Van Wempel's Goose

Charles Montgomery Skinner (Aug 4, 1844 - Jun 30, 1928) was an American writer who published myths and legends collection books. His dream was to make American folklore heritage more glorious. Skinner’s writings were wide ranging.  His career in literature and journalism included editorship of the Brooklyn Eagle. His study of the paper’s famed Walt Whitman appeared in the Atlantic Monthly.  He also commented on turn-of-the-century America’s turbulent economy in Workers and the Trusts and American Communes.

Van Wempel’s Goose is a short story by Charles M. Skinner, included in Myths and Legends of Our Own Land - Volume 02: Isle of Manhattoes and nearby". Allow us to introduce Nicholas Van Wempel, of Flatbush: fat, phlegmatic, rich, and henpecked. He simply follows the currents of his life. But on New Year’s Eve his life will twist in a way no one expected. And what does a goose have to do with it? Read this short piece and find out.