倒在地，滚进一片正在融化的雪中。无头骑士从他身边轰鸣而过，让他得以再看一眼：那鬼魂穿着一身黑森指挥官的制服。
鬼魂消失后，荷兰人足足等了一个小时，才从灌木丛中爬出来回家。他喝了点杜松子酒壮胆，然后把这件事告诉了妻子。第二天中午，这个故事就传遍了塔利镇。镇民们意见不一：一些人认为鬼魂在夜间游荡是为了寻找它的头颅；另一些人则认为那个黑森士兵从坟墓中起身，是为了率领士兵向附近的查特顿山冲锋，却不知道英国人已经占领了那里。
无论原因为何，从那时起，无头骑士便一直在漆黑的夜晚于塔利镇附近的道路上徘徊。