The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
The Bishop of Hereford did not laugh, neither did the King, but he
turned to the Queen, and quoth he, "Who are these men that thou hast
brought before us?"
Then up spoke the Bishop hastily, for he could hold his peace no longer:
"Your Majesty," quoth he, "yon fellow in blue is a certain outlawed
thief of the mid-country, named Robin Hood; yon tall, strapping villain
goeth by the name of Little John; the other fellow in green is a certain
backsliding gentleman, known as Will Scarlet; the man in red is a rogue
of a northern minstrel, named Allan a Dale."
At this speech the King's brows drew together blackly, and he turned to
the Queen. "Is this true?" said he sternly.
"Yea," said the Queen, smiling, "the Bishop hath told the truth; and
truly he should know them well, for he and two of his friars spent three
days in merry sport with Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. I did little
think that the good Bishop would so betray his friends. But bear in mind
that thou hast pledged thy promise for the safety of these good yeomen
for forty days."
"I will keep my promise," said the King, in a deep voice that showed the
anger in his heart, "but when these forty days are gone let this outlaw
look to himself, for mayhap things will not go so smoothly with him as
he would like." Then he turned to his archers, who stood near the
Sherwood yeomen, listening and wondering at all that passed. Quoth he,
"Gilbert, and thou, Tepus, and thou, Hubert, I have pledged myself that
ye shall shoot against these three fellows. If ye outshoot the knaves I
will fill your caps with silver pennies; if ye fail ye shall lose your
prizes that ye have won so fairly, and they go to them that shoot
against you, man to man. Do your best, lads, and if ye win this bout ye
shall be glad of it to the last days of your life. Go, now, and get you
gone to the butts."
Then the three archers of the King turned and went back to their booths,
and Robin and his men went to their places at the mark from which they
were to shoot. Then they strung their bows and made themselves ready,
looking over their quivers of arrows, and picking out the roundest and
the best feathered.
But when the King's archers went to their tents, they told their friends
all that had passed, and how that these four men were the famous Robin
Hood and three of his band, to wit, Little John, Will Scarlet, and Allan
a Dale. The news of this buzzed around among the archers in the booths,
for there was not a man there that had not heard of these great
mid-country yeomen. From the archers the news was taken up by the crowd
that looked on at the shooting, so that at last everybody stood up,
craning their necks to catch sight of the famous outlaws.
Six fresh targets were now set up, one for each man that was to shoot;
whereupon Gilbert and Tepus and Hubert came straightway forth from the
booths. Then Robin Hood and Gilbert of the White Hand tossed a farthing
aloft to see who should lead in the shooting, and the lot fell to
Gilbert's side; thereupon he called upon Hubert of Suffolk to lead.
Hubert took his place, planted his foot firmly, and fitted a fair,
smooth arrow; then, breathing upon his fingertips, he drew the string
slowly and carefully. The arrow sped true, and lodged in the white;
again he shot, and again he hit the clout; a third shaft he sped, but
this time failed of the center, and but struck the black, yet not more
than a finger's-breadth from the white. At this a shout went up, for it
was the best shooting that Hubert had yet done that day.
Merry Robin laughed, and quoth he, "Thou wilt have an ill time bettering
that round, Will, for it is thy turn next. Brace thy thews, lad, and
bring not shame upon Sherwood."
Then Will Scarlet took his place; but, because of overcaution, he
spoiled his target with the very first arrow that he sped, for he hit
the next ring to the black, the second from the center. At this Robin
bit his lips. "Lad, lad," quoth he, "hold not the string so long! Have
I not often told thee what Gaffer Swanthold sayeth, that 'overcaution
spilleth the milk'?" To this Will Scarlet took heed, so the next arrow
he shot lodged fairly in the center ring; again he shot, and again he
smote the center; but, for all that, stout Hubert had outshot him, and
showed the better target. Then all those that looked on clapped their
hands for joy because that Hubert had overcome the stranger.
Quoth the King grimly, to the Queen, "If thy archers shoot no better
than that, thou art like to lose thy wager, lady." But Queen Eleanor
smiled, for she looked for better things from Robin Hood and Little
John.
And now Tepus took his place to shoot. He, also, took overheed to what
he was about, and so he fell into Will Scarlet's error. The first arrow
he struck into the center ring, but the second missed its mark, and
smote the black; the last arrow was tipped with luck, for it smote the
very center of the clout, upon the black spot that marked it. Quoth
Robin Hood, "That is the sweetest shot that hath been sped this day;
but, nevertheless, friend Tepus, thy cake is burned, methinks. Little
John, it is thy turn next."
So Little John took his place as bidden, and shot his three arrows
quickly. He never lowered his bow arm in all the shooting, but fitted
each shaft with his longbow raised; yet all three of his arrows smote
the center within easy distance of the black. At this no sound of
shouting was heard, for, although it was the best shooting that had been
done that day, the folk of London Town did not like to see the stout
Tepus overcome by a fellow from the countryside, even were he as famous
as Little John.
And now stout Gilbert of the White Hand took his place and shot with the
greatest care; and again, for the third time in one day, he struck all
three shafts into the clout.
"Well done, Gilbert!" quoth Robin Hood, smiting him upon the shoulder.
"I make my vow, thou art one of the best archers that ever mine eyes
beheld. Thou shouldst be a free and merry ranger like us, lad, for thou
art better fitted for the greenwood than for the cobblestones and gray
walls of London Town." So saying, he took his place, and drew a fair,
round arrow from his quiver, which he turned over and over ere he fitted
it to his bowstring.
Then the King muttered in his beard, "Now, blessed Saint Hubert, if thou
wilt but jog that rogue's elbow so as to make him smite even the second
ring, I will give eightscore waxen candles three fingers'-breadth in
thickness to thy chapel nigh Matching." But it may be Saint Hubert's
ears were stuffed with tow, for he seemed not to hear the King's prayer
this day.
Having gotten three shafts to his liking, merry Robin looked carefully
to his bowstring ere he shot. "Yea," quoth he to Gilbert, who stood
nigh him to watch his shooting, "thou shouldst pay us a visit at merry
Sherwood." Here he drew the bowstring to his ear. "In London"--here he
loosed his shaft--"thou canst find nought to shoot at but rooks and
daws; there one can tickle the ribs of the noblest stags in England."
So he shot even while he talked, yet the shaft lodged not more than half
an inch from the very center.
"By my soul!" cried Gilbert. "Art thou the devil in blue, to shoot in
that wise?"
"Nay," quoth Robin, laughing, "not quite so ill as that, I trust." And
he took up another shaft and fitted it to the string. Again he shot, and
again he smote his arrow close beside the center; a third time he loosed
his bowstring and dropped his arrow just betwixt the other two and into
the very center, so that the feathers of all three were ruffled
together, seeming from a distance to be one thick shaft.
And now a low murmur ran all among that great crowd, for never before
had London seen such shooting as this; and never again would it see it
after Robin Hood's day had gone. All saw that the King's archers were
fairly beaten, and stout Gilbert clapped his palm to Robin's, owning
that he could never hope to draw such a bowstring as Robin Hood or
Little John. But the King, full of wrath, would not have it so, though
he knew in his mind that his men could not stand against those fellows.
"Nay!" cried he, clenching his hands upon the arms of his seat, "Gilbert
is not yet beaten! Did he not strike the clout thrice? Although I have
lost my wager, he hath not yet lost the first prize. They shall shoot
again, and still again, till either he or that knave Robin Hood cometh
off the best. Go thou, Sir Hugh, and bid them shoot another round, and
another, until one or the other is overcome." Then Sir Hugh, seeing how
wroth the King was, said never a word, but went straightway to do his
bidding; so he came to where Robin Hood and the other stood, and told
them what the King had said.
"With all my heart," quoth merry Robin, "I will shoot from this time
till tomorrow day if it can pleasure my most gracious lord and King.
Take thy place, Gilbert lad, and shoot."
So Gilbert took his place once more, but this time he failed, for, a
sudden little wind arising, his shaft missed the center ring, but by not
more than the breadth of a barley straw.
"Thy eggs are cracked, Gilbert," quoth Robin, laughing; and straightway
he loosed a shaft, and once more smote the white circle of the center.
Then the King arose from his place, and not a word said he, but he
looked around with a baleful look, and it would have been an ill day for
anyone that he saw with a joyous or a merry look upon his face. Then he
and his Queen and all the court left the place, but the King's heart was
brimming full of wrath.
After the King had gone, all the yeomen of the archer guard came
crowding around Robin, and Little John, and Will, and Allan, to snatch a
look at these famous fellows from the mid-country; and with them came
many that had been onlookers at the sport, for the same purpose. Thus
it happened presently that the yeomen, to whom Gilbert stood talking,
were all surrounded by a crowd of people that formed a ring about them.
After a while the three judges that had the giving away of the prizes
came forward, and the chief of them all spake to Robin and said,
"According to agreement, the first prize belongeth rightly to thee; so
here I give thee the silver bugle, here the quiver of ten golden arrows,
and here a purse of twoscore and ten golden pounds." And as he spake he
handed those things to Robin, and then turned to Little John. "To
thee," he said, "belongeth the second prize, to wit, fivescore of the
finest harts that run on Dallen Lea. Thou mayest shoot them whensoever
thou dost list." Last of all he turned to stout Hubert. "Thou," said
he, "hast held thine own against the yeomen with whom thou didst shoot,
and so thou hast kept the prize duly thine, to wit, two tuns of good
Rhenish wine. These shall be delivered to thee whensoever thou dost
list." Then he called upon the other seven of the King's archers who had
last shot, and gave each fourscore silver pennies.
Then up spake Robin, and quoth he, "This silver bugle I keep in honor of
this shooting match; but thou, Gilbert, art the best archer of all the
King's guard, and to thee I freely give this purse of gold. Take it,
man, and would it were ten times as much, for thou art a right yeoman,
good and true. Furthermore, to each of the ten that last shot I give
one of these golden shafts apiece. Keep them always by you, so that ye
may tell your grandchildren, an ye are ever blessed with them, that ye
are the very stoutest yeomen in all the wide world."
At this all shouted aloud, for it pleased them to hear Robin speak so of
them.
Then up spake Little John. "Good friend Tepus," said he, "I want not
those harts of Dallen Lea that yon stout judge spoke of but now, for in