"I am enjoined to bring you," said the youth. "If persuasion avail not,

I must use other argument."



"Say'st thou so?" said the knight; "I doubt if thy stripling rhetoric

would convince me."



"That," said the young forester, "we will see."

"We are not equally matched, boy," said the knight.



"I should get less honour by thy conquest, than grief

by thy injury."



"Perhaps," said the youth, "my strength is more than my seeming,

and my cunning more than my strength. Therefore let it please



your knighthood to dismount."

"It shall please my knighthood to chastise thy presumption,"



said the knight, springing from his saddle.

Hereupon, which in those days was usually the result of a meeting



between any two persons anywhere, they proceeded to fight.

The knight had in an uncommon degree both strength and skill:



the forester had less strength, but not less skill than the knight,

and showed such a mastery of his weapon as reduced the latter



to great admiration.

They had not fought many minutes by the forest clock, the sun;



and had as yet done each other no worse injury than that

the knight had wounded the forester's jerkin, and the forester



had disabled the knight's plume; when they were interrupted

by a voice from a thicket, exclaiming, "Well fought, girl:



well fought. Mass, that had nigh been a shrewd hit.

Thou owest him for that, lass. Marry, stand by, I'll pay



him for thee."

The knight turning to the voice, beheld a tall friar issuing from the thicket,



brandishing a ponderous cudgel.

"Who art thou?" said the knight.



"I am the church militant of Sherwood," answered the friar.

"Why art thou in arms against our lady queen?"



"What meanest thou?" said the knight.

"Truly, this," said the friar, "is our liege lady of the forest,



against whom I do apprehend thee in overt act of treason.

What sayest thou for thyself?"



"I say," answered the knight, "that if this be indeed a lady,

man never yet held me so long."



"Spoken," said the friar, "like one who hath done execution.

Hast thou thy stomach full of steel? Wilt thou diversify thy repast



with a taste of my oak-graff? Or wilt thou incline thine heart

to our venison which truly is cooling? Wilt thou fight? or wilt thou



dine? or wilt thou fight and dine? or wilt thou dine and fight?

I am for thee, choose as thou mayest."



"I will dine," said the knight; "for with lady I never fought before,

and with friar I never fought yet, and with neither will I ever



fight knowingly: and if this be the queen of the forest, I will not,

being in her own dominions, be backward to do her homage."



So saying, he kissed the hand of Marian, who was pleased most graciously

to express her approbation.



"Gramercy, sir knight," said the friar, "I laud thee for

thy courtesy, which I deem to be no less than thy valour.



Now do thou follow me, while I follow my nose, which scents

the pleasant odour of roast from the depth of the forest recesses.



I will lead thy horse, and do thou lead my lady."

The knight took Marian's hand, and followed the friar, who walked



before them, singing:

When the wind blows, when the wind blows



From where under buck the dry log glows,

What guide can you follow,



O'er brake and o'er hollow,

So true as a ghostly, ghostly nose?



CHAPTER XVIII

Robin and Richard were two pretty men. Mother Goose's Melody.



They proceeded, following their infallible guide, first along a light

elastic greensward under the shade of lofty and wide-spreading trees



that skirted a sunny opening of the forest, then along labyrinthine paths,

which the deer, the outlaw, or the woodman had made, through the close shoots



of the young coppices, through the thick undergrowth of the ancient woods,

through beds of gigantic fern that filled the narrow glades and waved their



green feathery heads above the plume of the knight. Along these sylvan alleys

• tradition [trə´diʃən] n.传统；惯例；传说 (初中英语单词)


• damsel [´dæmzəl] n.姑娘，未婚少女 (初中英语单词)


• stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)


• conscious [´kɔnʃəs] a.意识的；自觉的 (初中英语单词)


• lonely [´ləunli] a.孤独的；无人烟的 (初中英语单词)


• conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)


• welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)


• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)


• intelligence [in´telidʒəns] n.智力；消息 (初中英语单词)


• prince [´prins] n.王子；亲王；君主 (初中英语单词)


• beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• sheriff [´ʃerif] n.郡长；行政长官 (初中英语单词)


• improvement [im´pru:vmənt] n.改进，改善，进步 (初中英语单词)


• series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中英语单词)


• entertainment [,entə´teinmənt] n.招(款)待；联欢会 (初中英语单词)


• scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)


• female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)


• celebrated [´selibreitid] a.著名的 (初中英语单词)


• consult [kən´sʌlt] v.商量；磋商；请教 (初中英语单词)


• medium [´mi:diəm] n.中间；平均 a.中等的 (初中英语单词)


• inquiry [in´kwaiəri] n.询问；质询；调查 (初中英语单词)


• persuasion [pə´sweiʒən] n.说服(力)；劝说；见解 (初中英语单词)


• convince [kən´vins] vt.使确信；使认识错误 (初中英语单词)


• equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)


• conquest [´kɔŋkwest] n.赢得；获得；占领地 (初中英语单词)


• cunning [´kʌniŋ] a.&n.狡猾(诡诈)的 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• injury [´indʒəri] n.伤害；毁坏；侮辱 (初中英语单词)


• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• stomach [´stʌmək] n.胃；胃口，食欲 (初中英语单词)


• incline [in´klain] v.(使)倾斜 n.斜坡 (初中英语单词)


• knowingly [´nəuiŋli] ad.狡黠地，机警地 (初中英语单词)


• backward [´bækwəd] ad.向后 a.向后的 (初中英语单词)


• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)


• indifferent [in´difrənt] a.不关心的；中立的 (高中英语单词)


• wherein [weər´in] ad.那里面 (高中英语单词)


• sprung [sprʌŋ] spring的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


• community [kə´mju:niti] n.团体；社区；公众 (高中英语单词)


• hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)


• virgin [´və:dʒin] a.处女(般)的 n.处女 (高中英语单词)


• mutual [´mju:tʃuəl] a.相互的；共同的 (高中英语单词)


• patron [´peitrən] n.庇护人，保护人；赞助人 (高中英语单词)


• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)


• signify [´signifai] vt.表示 vi.有重要性 (高中英语单词)


• joyous [´dʒɔiəs] a.充满快乐的 (高中英语单词)


• knight [nait] n.骑士；爵士 (高中英语单词)


• namely [´neimli] ad.即，也就是 (高中英语单词)


• correctly [kə´rektli] ad.正确地；恰当地 (高中英语单词)


• refresh [ri´freʃ] v.使清新；使更新 (高中英语单词)


• thicket [´θikit] n.灌木丛；密集的东西 (高中英语单词)


• shrewd [ʃru:d] a.精明的；狡猾的 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• courtesy [´kə:tisi] n.礼貌；殷勤；好意 (高中英语单词)


• gigantic [dʒai´gæntik] a.巨大的 (高中英语单词)


• perchance [pə´tʃɑ:ns] ad.偶然；可能 (英语四级单词)


• canary [kə´neəri] n.金丝雀 (英语四级单词)


• nightingale [´naitiŋgeil] n.夜莺 (英语四级单词)


• accusation [ækju:´zeiʃən] n.谴责；告发 (英语四级单词)


• nottingham [´nɔtiŋəm] n.诺丁汉 (英语四级单词)


• joyfully [´dʒɔifuli] ad.高兴地，快乐地 (英语四级单词)


• vicinity [vi´siniti] n.邻近，附近，接近 (英语四级单词)


• genial [´dʒi:niəl] a.愉快的；和蔼的 (英语四级单词)


• hospitable [´hɔspitəbəl] a.好客的；招待周到的 (英语四级单词)


• exclusively [ik´sklu:sivli] ad.独有地；排外地 (英语四级单词)


• divinity [di´viniti] n.神性，神；神学 (英语四级单词)


• assuredly [ə´ʃuəridli] ad.确实地；确信地 (英语四级单词)


• outlaw [´autlɔ:] n.歹徒 vt.将…放逐 (英语四级单词)


• uncommon [ʌn´kɔmən] a.非常的，非凡的，罕见的 (英语四级单词)


• apprehend [,æpri´hend] vt.理解；忧虑；逮捕 (英语四级单词)


• ghostly [´gəustli] a.鬼的；朦胧的 (英语六级单词)


• magical [´mædʒikəl] a.有魔术的，神奇的 (英语六级单词)


• forester [´fɔristə] n.护林人，林务员 (英语六级单词)


• belligerent [bi´lidʒərənt] a.交战中的；好战的 (英语六级单词)


• unspeakable [ʌn´spi:kəbl] a.不能以言语表达的 (英语六级单词)


• devout [di´vaut] a.虔诚的；热心的 (英语六级单词)


• brilliantly [´briljəntli] ad.灿烂地；杰出地 (英语六级单词)


• knighthood [´naithud] n.骑士的地位(资格) (英语六级单词)


• chastise [tʃæs´taiz] vt.惩；严惩；责打 (英语六级单词)


• mastery [´mɑ:stəri] n.精通；控制；优势 (英语六级单词)


• ponderous [´pɔndərəs] a.沉重的；冗长的 (英语六级单词)


• venison [´venisən] n.鹿肉；野味 (英语六级单词)


• infallible [in´fæləbəl] a.必然的；不会错的 (英语六级单词)


• woodman [´wudmən] n.伐木工 (英语六级单词)