Knjigice
Fairy tale · Classic fairy tales
Robin Hood
The story of the merry outlaw of Sherwood Forest
Also in: Robin Hood (Slovenian) · Robin Hood (Slovak)
In Sherwood Forest lived Robin Hood, the finest archer in all England. He wore a green tunic and a cap with a russet feather, and under a great oak he camped with his merry band. From the rich, who squeezed the last penny out of poor folk, they took the purse — and left it quietly at a poor man's door. And the forest rang with laughter.
1
One morning Robin came to a narrow log across a stream. From the far side a giant of a man stepped onto it, a head taller than anybody. "Stand aside, little man!" — "Stand aside yourself!" Instead of arrows they seized long staves, and it began: crack, crack, crack! The staves rattled like hail on a roof, and the birds fled in fright.
2
Whack! The giant's staff caught Robin, and Robin went straight into the stream. He came up soaked, wiped his face — and roared with laughter. "You've won!" The big man reached down a hand and hauled him out. "They call me Little John." — "Little?" laughed Robin. From that day the two were never apart.
3
At another stream Robin met a round friar sitting on a stone, eating a pie. "Carry me across, brother!" The friar took him on his back and, right in the middle — splash! — let go. "Now we're even," grinned Friar Tuck. Robin spat out the water, shook himself like a dog and invited him into the band.
4
In Nottingham the Sheriff proclaimed a contest: the best archer would win a golden arrow. "It's a trap," said Little John. "The Sheriff is waiting for you." Robin only smiled. He pulled on a patched beggar's cloak, smeared ash on his face and hobbled in through the town gate. Nobody knew him.
5
Arrow after arrow flew into the target. At last the Sheriff's finest bowman struck the very centre. The crowd cheered. Then the ragged beggar stepped forward, drew his bow — and his arrow split the first one clean in two. The Sheriff had to hand over the golden arrow, though his beard trembled with rage.
6
One day the Sheriff came riding through the forest. Suddenly Robin stood in his path. "Good evening, my lord! Tonight you are our guest." Politely but firmly they walked him to the great oak. Fires burned, meat turned on the spit and the whole band was singing. The Sheriff ate — and he ate very well.
7
When the Sheriff at last pushed his plate away, Robin bowed low. "Supper must be paid for, my lord." And out of the Sheriff's purse his own gold coins came tumbling onto the cloth. "You took this much from the people," said Robin. "Now it all goes back." The Sheriff rode home without a penny — but with a full stomach.
8
A rich bishop rode down the road with three wagons and a heavy chest. The band stopped him politely and took the chest away. That evening Little John knocked at a cottage where three children had gone to bed hungry. On the table he laid bread, cheese and a fistful of gold. "From someone who had too much," he said, and was gone.
9
Marian came running into the forest. "They're forcing a girl to marry an old rich man, her sweetheart is weeping outside the church!" Robin blew his horn. When men in green stepped from behind the trees, the rich man bolted like a hare, his guests after him. Friar Tuck married the young pair under the open sky, and the whole band danced till nightfall.
10
One autumn a tall stranger in a dark hooded cloak came into the forest. Robin invited him to the table, as he did everyone. After supper they shot at a target, and the stranger missed. When Robin hit the centre, the stranger laughed so loudly that the trees shook: "There is no archer like you in all the land!"
11
The stranger threw back his hood. Beneath it gleamed a king's golden chain. "King Richard!" The whole band went down on one knee. But the King raised them to their feet. "I have heard whom you take from and whom you give to," he said. "From today you are outlaws no longer." And next morning the Sheriff could only bow very low.
12
Robin Hood stayed where he belonged — in the greenwood. Every evening they gathered under the great oak: Little John, Friar Tuck, Marian and all the merry band. The horn sounded, the fire threw sparks up among the branches, and somebody started a song. Anyone in Sherwood today can hear them still: the forest is full of their laughter.
13The End
