Читать книгу Famous Legends Adapted for Children - Emeline G. Crommelin - Страница 4
ОглавлениеROBIN HOOD
..... I think there is not one,
But he of Robin Hood hath heard and Little John,
And to the end of time the tales shall ne’er be done
Of Scarlock, George a Green, and Much the Miller’s son,
Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon made
In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws and their trade.
Drayton.
Even the wild outlaw, in his forest-walk,
Keeps yet some touch of discipline.
Old Play.
I. IN SHERWOOD FOREST
It was when Richard I, called the Lion-hearted, was king of England that Robin Hood and his merry men lived in Sherwood Forest.
Some people say that when Robin Hood was young he recklessly spent the money he had inherited; and, being an adventurous youth, he fled to the forest that ever since has been associated with his name.
Whether Robin was forced to live there or not, he loved its freedom and wild beauty better than anything else in the world. He loved its thickly wooded hills and valleys, its sparkling streams, and its carpet of bright green; its flowers of every color, and the songs of its birds. Robin was a mere lad when he first made the forest his home. As he grew older, one after another joined him, until he had more than a hundred men, who not only obeyed him, but loved him as well. It was not long before Robin Hood was looked upon as a kind of king, and he and his men defied the laws that the real kings made. They spent much of their time in stopping travelers on their way, and robbing them, or killing the king’s deer, with which Sherwood Forest abounded.
It was on this game that the poor Saxons had lived when they were driven into the forest and hemmed in by their enemies. The Normans, who ruled the land, made such severe laws that it was dangerous to hunt or kill the deer, which had been a common dish for the Saxons before they were conquered.
Now Robin Hood was not altogether bad, for he did many things that were to his credit. He always spared the poor and the weak, never allowed a woman to be oppressed, and divided all booty with his men.
