15. THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD

Robin Hood was old, and he began to feel ill. He thought, "I will go back to Sherwood Forest. Some of my men may still be there. I shall get better with them."
So Robin went to Sherwood Forest and he blew his horn. Little John and some men came to him. He stayed in the forest. But he did not become better. He became worse.
At last Robin said to Little John, "There is a lady at Kikrleys Abbey. She has made many sick people well. I will go to her."
So Robin and Little John went to the Abbey.
The lady was a Norman. She said, "I can save you, but I must take some blood from your arm."
She took Robin to a little room. She cut a place in his arm and let blood out of it. Then she went out of the room and shut the door.
The lady was a friend of the Sheriff. She did not like Robin. Robin did not know that. The blood did not stop.
Robin remembered his horn. A dying man cannot blow a horn well, but Little John heard it. He was just outside.
Little John ran into the Abbey. He threw himself against the door of Robin's room and went in.
Robin Hood was nearly dead.
Little John said, "I will take you away from here. Then I will come back and burn Kirkleys Abbey."
"No," Robin said. "Do not burn the Abbey. I was never unkind to a woman. Give me my bow, and take me to the window. Put my body where the arrow falls."
So Robin Hood shot his last arrow out of the window. His eyes were not open, and he did not see it fall. It did not go far. But Little John, with tears streaming from his eyes, said:
"Ha, ha! A good shot, Robin! Well done!"
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****Hear.....Laz robert earl of Huntingtun Obiit 24 Kal: Dekembris 1247****

14. KING RICHARD AND ROBIN HOOD

King Richard came back to England. He had heard a lot about Robin Hood.
In Nottingham, the Sheriff and the other Normans told him, "Robin Hood is a very bad outlaw. He steals, he kills people, and he shoots your deer."
The King asked other people, and they said, "Robin Hood is a good man. He takes money from men who have stolen it from the poor. He gives the money to poor people."
"How can I find Robin Hood?" KIng Richard asked.
"No one can find Robin Hood," was the answer. "But if a rich Norman goes into Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood's men will quickly find him."
King Richard put on the clothes of a rich Norman. Two of his knights dressed as servants. Then the three men set out along the road through Sherwood Forest.
Robin was sitting under a tree. He saw a rich Norman with two servants coming towards him. He went to the Norman and said, "Give me all your money, or I will take it from you."
Richard asked, "Who are you?"
"Men call me Robin Hood," was the answer.
The "Norman" said, "We come from the King. He has sent us to see you. This is his ring." And he showed his ring to the outlaw.
Robin threw up his cap and cried, "God save the King!"
The "Norman" said, "Why do you cry "God save the King" when you take money from his people?"
"I have taken money from the rich who have taken it from the poor. But the King has sent you here, so I am glad to see you. I will not take a penny of your money. You must cone and have dinner with us."

Robin blew his horn and all his men ran out to him. He said to the outlaws, "These men come from the King."
They all stood in a line. As the "Norman" passed, they took off their caps and cried, "God save the King!"
After dinner, Robin said to his men, "Take your bows and arrows and show our friend how you shoot. Show us your best shooting---as if King Richard himself was watching you."
The King saw Robin's men shooting. He said, "I have never seen better shooting! Would you fight for the King and be his men?"
"Yes! Yes!" cried Robin Hood and his men.
King Richard uncovered his face. He said, "I am the King."
King Richard and his two knights, dressed in Lincoln green, went through the streets of Nottingham. Robin Hood and all his men went with them. All the people ran out to see this. They said, "Robin Hood has come to burn the Sheriff's castle."
The King came to an open place in the town. The people stood all around. He said, "I am the King. This man, Robin Hood, is the Earl of Huntingdon. I shall give him back his castle and all his land."

Robin Hood and some of his men went with the King to London. Others went back to their homes; and some stayed in the forest.

13. HOW ROBIN HOOD DINNER WITH THE SHERIFF---AND HOW THE SHERIFF HAD DINNER WITH ROBIN HOOD

Robin Hood saw a man going along the road with a cart. He said, "What have you got in your cart?"
The man said, "Meat. I am a butcher and I am going to Nottingham to sell my meat."
Robin Hood said, "I want to buy your cart and all your meat. How much money do you want for it?"
The man knew Robin Hood. He knew that Robin helped the poor. So he sold the cart and the meat to him.
Robin said, "Will you sell me your clothes, too? You are dressed as a butcher. I want to look like a butcher in Nottingham."
So Robin went to Nottingham and began to sell the meat. He asked very little money for his meat.
The Sheriff asked all the butchers to have dinner with him once a year. The other butchers told Robin, "Today is our day to have dinner with the Sheriff."
"Yes," Robin said. "I know that."
So Robin went with the other butchers to have dinner with the Sheriff.
The Sheriff did not know Robin; but he knew that he sold his meat for very little money. He said to Robin, "Have you any beasts to sell?"
"O yes," said Robin. "I have over a hundred. Will you come and see them?"
So when the dinner was finished, the Sheriff put three hundred pounds in his bag and went with Robin to see Robin's beasts. He took thirty of his men with him.
They went to the forest. Then they went into the forest. The "butcher" led the Sheriff on and on through the forest.
The Sheriff said, "I do not want to see Robin Hood. I am not afraid of him, but I am not ready to drive him and all the outlaws out of the forest and kill them."
Robin said, "Look there! There are my beasts!" The Sheriff saw a great many deer among the trees.
"Their meat is very good---better than the meat which I was selling in Nottingham."
"It is Robin Hood! Catch him!" cried the Sheriff. But Robin blew his horn and a hundred men in Lincoln green were there. Some of them jumped out of the trees. No one knew where the others came from. But there they were!
Robin said, "I have brought the Sheriff to have dinner with us today." Then he said to the Sheriff, "Give me your bag." Robin took out the three hundred pounds and said, "This will just pay for your dinner. We have some very good meat and we are cooking it for your dinner. It is one of the King's fat deer!"
So he made the Sheriff sit down to dinner. After the dinner Robin said, "When you next come into Sherwood Forest, please have dinner with us again---But bring five hundred pounds next time."