Then he said, "Sweet friend, I am used to ask those that I
have dealings with to come and feast at Sherwood with me.
I will not ask thee, because of our pleasant journey together;
for I tell thee there be those in Sherwood that would not be
so gentle with thee as I have been. The name of Corn Engrosser
leaves a nasty taste upon the tongue of all honest men.
Take a fool's advice of me and come no more so nigh to Sherwood,
or mayhap some day thou mayst of a sudden find a clothyard shaft
betwixt thy ribs. So, with this, I give thee good den." Hereupon he
clapped his hand to the horse's flank and off went nag and rider.
But the man's face was all bedewed with the sweat of fright,
and never again, I wot, was he found so close to Sherwood Forest
as he had been this day.
Robin stood and looked after him, and, when he was fairly gone,
turned, laughing, and entered the forest carrying the shoes
in his hand.
That night in sweet Sherwood the red fires glowed
brightly in wavering
light on tree and bush, and all around sat or lay the stout fellows
of the band to hear Robin Hood and Little John tell their adventures.
All listened closely, and again and again the woods rang with
shouts of laughter.
When all was told, Friar Tuck spoke up. "Good master," said he,
"thou hast had a pretty time, but still I hold to my
saying,
that the life of the
barefoot friar is the merrier of the two."
"Nay," quoth Will Stutely, "I hold with our master, that he hath
had the pleasanter
doings of the two, for he hath had two stout
bouts at quarterstaff this day."
So some of the band held with Robin Hood and some with
Little John. As for me, I think--But I leave it with you to say
for yourselves which you hold with.
Robin Hood Shoots Before Queen Eleanor
THE HIGHROAD stretched white and dusty in the hot summer
afternoon sun, and the trees stood
motionless along the roadside.
All across the
meadow lands the hot air danced and quivered,
and in the limpid waters of the
lowland brook, spanned by a little
stone
bridge, the fish hung
motionless above the yellow gravel,
and the dragonfly sat quite still, perched upon the sharp tip
of a spike of the rushes, with its wings glistening in the sun.
Along the road a youth came riding upon a fair milk-white barb,
and the folk that he passed stopped and turned and looked after him,
for never had so lovely a lad or one so gaily clad been seen in
Nottingham before. He could not have been more than sixteen years
of age, and was as fair as any
maiden. His long yellow hair flowed
behind him as he rode along, all clad in silk and
velvet, with jewels
flashing and
dagger jingling against the pommel of the saddle.
Thus came the Queen's Page, young Richard Partington, from famous
London Town down into Nottinghamshire, upon Her Majesty's bidding,
to seek Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest.
The road was hot and dusty and his journey had been long,
for that day he had come all the way from Leicester Town, a good
twenty miles and more;
wherefore young Partington was right glad
when he saw before him a sweet little inn, all shady and cool beneath
the trees, in front of the door of which a sign hung pendant,
bearing the picture of a blue boar. Here he drew rein and called
loudly for a pottle of Rhenish wine to be brought him, for stout
country ale was too
coarse a drink for this young gentleman.
Five lusty fellows sat upon the bench beneath the pleasant shade
of the wide-spreading oak in front of the inn door, drinking ale
and beer, and all stared amain at this fair and
gallant lad.
Two of the stoutest of them were clothed in Lincoln green,
and a great heavy oaken staff leaned against the gnarled oak tree
trunk beside each fellow.
The
landlord came and brought a pottle of wine and a long narrow glass
upon a salver, which he held up to the Page as he sat upon his horse.
Young Partington poured forth the bright yellow wine and holding
the glass aloft, cried, "Here is to the health and long happiness
of my royal
mistress, the noble Queen Eleanor; and may my journey
and her desirings soon have end, and I find a certain stout
yeomanmen call Robin Hood."
At these words all stared, but
presently the two stout yeomen
in Lincoln green began whispering together. Then one of the two,
whom Partington thought to be the tallest and stoutest fellow
he had ever
beheld, spoke up and said, "What seekest thou of
Robin Hood, Sir Page? And what does our good Queen Eleanor wish of him?
I ask this of thee, not
foolishly, but with reason, for I know
somewhat of this stout
yeoman."
"An thou knowest aught of him, good fellow," said young Partington,
"thou wilt do great service to him and great pleasure to our royal
Queen by aiding me to find him."
Then up spake the other
yeoman, who was a handsome fellow with
sunburned face and nut-brown, curling hair, "Thou hast an honest look,
Sir Page, and our Queen is kind and true to all stout yeomen.
Methinks I and my friend here might
safely guide thee to Robin Hood,
for we know where he may be found. Yet I tell thee plainly,
we would not for all merry England have aught of harm
befall him."
"Set thy mind at ease; I bring
nought of ill with me,"
quoth Richard Partington. "I bring a kind message to him
from our Queen,
therefore an ye know where he is to be found,
I pray you to guide me thither."
Then the two yeomen looked at one another again, and the tall man said,
"Surely it were safe to do this thing, Will";
whereat the other nodded.
Thereupon both arose, and the tall
yeoman said, "We think thou art true,
Sir Page, and meanest no harm,
therefore we will guide thee to Robin Hood
as thou dost wish."
Then Partington paid his score, and the yeomen coming forward,
they all
straightwaydeparted upon their way.
Under the
greenwood tree, in the cool shade that spread all
around upon the sward, with flickering lights here and there,
Robin Hood and many of his band lay upon the soft green grass,
while Allan a Dale sang and played upon his
sweetly sounding harp.
All listened in silence, for young Allan's singing was one of the greatest
joys in all the world to them; but as they so listened there came
of a sudden the sound of a horse's feet, and
presently Little John
and Will Stutely came forth from the forest path into the open glade,
young Richard Partington riding between them upon his milk-white horse.
The three came toward where Robin Hood sat, all the band staring with might
and main, for never had they seen so gay a sight as this young Page,
nor one so
richly clad in silks and
velvets and gold and jewels.
Then Robin arose and stepped forth to meet him, and Partington leaped from
his horse and doffing his cap of
crimsonvelvet, met Robin as he came.
"Now,
welcome!" cried Robin. "Now,
welcome, fair youth, and tell me,
I prythee, what bringeth one of so fair a presence and clad in such
noble garb to our poor forest of Sherwood?"
Then young Partington said, "If I err not, thou art the famous
Robin Hood, and these thy stout band of outlawed yeomen.
To thee I bring greetings from our noble Queen Eleanor. Oft hath
she heard thee
spoken of and thy merry
doings hereabouts,
and fain would she behold thy face;
therefore she bids me
tell thee that if thou wilt
presently come to London Town,
she will do all in her power to guard thee against harm,
and will send thee back safe to Sherwood Forest again.
Four days hence, in Finsbury Fields, our good King Henry,
of great
renown, holdeth a grand shooting match, and all
the most famous archers of merry England will be thereat.
Our Queen would fain see thee
strive with these,
knowing that if thou
wilt come thou wilt, with little doubt, carry off the prize.
Therefore she hath sent me with this greeting, and furthermore
sends thee, as a sign of great good will, this golden ring from
off her own fair thumb, which I give
herewith into thy hands."
Then Robin Hood bowed his head and
taking the ring, kissed it
right loyally, and then slipped it upon his little finger.
Quoth he, "Sooner would I lose my life than this ring; and ere
it departs from me, my hand shall be cold in death or stricken
off at the wrist. Fair Sir Page, I will do our Queen's bidding,
and will
presently hie with thee to London; but, ere we go,
I will feast thee here in the woodlands with the very best we have."
"It may not be," said the Page; "we have no time to tarry,
therefore get thyself ready
straightway; and if there be any
of thy band that thou wouldst take with thee, our Queen bids
me say that she will make them right
welcome likewise."
"Truly, thou art right," quoth Robin, "and we have but short
time to stay;
therefore I will get me ready
presently.
I will choose three of my men, only, to go with me, and these
three shall be Little John, mine own true
right-hand man,
Will Scarlet, my cousin, and Allan a Dale, my
minstrel.
Go, lads, and get ye ready
straightway, and we will
presentlyoff with all speed that we may. Thou, Will Stutely, shall be
the chief of the band while I am gone."
Then Little John and Will Scarlet and Allan a Dale ran leaping, full of joy,
to make themselves ready, while Robin also prepared himself for the journey.
After a while they all four came forth, and a right fair sight they made,
for Robin was clad in blue from head to foot, and Little John and
Will Scarlet in good Lincoln green, and as for Allan a Dale, he was dressed
in
scarlet from the crown of his head to the toes of his
pointed shoes.
Each man wore beneath his cap a little head covering of burnished steel
set with rivets of gold, and
underneath his jerkin a coat of linked mail,
as fine as carded wool, yet so tough that no arrow could
pierce it.
Then,
seeing all were ready, young Partington mounted his horse again,
and the yeomen having
shaken hands all around, the five
departedupon their way.
That night they took up their inn in Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire,
and the next night they lodged at Kettering, in Northamptonshire;
and the next at Bedford Town; and the next at St. Albans,
in Hertfordshire. This place they left not long after the middle
of the night, and traveling fast through the tender dawning of
the summer day, when the dews lay shining on the
meadows and faint
mists hung in the dales, when the birds sang their sweetest and
the cobwebs beneath the hedges glimmered like fairy cloth of silver,
they came at last to the towers and walls of famous London Town,
while the morn was still young and all golden toward the east.
Queen Eleanor sat in her royal bower, through the open casements of
which poured the sweet yellow
sunshine in great floods of golden light.
All about her stood her ladies-in-waiting chatting in low voices,
while she herself sat dreamily where the mild air came softly
drifting into the room laden with the fresh perfumes of the sweet
red roses that bloomed in the great garden beneath the wall.
To her came one who said that her page, Richard Partington,
and four stout yeomen waited her pleasure in the court below.
Then Queen Eleanor arose
joyously and bade them be
straightwayshown into her presence.
Thus Robin Hood and Little John and Will Scarlet and Allan a Dale came
before the Queen into her own royal bower. Then Robin kneeled before
the Queen with his hands folded upon his breast,
saying in simple phrase,
"Here am I, Robin Hood. Thou didst bid me come, and lo, I do thy bidding.
I give myself to thee as thy true servant, and will do thy commanding,
even if it be to the shedding of the last drop of my life's blood."
But good Queen Eleanor smiled
pleasantly upon him, bidding him to arise.
Then she made them all be seated to rest themselves after their long journey.
Rich food was brought them and noble wines, and she had her own pages
to wait upon the wants of the yeomen. At last, after they had eaten
all they could, she began questioning them of their merry adventures.
Then they told her all of the lusty
doingshereinspoken of, and among
others that
concerning the Bishop of Hereford and Sir Richard of the Lea,
and how the Bishop had abided three days in Sherwood Forest. At this,
the Queen and the ladies about her laughed again and again, for they
pictured to themselves the stout Bishop abiding in the forest and ranging
the woods in lusty sport with Robin and his band. Then, when they had
told all that they could bring to mind, the Queen asked Allan to sing
to her, for his fame as a
minstrel had reached even to the court at
London Town. So
straightway Allan took up his harp in his hand, and,
without more asking, touched the strings
lightly till they all rang
sweetly,