Children's Corner

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 32, 16 January 1930, Page 4

Children's Corner

TALES OF ROBIN HOOD.

The Merry Men of lac

Greenwood.

England-, was not always the lard of green fields that we know to-day. Seven hundreds years ag"> t'.'.vj greater part of the coun--, try. was covered with thick, wild; forest. So dense was this, tmd so WKleiy did it stretch, that It \vss ' said that a squirrel, hoppiag^am tre-j to tree, could have travelled 1 from 0..«, side of the country to tho pib. v without once liav.ng to fc'i'h the ground; ■•■'..-Thfi.i were roads, of conrs1?, and. alci.j ii*se you could hav^ scsii partl<s travelling on hogback. > Soi««<'tm.es there would he gre.it cle?irings in the woods, atid here vould i-ise. a'castle, heavily walled,<v a monastery beside one oi tLe vi<'! ixy- streams and rivers.- But aTwayl outside thsse oioa>ings tlure stretched the forest —the. grecavvtod, men called it—-":l\e home of tht deer and. the wDd\ boar, i rid, in some parts, r.f the

bear

".■■ M«'ii lived in the greeil^)ad, t ij, but these were most!/ out-l%\\-8- men who . had; br jiea the law of the land, 'and fled into the fc *cst tii save their liyes;»'or the laws, were strict in "those days, and there were-cruel piinkhiaents lot quite" small crimes. '{ hese outlaws gathered vogether in great" bands, so that, their eii-3iTxies could not easily lay hand on "thorn; and, fighting in companies., they were strong-: enough to attack the parties on the roads, and to »ob them of their goods: -

The most iamous of all the o.ut--1 ivrs vv-as Robin Hood. We-do not know lor certain why it was that he had had to flee from the la w: So-tlc say that he. was once a rich man but had lost all his money an d bboern r unable to t-pay his debts. So, iovhv? the greenwood and its: free life among the birds and.the beatsts, he had chosen to settle there>;. then,, gathering round him from time to time other men Tike himself/he had taken to the ways of the outlaws, and lived on the rich men who passed by.

.We know, however, that he was very different from the other outlaws. For while they were wild and rough, with little pity for any one, .rich,or poor, who fell into their hands, Robin Hood and his followers were gentle and patient, and always kind to those who needed protection! They loved a song and a good joke, so that people spoke of them as Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

He lived in Sherwood Forest, in the county of Nottingham, with Maid Marian, his wife. . She was sweet and gentle, and very pretty with her golden hair hanging in long braids over her- dress of green cloth,;. All.Robin Hood's •men*-: dr,es.se.dl in this green cloth— Lincoln Green, it was called—and in the green depths of the forest it was often difficult to- see them, even when one was quite -lose' to. them.

His best friends amoiig the Me_rry Men were, Little John-—so called in joke, because he was nearly seven feet high—Will Scarlet, and a jolly friar named Tuckj but he loved them nil, and there was npt- one among *.hem who would liave thb%ht of' disobeying- him, or who would not have Maid down his- life for his chief. - - ' .•'

"Lawless as they - were, they never robbed or hurt the poor and needy, or those who were distressed/ "Many of the things that they stole from the rich bishops and barons they did not kesp' for themselves at all, but gav.e.away to ihose who needed them. In the whole country, of Nottingham there was hardly a pbor person who had not some- cause to bless Ithe name of Robin Hood md his Merry Men. -... - ■■■"■_

How Robin Hood Outwitted the

Bishop. If you had been walking in the

forest one sunny afternoon, seven hundred years ago, you might have seen a green-clad figure slipping silently among the trees. Sometimes you would .iave lost sight of him for a few moments, co nearly did the green of h[s dress match .'the; green forest all around him. .'.'-.

Yet in spite of "this protective, dress, he seemed to fear so .nothing Every now and then .ie would stop," as though listening, then, hearing some sound that alarnfed liirnv he would hurry on again even more quickly than before. It was Robin Hood," and he had good reason to be 'alarmed: he had come unexpectedly upon- a '--gre&t. bishop,, with a company of men-at-arm^ around him, riding among the' trees. He had tried to slipaway unseen, for he .was all. alone, but one of the Mshop's men had caught sight of him and given' the alarm, and now the whole pack was after him. _ - . Robin Hood :was able W travel more quickly through 'the wood than the bishop's men, for he knew the forest ways better,than they did. . Biit:they were mounted on horseback, and. so could move quickly whenever they came to an open "space; and there wrere so many of them that they could; stretch out in a long line, and so could not-very well miss him. H<V knew' that it would not be very long now before he would he l overtaken. ' ■■'-.''-, •;" •- ■

He was at his wits' end to know what to do, ~ If Ke were, tor fall into the bishop's hands, lie need expect no mercy: he would re carried off to Nottingham, where his old enemy, the sheriff, v\rould make short work of hanging him.

. If Ji.e could A only get .<tear : to v his -camp, and summo"h his men ■with a blast Upon his horn, would then be strong enough to. defeat the bishop's men-at-arms. But he was still some miles away .■ from the camp, and to blow Ms horn now would only tell his, enemies where he was, aiid. so hasten his capture, v He stopped again, and listened r the blinking of bridles and the hoarse shouts of the men-at-arms sounded nearer now, Soon, very soon, they would be upon him, and he would be carried off to Nottingham to' a shameful death. He looked'(^ickl^tfLibe, Hgfct: here- was only the "forest, 0 and still, and he thought that he could see, some distance away through the; trees a sparkle, as though the sun had touched the helmet of one of , his pursuers. Then he looked quickly to the left, and his heart rose liigh. with hope: for there he saw- the roof of a little cottage. This might mean at least a chance of escape, and he hurried towards . it-

It was only a low, "rude hut, such a# the eliar"6oal-burners dwelt in, but it wasthe one hope of concealment left to him. and he~ knocked upon the tloor. Inside the hut he could hear a'shuffling footstep; slowly it came closer, closer, and then the door opened and /a little old woman was standing before him," asking him who he was and what he wanted:

"I am Kobin Hood," \e told her, '/and I am being followed Ijy the bishop and his -aen-at-arais. If they catch me. 'ley will certainly take me to Nottingham, and there I sliall be hanged. Will you hide me, or. help nle, Ko '\scapei''■■■■';-. ;;-:. ■ '■> ' ::: ■■■ '...' ' ■'

•' With all 'my heart.-''_ .she answered leading him int-o the hut and closing, the door behind thxjni.x "For>l'■■remfimiber that; once^^hen I wa sbadly in iieed. of shoes, and too poor; to buy 1 any, it; was TJob'n Hood• ■who sent me sciney ' Tii feturii for that kindness I will save you from'your enemies if I can,"'

All the while she had been speaking she had hobbled,, round the room, picking up clothes— here a dr^ss, there a shav/i-^-and she made^the outlaw put laese oil in place of his suit -of Lincoln Green. The shawl she wrapped over his head, and in- >iis hand she placed her crutch. .

So, disguised as an oldT wonian, he stepped, out into $he forest once more, and advanced boldly

towards the bishop's men-at-arms,

' "Hi, old crone,'' they cried to him, have you seen a rascally ' outlaw, dressed in the Lincoln Green, walking through the foriest?" . ' ■•:•• Robin Hoed shook his head. • j VI have seen no such person,'' answered, keeping his face jwell hidden hi the shawl, and speaking in- a- high, , squeaky voice, so that they should not j know he was a man. 4*l am only a poor old woman gathering up sticks for my winter's store of firewood," "He hobbled away among the trees, chuckling to himself. It the way he had outwitted his enemies. As soon as hew .as out cf their sight, however, he straightened his back, flimg away the shawl and crutch, and made all possible speed towards "the clearing, in the forest Where he;had his camp. "."■ : t he was iiear it, he .drew out his bngle and blew three loud blasts—his signal to his men thai he had need of them. ..' Meanwhile, the bishop tiad rid.den up to the hut, and demanded that" any ' one who was within should come' out to answer his questions: Receiving no reply,, lie. sent two of Ms men-at-arms inside to search, .and in a few inonients j they returned, dragging behind! them a figure dressed in the Lin--coin GTeen, . "...

"Ila ha!'* cliiiekled the bishop, "it is the man himself I T^ll me, fellow, are you Robin Ho«>d, that most rascally outlaw, or are you only one of his.menI?'' .-.-.. - "''l am Robin Hood,"^answer rl the prisoner,;'-and 1 beg. you to spare my life." ~.■ ' "Not so,'' said the bishop..■..'*lf you had been an ordinary ouilaw, we should have strung you up r-n the nearest, tree: But as /ou are Robin-*Hopd, we shall yyu into JsTottiiighani, and ther^' the sheriff shall hang you." .And he "orders that, the prisoner should be put up in front of him on nis horse, ,

So they rode on through the forest towards JNottingiiam, the bishop chuckling to himself at the thought of having caught the great Robin JSooxl. But very soon he noticed a commotion among -the men-at-arms m~ front o| >him, ;and lie rod« for\yai»di -to see what it meant.

: The ,green shadows of the forest had seemed suddenly l\> spring into life in the shape of moil dressed in the Lincoln Green, ;vid the bishop chuckled :"no longer when he saw that a hundred bo ars were drawn upon him and his men-at-arms.

" Now wlio are these ?'' ho muttered to himself, and the >pri.son<?p. hearing, him, replied: V.'.-:: "" : "I-think it must beßobinvtoM and" his band :o£ Merry Men,' ■

'■ ''Robin- Hood?" cried the ibishop. * 'Then who are you V\

'■'Me.l. "Why? i-'nr onlyj -\ poor old woman, dressed' in Ifobin Hood's clothes,' * laughed' ene pj.'isonei% and she slipped off the bishop's horse and ran to rtate shelter behind the outlaws.

Robin Hood and his iien v-eve far too strong for the: bishop's nieii-at-arni«i who were oQon I'tiiiniii'g through the trees :a>iv their lives. .. The bishop himsolf was tied.-to--a- : tiauik;-'and.;froin--'ie're;~-lie had to watcL while a]l tha -«ti*)uey was being taken irom his sarldl°r bags,

Not until the last coin liad been carried into the greenwood was he untied, and then* he vmd not stay to try to cai;ch: the real It6bin Hood, but was only too glad to seiittle oft as- jqiiickly' as he