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Robin has been saved from the Sheriff of Nottingham’s trap by a good knight (See The Golden Arrow), who gave him protection in his castle. The sheriff rode away to London to seek the help of King Richard.

Now we hear how King Richard came to Nottingham with the aim of seeing England’s most famous criminal in person. It’s a fast moving and action packed episode and the climax of our Robin Hood Series.

Read by Natasha. Duration 10.10

With the Sheriff gone, it was safe to leave the castle and Robin returned to Greenwood with his men, many of whom had been wounded. A day or two later, the knight went out hunting along the river with his hawks.

But the sheriff was waiting for him. His archers caught the knight at a bend in the river, and there was no escape. The sheriff took him back to Nottingham as a prisoner, bound hand and foot. When the knight’s wife heard the dreadful news, she rode out to Greenwood to find Robin Hood and to beg him for help.

“Dear Robin Hood,” she said, “For our Lady’s sake grant me this boon. Never let my wedded Lord be shamefully put to death like a common criminal.”

Robin, who himself was no common criminal, would not leave his friend to such a fate. He chose twenty of his best archers and they rode straight into the City of Nottingham, not even bothering to wear disguises.

They found the Sheriff and his bodyguards on the steps of the law courts.

“Good sir, what news of the King?” called out Robin. But he did not wait for a reply. He fired his arrow directly at his enemy, the sheriff, and struck him dead. Then his men attacked the guards with their swords and put them to flight. They rushed into the courts and down to the cells, where they found their friend.

“Good Sir knight,” called out Robin, “Come with me to Greenwood through the moss, the mire, and the fen.” And the Knight was only too happy to ride with Robin to the forrest and to freedom.

News of this lawlessness soon reached the King in London, and he decided to waste no more time in coming to Nottingham to restore order.

When the King Richard reached the city, he called all the elders and local dignitaries to a council.

“This is my decree,” said the King. “Who so ever shall bring me the head of the errant knight will receive his castle and all his lands.”

Many around the table murmured their approval, and only one wise old knight dared to speak an opposing view:

“My liege. There is no living soul in this country who may enjoy the lands of my fellow knight while Robin Hood rides free with a bow in his hands.”

And all had to agree that the wise old knight spoke nothing but the truth.

“So does anyone have a better plan?” asked King Richard. But no one around the table could think of one.

That evening, a forester asked permission to speak to the king. He was brought before his majesty and spoke as follows:

“Sire. If you wish to meet with Robin Hood, you should take five of your best knights and ride with them to the Abbey. There, put on monks’ habits and then make your way to Greenwood. You will meet with Robin Hood soon enough.”

The king saw the cunning of this plan, for surely even the lawless Robin Hood would not fire their arrows into a group of traveling monks.
Later that night, The king and his five best knights rode over to the abbey to borrow some clothes. The king chose a broad hat, which he wore over his crown, so that he looked like the abbot. His knights pulled monks ‘habits over their armoured breastplates.

The King did not have to travel for very long through Sherwood Forrest before he met with Robin’s men. Naturally, the outlaws believed him to be the abbot – who was famous for his high living and his greed. They brought him, together with the five knights dressed as monks, to their leader under the Greenwood tree.

Robin declared that the abbot must stay a while in Greenwood, and hand over some of his gold for charity.

The King in disguise replied that he was carrying but forty pounds, adding:

“For I have been in Nottingham this past week, and I have spent much gold entertaining the king.”

Robin divided the forty pounds, half for the families of his men who had recently been killed or wounded, and the other half he returned to the man dressed as an abbot saying:

“Keep this for your spending. We shall meet another day.”

The King replied with an invitation to Robin to come and dine with him in Nottingham. Robin admired hisspirit and replied:

“Indeed I will. But for now, Sir Abbot, stay a while and dine with me under the yew tree.”

Robin blew his horn and seven men came and kneeled before him. He commanded them to stand up and draw their bows. The King thought that they meant to kill him but happily he was mistaken. Robin declared that there would be shooting match, and who so ever would miss the target should receive a blow. Will Scarlet, Little John and Gilbert all hit true but Robin missed his target by three fingers width. And Gilbert said:

“Master. You must pay.”

“Indeed I must,” said Robin, and turning to the abbot said:

“My honoured guest. Do me the service of a blow.”

The King protested that he would do no harm to a good yeoman of the forrest, but Robin said: “Dear Abbot, you hit me with my full permission. In fact, I insist.”

Then King Richard the Lionheart rolled up his sleeve and gave Robin such a blow that he laid him out on the ground. It was almost a minute before Robin opened his eyes and was able to sit up. He was about to congratulate his guest on the strength of his arm when the king through off his hat and revealed his crown. Robin and the Knight recognised their king right away and kneeled before him. And shortly after, so did all of his men.

“Good sire,” said Robin at length, “If I have shown you hospitality, grant me this boon. Pardon me and all my men for our crimes”

And the king gladly granted his Royal Pardon to Robin Hood.

And that’s the story of how King Richard met Robin Hood. Bertie says that most of our stories about Robin Hood come from an ancient ballad called “A Gest of Robin Hood” that was written around the year 1450. And although Robin Hood was a real outlaw who committed crimes, he was supported by the people because the Sheriff was unjust.

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This is the latest story in our Robin Hood series. In an earlier story (The Sheriff Who Came to Dinner) Little John tricked the Sheriff of Nottingham into coming to dinner with Robin Hood. Before he left, they made him swear an oath never to harm them. In this story, the Sheriff decides to send Robin an invitation he cannot refuse. He holds an archery contest – and the prize is a golden arrow. He feels certain that the outlaw will not be able to resist taking part.

Read by Natasha. Duration 12.41

Read  Story Review Robin Hood and Medieval Times

I’ve told you before how Robin Hood once tricked the Sheriff of Nottingham into coming to dinner with him in Greenwood. At the end of the Dinner Robin forced the Sheriff to swear an oath never to harm Robin or his men. In this story, we shall hear if the Sheriff was true to his word.

The Sheriff of Nottingham did not forget how Robin Hood had invited him to dinner under the trees of Greenwood.

Some time after that memorable dinner, the Sheriff was drinking ale with his friend the Abbott. .

“Let no one say that I am an ill-mannered man, he mused. “One favour deserves another. It is time for me to return an invitation to Robin Hood and pay his hospitality back in kind.”

The Abbott shook his head:

“The outlaw has not remained at large for so long by being a simpleton. I do not think that he will walk so easily into your hospitable trap.”

The Sheriff smiled over the top of his tankard of frothy brown ale and the Abbott realised by the self-satisfied curl of his friend’s upper lip that the sheriff was confident of his plan.

“My dear Abbott,” said the Sherrif. “You are right to say that we are facing no straight-forward villain. I do not have in mind a polite note addressed to Robin Hood in his robber’s layer in Greenwood. I have a more subtle plan. But he shall prove unable to resist my invitation to the gallows – all the more because I shall send it indirectly.”

The Sheriff’s plan came quite naturally to him. Like most men, he loved to watch a good sporting contest. And in those days the most popular sport in England was archery. Everyone knew that the title for the finest archer in all the North of England belonged by right to Robin Hood. The Sheriff decided to give the outlaw a chance to claim his title. He ordered that on a certain day an archery contest would be held on the field outside the city walls. The trophy was to be a arrow, the like of which had not been seen in England. Its shaft was made of white gold, and it was tipped and feathered with yellow gold.

When Robin heard news of the contest, he thought what a fine thing it would be to claim the prize from the hand of the Sheriff himself. The very idea made him chuckle, for all the people of Nottingham would see how their chief law keeper was powerless to arrest the county’s most notorious outlaw.

Robin blew his horn to call his followers to meet around the oldest Yew Tree in Greenwood. He spoke to his faithful outlaws like this:

“Men. In a week’s time we shall go to Nottingham and take part in the Sheriff’s own shooting match, for I crave to bring the golden arrow back to Greenwood.”

The outlaws were far from over-joyed to hear this plan, for in their hearts, they thought it was perhaps a little too bold.

“Have no fear,” said Robin, “For the Sheriff stood under this very Yew Tree and swore an oath by St. Mary that he would never do us any harm.”

To this, Little John added: “Aye that he did, and in a week’s time we shall discover if the Sheriff is a man of his word.”

On the day of the contest Robin and over 100 of his men gathered on the field of the contest. Robin ordered that just he and the five best shots in his band would take part in the match. The others were to crowd round them, so that Robin would not be recognised until he stepped forward to aim at the target. For more disguise, he wore a hood over his head.

Little John, Much the Miller’s Son, and Will Scarlet each stepped forward in turn to aim their long bows. Their aims were good and true. Then it was the turn of Robin. The Sheriff was watching from his chair, and he recognised the villain right away, not from his face which he could not see, but from the way he walked. He said to himself:

“Soon Robin Hood will take his prize, and I shall have mine.”

Posts driven into a mounds of earth served as the targets, and Robin split furthest post with his arrow. Nobody else could strike true from such a great distance.

At the end of the contest, Robin approached the sheriff to claim his prize. He accepted the golden arrow and held it above his head. The word had got round that the victor was none other than the most notorious outlaw in the North of England. Some people in the crowd cheered, others jeered, and still more kept quite, for they did not dare to show their support or opposition for the Sheriff’s deadliest enemy.

While Robin was still holding up the prize, a horn sounded and the sheriff’s men began to rush at Robin. The outlaws of Greenwood were ready for treachery such as this, and held their long bows bent and ready to fire. They shot their into the sheriff’s men, and many of them fell dead. Then arrows began to fly in both directions and most of the crowd – those who did not care to join in the fight on either side – ran for the city gates.

A great many arrows were let loose, a great many tunics were split, and a great many men received wounds. An arrow struck Little John in the knee, and he was unable to stay standing.

“Robin,” he called out. “If I have served you well and true, do not let me fall into the hands of the sheriff while I am still breathing. Take my broad sword and strike me on the head. Cut me deep and wide until no life is left in me.”

But Robin replied: “I would not let you be slain for all the gold in England, even though it were laid out before me.”

And Much the Miller’s son added” “God Forbid that we shall be parted”. And he took Little John up on his back, and walked with him a mile, although he put him down every now and then to loose some arrows from his bow. All Robin Hood’s men were retreating now. They fought their way to the Castle of the good knight whom Robin had helped when he was down on his luck. It was a strong building, with a double moat and high walls. Once the whole band of outlaws were inside, the Knight ordered his guards to rise the draw bridge and shut all the gates.

The Sheriff’s men surrounded the Castle, but they were not strong enough to break their way in, and the Knight welcomed his old friend.

“Dear Robin. Of all the men in the world, I love you most. You shall stay safe in my castle and let the Sheriff lay siege to us if he wishes. We have enough food and drink not just to survive for 40 days, but to feast upon.”

After a while the Sheriff himself came up the gate carrying the white flag of truce, for he wished to negotiate. The knight stood on the walls to hear what he had to say:

“Good Knight,:” he called out, “Do you wish to be a traitor to your king? For you are keeping his enemy safe against the law.”

And the Knight replied:

“I swear by all my lands that I am indeed keeping Robin Hood safe and I will never betray him for he is my truest friend.”

When the Sheriff heard this, he called out that he would depart for London to speak with the King himself. And in this case, he kept his word for straight to London he went. When he reached court, he was granted an Audience with King Richard, just returned for the wars in the Holy Lands. The King heard the story of how the notorious outlaws were being protected by one of his own knights and he said to the Sheriff:

“Go home proud Sheriff and gather the best archers you can find. I shall be in Nottingham within two weeks, and then I shall take this errant knight for he is a traitor to both his King and to the law of the land. And as for Robin Hood – never have I heard of such a popular criminal. And I am curious to know how one man can break so many laws in a single lifetime. It is my royal intention to look this extraordinary outlaw in the eye before he meets his just deserts.”

And that’s the story of Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow – and Bertie says that one day soon we shall hear about how Robin Hood met King Richard The Lion Heart.

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Read by Natasha. Duration 12.22

More than 800 years ago, a coach and horses was passing through Sherwood Forest. The passengers inside the carriage were a rich and important family, and they were guarded by four soldiers riding on horseback, two out in front, and two behind. Even so, when they came to the part of the forest known as Greenwood, the father became nervous, because he knew that it was thick with thieves and bandits. His wife noticed that his finger was tapping on his knee, and she put her hand on top of his to calm his nerves. His beautiful daughter, whose name was Marian, closed her eyes and managed to fall asleep to the rocking of the carriage.

“If the bandits attack,” thought the father, “I will give up my gold. But I only pray that they do not touch a hair on the head of my dear Marian !”

And then what he feared, happened. At first, the family did not even realise that they were being attacked. The robbers jumped down from the trees above, and pulled the soldiers off their horses and onto the ground. It was all so skilfully planned that the guards were over-powered in less than a minute. The coach driver tried to whip up the horses to make them fly forward – and that alerted the family – but it was useless for a tree lay across the road and he had to pull them up sharp with a jolt. They were caught in a trap.

The father expected to hear the age old cry of highwaymen “Stand and Deliver” – which meant that they were to get out of the carriage and hand over their valuables. But instead, there was a polite tap on the door of the carriage, and a voice said;

“Dear Sir, be so kind as to step outside.”

“Ah, they mock me,” he said to his wife.”.

As his foot set down on the road, he noticed that his knee was wobbling. He found himself facing a young man dressed in green. Behind him stood six men, dressed in the same colour, and armed with swords and long bows.

“Here,” said the father, “Take this purse of gold, Only, I beg you, do not touch my wife or daughter. I swear by St. Mary and all that is sacred that they have no jewels or valuables about their persons.”

In fact, this was not true. His wife was at that moment busy stuffing her jewels down the front of her dress.

“Good Gracious!’ said the leader of the bandits. “What do you take me for?” I would do no harm to a lady !”

At that moment, Maid Marian jumped down out of the carriage.

“What are you doing? cried the father. Get back dear. This instant.”

But Maid Marian was a high spirited young lady with a fiery temper. She went up to the bandit leader and slapped him around the face.

“Take that you coward,” she said. “Give me a sword and I’ll show you a fight.”

The father was horrified, for he had no idea that his daughter practiced fencing with her brothers, and was more skilled with a sword than any of them. She was no mean shot with a long bow and arrow too – but he had no inkling of that either.

The robber touched the side of his face where she had swiped him. “I would that it were a kiss,” he said, “But your hand stings sweetly all the same. Now my beautiful amazon, spare your temper. In return for the gold your father has just given me – and for which I am truly grateful – my men shall ride behind your carriage to the edge of the forest and ensure that no criminals attack you – for I’m sorry to say that this forrest is full of the worst sort of people.’

Maid Marian slapped him again round the face, and then got back into the carriage with hot tears in her eyes. But the bandits were true to their word, and gave the family their protection to the edge of the forrest. Before they parted, the leader of the robbers once more tapped on the door of the carriage. He wished his victims safe journey to their home.

“And my lady,” he said to Maid Marian, “I so desire to have the pleasure of setting eyes on you once again. Pray, do tell me your name.”

At first she did not want to reply, but then she said softly, “Marian.” And the robber said,

“Well dear Marian. This evening in Greenwood you have won the heart of Robin Hood,” and with that he jumped on his horse and sped away.

“The cheek of it!” said the mother. But the father was almost relieved, for often bandits did far more harm to travellers than they had received.

Two months went past, and Marian’s father and mother decided that it was time for her to wed. They began talks with a rich lord whose eldest son was good looking, but extremely arrogant. When they told Marian that she must marry him, she was furious:

“Do I not have any say in the matter?” she said.

“My dear,” said her father, “You are young and do not know what is best for you.”

But Marian’s character was not the sort that could be forced to do anything unless she wanted it herself. And so she resolved to run away. She knew that many of the local boys from poor families had gone to Sherwood Forrest and become outlaws. Some were robbers, but others lived by hunting the king’s deer, which was against the law. She cut her own hair, dressed herself as a paige boy, armed herself with sword and a long bow, and rode off on the fastest horse in her father’s stable.

Nobody knew better than her that it was dangerous to ride through the forest, especially alone, but she did not care because she was so angry at thought of marrying a man she did not love, or even like.

“If I meet robbers, I shall fight them, ” she said to herself, “And if they kill me, my life will be little loss to me, for I am so unhappy in my heart.’

She rode deep into the woods Eventually, she found a clearing in which there stood an old log-cabin. It was half fallen down, but she thought that she would mend it and live there. She would survive by hunting and fishing. As she was hungry, she sat down to eat the bread and cheese that she had bought with her. While she was doing this, she heard footsteps, and she jumped to her feet, her sword in hand. A man appeared, dressed in green, and she recognised him right away as Robin Hood who had attacked her family.

“Hold back,” she called out, pointing her sword at him, “for if you try to rob me it will cost you your life.”

Robin was interested to find this spirited lad with no sign of any bristle on his chin.

“Young boy,” he said, “Put down your sword, for I mean you know harm. I am just an innocent forester, and I came here to mend my cabin.”

“No you’re not,” said Marian, “You’re Robin Hood, the notorious outlaw. Take one step closer, and I’ll run you through.”

For in truth, what made Marian so angry was that he had not recognised her. “So much for his sweet words about winning his heart, ” she said to himself. “It was all meaningless hot air. I’ll show him.”

Seeing the sword painting dangerously towards him, Robin drew his own sword, meaning to use it to push Marian’s aside, but she saw what was happening and thrust forward. He only just managed to deflect her sword from cutting his ear.

And then they fought. They clashed, They thrust, they parried, they twirled. Marian drew blood from Robin’s cheek, and that enflamed his anger. Then he fought back with all his strength, but she was nibble footed and skilled; even so, she took a cut above her eye. Now she was blinded by her own blood, and she was cutting wildly about her with her sword. Robin managed to get behind her and wrestle her to the ground.

“Gently, gently,” he was saying. “Calm yourself now. Time to stop fighting and be friends. I could use a boy like you in my band of followers.”

He allowed Marian to turn round and now he was looking into her face.

“You faithless man,” she said, “You do not know me,”

But he did, And he kissed her on the lips.

And that’s the story of how Maid Marian came to join Robin Hood and his men in Sherwood Forrest.

Copyright Version – Storynory

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Robin Hood liked to invite guests to dine with him at his table in Sherwood Forrest. If his guests were rich and powerful he would ask them to pay for their dinner with gold or jewels. But if they were poor or down on their luck, he would help them out with money from his own coffers. In this story, I’ll tell you how Robin entertained the Sheriff of Nottingham – and he was very rich and powerful indeed.

Robin Hood’s most trusted outlaw was Little John. In fact, there was nothing little about him at all. He was huge. And if there was one thing that he really loved it was his food. In particular, he liked to eat venison – which is the meat of deer. There were plenty of deer in Sherwood Forrest, but it was forbidden to shoot them by punishment of death. The law didn’t stop Little John, because he feared nothing or nobody.

Sometimes he would arrive at Robin Hood’s lair with a bag full of hares, partridges, and pheasants and he would say to Robin:

“Come on my friend, let’s get a good fire going. I’ll soon have these ready for roasting and what a fine dinner we shall have.”

But quite often Robin would make Little John wait for his dinner until a rich and respectable guest had come to join them. And at those times, when Little John was hungry, he would become very tetchy and bad tempered indeed. All the other robbers who lived with Robin Hood would stay out of his way, because nobody wanted to get into a fight with a man as big and strong as Little John.

One day, Robin asked Little John to go into the city of Nottingham to see if he could pick up any news or gossip. It so happened, that on that same day there was shooting competition in the market place. Little John could not resist a chance to show of his skill with his bow and arrow, and he paid the fee of one penny to join the contest.

Each archer had to shoot an arrow into a post. Those who missed dropped out, and those that hit went on to the next round when the posts were moved further back. Little John split six posts down the middle with his arrows. Nobody else could match him.

The Sheriff of Nottingham gave him the first prize and declared:

“This man is the best archer that I ever did see. Say now, my hearty young man, what is your name and where were you born?”

“I was born in Yorkshire,” replied Little John. “And my name is Reynold Grenelef.

“Well then, Reynold Grenelef,” said the Sheriff, “Come and work for me. I will pay you 20 marks a year and give you food and shelter.”

If he had known who Little John really was, he would have taken him not to his house, but to his gaol, for the Sheriff was the law around those parts, and the law had no greater enemies than Robin Hood and Little John.

At first Little John tried to think of a cheeky reply to the Sheriff’s offer, and then he thought to himself.

“So help me. I shall be the worst servant he ever had.”

And he said out loud: “I thank your Lordship. I shall come to your house this evening and start my service for you. I promise that you will never had another servant the like of Reynold Grenelef.”

That evening, Little John settled into his new home in the servant’s quarters in the mansion belonging to the Sherriff of Nottingham. He had not eaten all day, and so he called out to the steward who was in charge of the dining hall:

“Good Steward I pray, when will dinner be?”

To which the Steward replied:

“There will be no dinner for you till the master gets back.”

“And when will that be?” asked Little John.

“Not till next week, for he’s gone hunting with the Abbot.”

At this, Little John picked up the steward and began to shake him:

“What? A whole week without food? That will be the worse for my temper, and your head, for I swear I’ll take a crowbar and beat you with it.”

The butler heard the row, and came to give the new servant a clout round the ears, but when I saw the size of Little John, he held back. Little John pushed past him and kicked door open.

Inside the kitchen he found a keg of wine, which he cracked open and began to guzzle from. Then he seized a leg of lamb out of the pantry, and started to tear chunks of meat off it with his teeth.

The cook had not seen Little John before, and was amazed that a stranger should dare to burst into his kitchen and help himself to food and drink. He came up to Little John and gave him three good punches in the belly:

“Little John looked up and said:

“Give me more of those. I liked them well.”

Then the cook drew his sword, and Little John drew his, and as neither would back away, they set about each other with their blades.

Out on the road they fought, and across the green. Their clashing steel made so much noise that you might have thought that two whole armies were in battle. Their swords were made thick and strong for breaking open armour. But neither man grew tiered as they wielded their heavy weapons for over an hour.

“I swear by my true life,” said Little John, “That you are the best swordsman that I ever did see. If only you can shoot as well with a bow, then you should come with me to Green Wood and join the band of Robin Hood. You’ll have three new sets of clothes a year and 20 marks for your purse.”

And the cook replied:

“Set down your sword and we shall be friends.”

And as they were both hungry after the fight, they went back to the Sheriff’s house and stuffed themselves with sweetmeats from the pantry. After that, they gathered all the precious things that they could find around the house. They took goblets and plates, trays and caskets. Nor did they forget the silver spoons. They found a crowbar and broke into the safe where they fond plenty of money in gold coins. All this they put into a chest and rode off with it to Green Wood and Robin Hood.

Robin was greatly amused by Little John’s story of his time in the service of the Sheriff, and he was indeed pleased with the chest full of loot. But he said:

“I cannot eat off the Sheriff’s plate unless his Lordship joins us here in Green Wood for dinner.”

And thinking this over, Little John said:

“Then let me fetch the Sheriff to you.”

He rode off across the forest to the Sheriff’s hunting lodge, and waited for him to return back from the day’s hunting with his hounds. When the Sheriff saw his new servant the said:

“So look who it is. Reynold Grenelef. What brings you here my man?”

Little John knelt before him and said:

“Good master. Five miles from here is one of the fairest sights I ever did see : Tender young hares and a herd of sixty or more deer. I did not dare aim my arrows for fear of the law, but thought I’d come and to tell you what I saw.”

The Sheriff replied that it would be a delight to watch Little John display his hunting skills with the Long Bow and arrow and added:

“Fear not the law, for I am the law here and I would love to see this sport.”

Then Little John led the Sheriff across the forest but not to the hunting grounds, for he took him instead to the camp of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws.

When the Sheriff saw that he was surrounded by brigands he exclaimed:

“Reynold Grenelef. You have betrayed me!”\

And Little John replied.

“Master, I swear it was not my fault, for your steward and your butler would not give me dinner.”

Then Little John made the Sheriff take off his fine clothes and gave them to his cook, who put them on.

Robin invited the Sheriff, just wearing his shirt and britches, to sit down at his table, with this cook on one side and his “servant”, Little John, on the other. He placed before him his own silver plate, and filled his own goblet with wine. The feast was a good one, but the Sheriff had lost his appetite. He did not believe that he would leave the forest alive.

“Cheer up Lord Sheriff,” said Robin, “For I give you your life. You can live here with me for a year and I’ll teach you to be an outlaw.”

The Sheriff replied: “Better that in the morning you cut off my head.”

And Robin said: “Better in the morning that you should go free. But first you must swear an oath by St. Mary that you will never do any harm to me or my men.”

The Sheriff was too proud to agree to such a promise right away, but in the morning, after a night as the guest of Robin Hood, he thought better of it, and he agreed to swear the oath:

“For as long as I live I shall be Robin Hood’s best friend, and if any day or night, by water or by land, I shall ever find Robin Hood or any of his men, I shall help them in any way I can.”

And when he had sworn his oath, the Sheriff went on his way home, still wearing just his shirt and britches, and riding on mule.

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Who hasn’t heard of Robin Hood? He could make a claim to be the most famous Englishman who ever lived. His story has been told and retold many times. We have tried to stay true in spirt to one of the earliest ballads about the famous robber, The Gest of Robin Hood.

The word “gest” is old English, and a bit of a pun. It could mean a “jest” or a “guest” and it has an ancient meaning as a “heroic deed”.

Normally Robin likes to entertain his guests in Sherwood Forrest with food and wine, before relieving them of their gold. But in this story his guest is a sad Knight who has no money to surrender. Instead, Robin lends him money so that he can repay a loan to the cruel Abbot.

As in all Robin Hood stories, anybody in authority is a baddie (except King Richard) – and that includes the leaders of the church who are abusing their power.

More episodes will follow.

Read Natasha’s Story Review

Read by Natasha. Duration 14.18

Of all the thieves and high-way robbers who have ever lived, by far the politest was Robin Hood. He liked to entertain those he robbed as guests in his own home. And although his home was a rough camp in Green Wood, which was the thickest and darkest part of Sherwood forest, his table was always heavy with rich food and wine. He was very choosy about those whom he invited to his layer. He only liked to rob the best sort of people – nobles, knights, barons, and leading figures of the church. He treated his victims with such great courtesy and hospitality, that afterwards some of them said that it had been a privilege to have robbed by Robin Hood.

One day, Robin and his men had been out shooting game in the King’s Forest. It was this habit that had made them outlaws in the first place – for for the King’s brother, John, had declared that all the forests belonged to him – and anyone who hunted there without his permission would face severe punishment. King Richard himself would not have deprived the foresters of food, but he was away fighting wars oversees. And while he was away, his brother John ruled England with cruelty and injustice.

On this day, the hunting had been good, and Robin Hood and his men were looking forward to a fine dinner.

“But let us not be greedy and keep all this fine food to ourselves,” said Robin. “I will not eat until I have a worthy guest at my table. Little John, go and find me a fitting guest and invite him to dine with us.”

Little John’s real name was John Little, but everyone called him Little John because he was so huge. He was six foot five inches tall and as broad as a tree. He was Robin’s most trusted partner in crime, and feared nothing and nobody – not even Robin. Although he was hungry, he agreed to go and find a guest. He took two of the best men – Will Scarlock and Much the Miller’s son, and went up to the highway to wait for a suitable guest to come along.

The road was quiet and they waited an hour or more for a suitable victim. At last a Knight came riding down the road. As he drew near they saw that he was lost in thought, and that there was a look of great sadness on his face. The three men jumped out and pointed their arrows at his chest. Their long bows were so powerful that they could easily pass through any armoured breast plate or chain-mail.

“Cheer Up Gentle Sir Knight,” called out Little John. “You Are invited to the table of my master for dinner tonight.”

The Knight was startled and replied: “But I plan to dine in Barnslydale tonight, for tomorrow I must go to see the Abbot on urgent business.”

“T’is a pity,” said Little John, still aiming his arrow at the Knight’s chest, “For my master will take great offence should you refuse his kind invitation.”

“And who might your master be?” asked the Knight.

“His name should be known to all who pass by Sherwood forest, for it is Robin Hood.”

“In that case I shall come,” said the Knight, “For I have heard much about him.”

Will Scarlock placed a blindfold over the knight’s eyes, and they led him through the forest to the hide-away. Robin greeted the knight with great courtesy;

“Welcome to Green Wood Gentle Sir Knight, all ours is yours.”. They washed their hands together in the stream, and then they dined on Pheasant, trout, cuts of venison, and barley bread, and swilled it down with plenty of red wine.

“I have not eaten such a dinner in these last three months,” declared the Knight. “And if you visit my castle, I shall make you a fine feast in return.”

“Ah,” said Robin, “I would much prefer, Kind Sir, that you paid before you leave – for it is the custom in Green Wood that a peasant’s son such as I should not pay for a knight.”

The sad expression returned to the Knight’s face.

“I have but ten shillings,” he said.

Robin had not entertained such a poor guest at his table before.

“If what you say is true,” he said, “I will not take one penny off you. Indeed, I shall lend you money from my own coffers.”

And he sent Little John to look through the Knight’s belongings. When he had checked them, he said.

“Our gentle Knight is indeed a pauper.”

“How come so poor?” asked Robin.

And the sad Knight told his story. He had a son who was a fine, strong, but hot-tempered young man. He liked to joust, and in a contest he had killed the son of a Baron. The Baron demanded blood-money of four hundred pounds, and if it was not paid, the Knight’s son would be put on trial for murder and executed. In those days, four hundred pounds was a great deal of money, and although the knight had a steady income from his lands, he did not have such a sum ready to give. He was forced to borrow from a wealthy churchman, the Abbot of the Monastery of St. Mary.. The Abbot gave the Knight just three months to repay the loan, and if he failed to pay back the money in that time, the Knight must give the Abbot all his land instead. The time of the loan was almost up, and the Knight was travelling to the Abbot to plead for more time to pay,

“But the Abbot did not become rich by showing mercy,” said the Knight, “And therefore I fully expect that by tomorrow evening I will truly be a landless pauper. I plan to take a ship join King Richard who is fighting in the Holy Lands.”

“Too many good knights are overseas,” said Robin, “Which is why there is so much injustice at home. No, by St. Mary who is dear to me, I shall make you a loan of four hundred pounds and you shall repay the Abbot.’

The next day, at the Monastery of St. Mary, a monk spoke to the Abbot:

“Your worshipful Grace. . Today the Knight must repay his loan or forfeit his lands.”

“He will surely forfeit, ” replied the Abbot, “For I do not think he will find Four Hundred Pounds in so short a time.”

When the Knight and Little John arrived outside the Monastery, they changed into their poor clothes again, before entering and asking to see the Abbot.

The porter at the gate said: “That surely is the shabbiest and saddest looking Knight that I ever did see.”

Inside the main hall, the Knight knelt down before Abbot. The Abbot did not greet him, but said straight out:

“Well, have you brought my money?”

“Not one penny,” replied the knight.

The monk said: “Then why did you come to waste his Grace’s time like this? Your lands are lost. Go away.’

“I came, ” said the knight, “To ask for mercy and more time to pay.”

“You shall not have a minute more,” said the Abbot. “Your lands are mine. Be off.”

“If you give me more time, I shall serve you faithfully,” said the Knight. “Show mercy. For it is good help one who has need.”

At this the Abbot swore a great oath and roundly cursed him.

“Out false Knight ! Speed out of my hall!” he shouted.

“I am no false knight,” replied the debtor. And with that he opened his bag and emptied the gold onto the floor. “If you had shown mercy, I would have repaid your debt and served you faithfully, but as it is, here is your money. Now the papers to my land, your Grace, if you please.”

And the Abbot had no choice but to hand back the deeds to the Knight’s land – -although he was sorry to do so – for it was worth a good deal more than four hundred pounds in gold.

Two day’s later, the Knight returned to his castle wearing his sad expression. “Are we paupers?” asked his wife. “No,” said he brightening up,”We are saved. And God Bless Robin Hood!”

A year passed, and the Knight gathered together four hundred pounds to repay his debt to Robin. He also made 100 arrows and had them plumbed with peacock feathers as a gift to show his gratitude.

A good friar arranged a meeting with Robin beneath a great oak tree in Green Wood. On the way, the Knight stopped to watch a wrestling match between the son of a nobleman and a peasant. The two men, pushed, grappled, arm-locked, tripped, and threw each other, but the peasant was the stronger, and he soon had the nobleman’s son pinned to the ground and unable to move. He claimed his prize – a pound in gold – but the nobleman’s friends would not pay. Instead, the judge of the contest drew his sword and was about to kill the peasant for his impudence.

Seeing this, the Knight rode up and declared. “The man that harms the victor of this match will have to contend with me!” The nobleman’s friends did not want to take on a knight, and they released the peasant.

“Follow me,” said the Knight, “And I will take you to join Robin Hood and his men.”

The peasant agreed, for he knew that if he did not, the noblemen would get him later.

The Knight arrived late for his meeting with Robin, and when he explained what had delayed him on the way, Robin said.

“Gentle Sir Knight, Consider the four hundred pounds a gift, for I will not accept a penny from a man who stands up for justice.”

“Then take these,” said the Knight, and he showed Robin the 100 arrows plumbed with peacock feathers.

That evening the gentle Knight was a guest at Robin’s table for a second time, and they feasted until they could eat no more.