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 The famous Robin Hood, whose real name was 
 Robert Fitzooth, and who flourished during the reigns 
 of Henry the Second and Richard Coeur de Lion, 
 was born in the town of Locksley, in Nottinghamshire, 
 about the year 1160. He was a handsome youth, and 
 the best archer in the county, and regularly bore away 
 the prizes at all the archery meetings, being able to 
 strike a deer five hundred yards off. In truth, he was 
 just fit to be one of the royal archers, and would no 
 doubt have turned out better, had not his uncle been 
 persuaded by the monks of Fountain Abbey to leave all 
 his property to the church, and thus poor Robin being 
 sent adrift into the world, took refuge in Sherwood 
 forest, where he met with several other youths, who 
 soon formed themselves into a band under his leader- 
 ship, and commenced leading the life of outlaws. 
 Robin Hood and his men adopted a uniform of Lin- 
 coln green, with a scarlet cap, and each man was armed 
 with a dagger and a basket-hilted sword, and a bow in 
 his hand, and a quiver slung on his back, while the 
 Captain always had a bugle horn with him to summon 
 his followers about him. 
 
 One clay when Ptobin Hood set out alone in hopes 
 of meeting with some adventure, he reached a brook 
 over which a narrow plank was laid to serve for a bridge, 
 
KOBIN HOOD. 
 
 and just as he Was going to cross it, a tall and hand- 
 some stranger appeared on the other side, and as 
 neither seemed disposed to give way, they met in the 
 
 middle of the bridge. 
 
 " Go back," cried the stranger to Robin Hood, " or 
 
 it will be the worse for you." 
 
 1 &(* 
 
 But Robin Hood laughed at the idea of his giving way 
 to anybody, and proposed they should each take an oak 
 branch, and fight it out, and that whoever could man- 
 age to throw the other into the brook, should win 
 the day. Accordingly they set to in right earnest, 
 and after thrashing each other well, the stranger gave 
 
 immran 
 
BOBIN HOOD. 
 
 Robin Hood a blow on his head, which effectually 
 pitched him into the water. When llobin Hood had 
 waded back to the bank, he put his bugle to his lips, 
 and blew several blasts till the forest rang again, and 
 his followers came leaping from all directions to see 
 what their Captain wanted. When he had told them 
 how he had been served by the stranger, they would 
 fain have ducked him, but Robin Hood who admired 
 his bravery, proposed to him to join their band. 
 
 " Here's my hand on it," cried the stranger, de- 
 lighted at the proposal. ci Though my name is John 
 Little, you shall find I can do great things." 
 
 But Will Stutely, one of Robin's merrymen, insisted 
 upon it that he must be re-christened, so a feast was 
 held, a barrel of ale broached, and the new comer's 
 name was changed from John Little to Little John, 
 which nickname, seeing that he w r as near seven feet 
 high, was a perpetual subject for laughter. 
 
 Not long after this, as Robin Hood sat one morning 
 by the way-side, trimming his bow and arrows, there 
 rode by a butcher with a basket of meat, who was 
 hastening to market. After bidding him good morrow, 
 Robin asked what he would take for the horse and the 
 basket 1 The butcher, somewhat surprised, answered 
 he would not care to sell them for less than four silver 
 marks. u Do but throw your greasy frock into the 
 
KOBIN HOOD. 
 
 bargain,'' said Robin, "and here's the money." 
 Delighted at having concluded so e-ood a bargain, the 
 butcher lost no time in dismounting and throwing off 
 his smock frock, which the outlaw instantly put on 
 over his clothes, and then galloped away to Nottingham. 
 On reaching the town, Robin Hood put up his horse 
 at an inn, and then went into the market, and uncover- 
 ing his basket, began to sell its contents about five 
 
 times cheaper than all the other butchers; for Robin 
 Hood neither knew nor cared about the price usually 
 
•robin Hoor; 
 
 paid for meat, and it amused him vastly to see his 
 
 stall surrounded by customers. The other butchers 
 
 could not at first understand why everybody flocked to 
 
 purchase his goods in preference to their' s, but when 
 
 they heard that he had sold a leg of pork for a shilling, 
 
 they consulted together, and agreed that he must be 
 
 some rich man's son who was after a frolic, or else a 
 
 downright madman, and that they had better try 
 
 and learn something more about him, or else he would 
 
 ruin their business. So when the market was over, 
 
 one of them invited Robin Hood to dine with their 
 
 company. The Sheriff of Nottingham presided at the 
 
 head of the table, while at the other end sat the 
 
 innkeeper. The outlaw played his part as well as the 
 
 rest of them, and when the dishes were removed, he 
 
 called for more wine, telling them all to drink as much 
 
 as they could carry, and he would pay the reckoning. 
 
 The Sheriff then turned to Robin Hood, and asked 
 
 him whether he had any horned beasts to sell, for he 
 
 was a miser, and hoped to profit by the new butcher's 
 
 w r ant of experience, and drive a good bargain with him. 
 
 Robin Hood replied he had some two or three 
 
 hundreds ; whereupon the Sheriff said that as he wanted 
 
 a few heads of cattle, he would like to ride over and 
 
 look at them that same day. So Robin Hood flung 
 
 down a handful of silver on the table, by way of 
 
HOBIN HOOD. 
 
 farewell to his astonished companions, and set out for 
 Sherwood forest with the Sheriff, who had mounted 
 his palfrey, and provided himself with a bag of gold 
 for his purchase. The outlaw was so full of jokes and 
 merriment as they went along, that the Sheriff thought 
 he had never fallen in with a pleasanter fellow. On a 
 sudden, however, the Sheriff recollected that the woods 
 were infested by Robin Hood and his band, and he 
 said to his companion he hoped they would not meet 
 with any of them, to which he only answered by a 
 loud laugh. Presently they reached the forest when 
 a herd of deers crossed their path. " How do you 
 like my horned beasts, Master Sheriff?' enquired 
 Robin. " To tell you the truth," replied the Sheriff, 
 " I only half like your company, and wish myself 
 away from hence. " Then Robin Hood put his bugle 
 to his mouth and blew three blasts, when about a 
 hundred men with Little John at their head imme- 
 diately surrounded them, and the latter enquired what 
 his master wanted. " I have brought the Sheriff of 
 Nottingham to dine with us," said Robin Hood. " He 
 is welcome," quoth Little John, "and I hope he will 
 pay well for his dinner.' : They then took the bag of gold 
 from the luckless Sheriff, and spreading a cloak on the 
 grassy they counted out three hundred pounds, after 
 
 
i wa^m 
 
 HOBIN HOOD, 
 
 which Robin asked him if he would like some venison 
 for dinner. But the Sheriff told him to let him go, or 
 he would rue the day; so the outlaw desired his 
 best compliments to his good dame, and wished him 
 a pleasant journey home. But if Robin loved a joke, 
 he often did a good turn to those who needed his assist- 
 Thus, he lent four hundred golden pounds to 
 
 ance. 
 
 •ox*:V~ ~ - 
 
 Sir Rychard o' the Lee, who had mortgaged his lands 
 of Wierysdalc for that sum to St. Mary's Abbey, and 
 
ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 who happened to pass through Sherwood forest on his 
 way to York, to beg the abbot to grant him another 
 year. It o bin Hood, moreover, bid Little John accom- 
 pany him as his squire. When they reached the city, 
 the superior was seated in his hall, and declared to the 
 brethren that if Sir Ilychard did not appear before sun- 
 set his lands would be forfeited. Presently the knight 
 of Wierysdale came in and pretended to beg for mercy, 
 but the proud abbot spurned him, when Sir Ilychard 
 flung- the gold at his feet and snatched away the deed, 
 telling him if he had shown a little christian mercy he 
 should not only have returned the money, but made a 
 present to the abbey. And, indeed, the monks had to 
 rue their mercilessness in the end, as Robin Hood levied 
 a toil of eight hundred pounds upon them as they once 
 passed through Sherwood forest, which enabled him to 
 forgive Sir Rychard's debt, when that trusty knight 
 came to discharge it at the appointed time. 
 
 Another time as llobin Hood was roaming through 
 the forest, he saw a handsome young man, in a very 
 elegant suit who was passing over the plain, singing 
 blithely as he went. On the following morning he 
 was surprised to see the same young man coming 
 along with disordered clothes and dishevelled hair, 
 and sighing deeply at every step, and saying : " Alack ! 
 
KOBIN HOOD. 
 
 and well-a-day ! ,? Robin Hood having sent one of 
 his men to fetch him, enquired what lay so heavy on 
 his heart, and why he was so gladsome yesterday and 
 so sorry to day. The young man pulled out his purse, 
 and showed him a ring, saying : " I bought this yes- 
 terday to marry a maiden I have courted these seven 
 long years, and this morning she is gone to church to 
 wed another." " Does she love you?" said Robin. 
 "She has told me so a hundred times," answered 
 Allen-a-Dale, for such was the youth's name. " Tut 
 man ! then she is not worth caring for, if she be so 
 fickle!" cried Robin Hood. "But she does not love 
 him," interrupted Allen-a-Dale, " he is an old cripple 
 quite unfit for such a lovely lass." " Then why does she 
 marry him?" enquired Robin Hood. "Because the old 
 knight is rich, and her parents insist upon it, and have 
 scolded and raved at her till she is as meek as a lamb." 
 " And where is the wedding to take place ? " said Robin. 
 " At our parish, five miles from hence," said Allen, 
 " and the Bishop of Hereford, who is the bridegroom's 
 brother, is to perform the ceremony. " 
 
 Then without more ado, Robin Hood dressed himself 
 up as a harper with a flowing white beard, and a dark 
 coloured mantle, and bidding twenty-four of his men 
 follow at a distance, he entered the church and took his 
 
KOBIN HOOD. 
 
 place near the altar. Presently the old knight made 
 his appearance, hobbling along, and handing in a maiden 
 as fair as day, all tears and blushes, accompanied 
 by her young companions strewing flowers. " This 
 is not a fit match," said Robin Hood aloud, " and I 
 forbid the marriage." And then, to the astonishment 
 of the Bishop and of all present, he blew a blast on 
 his horn, when four and twenty archers came leaping 
 into the churchyard, and entered the building. Fore- 
 most amongst these was Allen-a-Dale, who presented 
 his bow to Robin Hood. The outlay/ by this time had 
 cast off his cloak and false beard, and turning to the 
 bride, said, " Now, pretty one, tell me freely whom 
 you prefer for a husband— this gouty old knight, or one 
 of these bold young fellows?" " Alas !" said the 
 young maid, casting down her eyes, " Allen-a-Dale has 
 courted me for seven long years, and he is the man I 
 would choose." " Then now my good lord Bishop," 
 said Robin, "prithee unite this loving pair before we 
 leave the church. " "That cannot be," said the Bishop, 
 " the law requires they should be asked three times in 
 the church." " If that is all," quoth Robin Hood, 
 " we'll soon settle that matter." Then, pulling off the 
 Bishop's gown, he dressed Little John up in it, and 
 gave him the book and bid him ask them seven times 
 
ROBIN HOOP. 
 
 in the church, less three should not be enough. The 
 people could not help laughing, but none attempted to 
 forbid the bans, for the bishop and his brother were 
 glad to slink out of the church. Robin Hood gave 
 away the maiden, and the whole company had a venison 
 dinner in Sherwood forest ; and from that day Allen- 
 a-Dale was a staunch friend to Robin Hood as long as 
 he lived. 
 
 Robin Hood had often heard tell of the prowess of 
 a certain Friar Tuck, who, having been expelled from 
 Fountain's Abbey for his irregular conduct, lived in a 
 rude hut he had built himself amidst the woods, and 
 who was said to wield a quarter-staff and let fly an 
 arrow better than any man in Christendom. So being 
 anxious to see how far this was true, Robin set off one 
 morning for Fountain's Dale, where he found the friar 
 rambling on the bank of the river Skell. The friar 
 was a burly man at least six feet high, with a broad 
 chest, and an arm fit for a blacksmith. The outlaw 
 walked up to him, saying : " Carry me over this water, 
 thou brawny friar, or thou hast not an hour to live." 
 The friar tucked up his gown, and carried him over 
 without a word, but when Robin seemed to be going, 
 he cried out: "Stop, my fine fellow, and carry me over 
 this water, or it shall breed you pain." Robin did so, 
 
ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 and then said ; " As you are double my weight, it is 
 fair I should have two rides to your one, so carry me 
 back again." The friar again took Robin on his back, 
 but on reaching the middle of the stream he pitched 
 him into the water, saying : " Now my fine fellow, let's 
 see whether you'll sink or swim." Robin swam to 
 the bank, and said: "I see you are worthy to be my 
 match ; " and then summoning his foresters by a blast 
 of his busle, he told the friar he was Robin Hood, and 
 asked him to join his band. "If there's an archer 
 amongst you that can beat me at the long bow, then 
 
 **\ 
 
 I'll be your man," quoth Friar Tuck. Then pointing 
 
H0BI1S" HOOD* 
 
 to a hawk on the wing, he added : " I'll kill it, and 
 he who can strike it again before it falls, will be the 
 better man of the two." Little John accepted the 
 challenge. The shafts flew off, and when the dead 
 bird was picked up, it was found that the friar's arrow 
 had pinioned the hawk's wings to his sides, and that 
 Little John's had transfixed it from breaslt to back. So 
 Friar Tuck owned himself outdone, and joined Robin's 
 merry men. 
 
 The whole country now rang with Robin Hood's 
 lawless pranks, when one morning six priests passed 
 through Sherwood forest, on richly caparisoned horses, 
 and thinking a good prize was in the wind, the out- 
 laws bid them halt, and Friar Tuck seized the bridle 
 of the one whom he judged to be the abbot, and bid 
 him pay the toll. The abbot got down and gave him 
 a cuff that made his ears tingle, then Robin flung 
 him on his knees and plucked him by the beard. Quoth 
 Friar Tuck : " We don't take that sort of coin. " But 
 we are going on a message from King Richard," said 
 the abbot. Then Robin bid the Friar desist, saying : 
 " God save the King, and confound all his foes ! " 
 " You are a noble fellow," quoth the abbot, " and if 
 you and your men will give up this lawless life and 
 become my archers, you shall have the King's pardon." 
 
1 
 
 ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 He then opened his gown, and Robin Hood and his 
 archers, guessing at once that Richard himself stood 
 
 before them, bent their knees to their liege lord, crying : 
 " Long live King Richard." 
 
 So Robin Hood accompanied the King to London, 
 followed by fifty of his most faithful adherents, and 
 here he assumed the title of Earl of Huntingdon, but 
 he soon grew tired of the confinement of court, and 
 asked permission to revisit the woods. The King 
 
PvOBIN HOOD. 
 
 granted him seven days, but when cnce he breathed 
 the pure air of Sherwood again, he could not tear 
 himself away ; and when from old habit he sounded 
 his bugle, he was surprised to see the signal answered 
 by fourscore youths. Little John soon joined him, 
 and he again became the leader of a band. King 
 Richard was so enraged on hearing this, that he sent 
 two hundred soldiers to reduce the rebel, and a des- 
 perate fight took place on a plain in the forest, when 
 Robin Hood was wounded by an arrow, and removed 
 to Kirkley's Nunnery, where the treacherous prioress 
 suffered him to bleed to death. Seeing his end fast 
 approaching, he called to Little John, and begged him 
 to remove him to the woods, and there poor Robin Hood 
 died as he had lived, beneath the green trees, and was 
 buried according to his wish. The stone that marked 
 the spot bore the following inscription : — 
 
 tc Here, underneath this little stone, 
 Lies Robert, Earl of Huntingdon. 
 Ne'er archer was as he so good ; 
 And people called him { Robin Hood.' 
 Such outlaws as he and his men 
 Will England never see again." 
 
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