Prologue Robin Hood Becomes an Outlaw.
Many years ago in England, when good King Henry II sat on the throne, a famous outlaw lived in Sherwood Forest near the town of Nottingham.
His name was Robin Hood.
No man ever lived who could shoot an arrow like the strong, young six-footer with the blazing blue eyes.
No friends ever lived like the merry fellows who roamed the forest with Robin, playing games of archery and hunting deer.
The country people loved to tell the story of how Robin became an outlaw.
It happened like this.
When Robin was just 18, the sheriff of Nottingham offered a prize for the best archer in the land.
Robin felt sure he could win, so he picked up his best bow and his best arrows and set off through Sherwood Forest.
It was springtime and the flowers bloomed.
The birds sang in the trees, which gladdened Robin's heart.
He whistled and hummed as he hurried through the woods.
Presently, Robin came upon a group of men beneath an old oak tree.
A big man wearing an eyepatch hailed him.
Hello, little lad.
Where are you going with your toy bow and baby arrows?
That made Robin angry.
My bow and arrows are as good as yours, he said.
I'm going to Nottingham Town, where I will compete with other good men for a fine prize.
Another man said, Listen to the lad.
Boy, you're too young to grow a beard, but brag about competing with good stout men.
You're too weak to pull a bowstring.
Robin grew very angry.
Look yonder at that herd of deer.
I'll bet you three hundred pounds that I can shoot the strongest buck dead.
The man with the eyepatch chuckled.
I'll bet you three hundred pounds that you don't hit anything.
Robin strung his bow and placed the notch of an arrow over the string, drawing the feather end back to his ear.
He aimed and shot.
The arrow flew through the air toward the strongest deer in the herd.
It leapt but could not dodge the arrow.
The deer fell dead to the ground.
"'Ha!'
Robin cried.
"'How do you like that shot, good fellow?
I know what my bet was, and I want my three hundred pounds.'
Furious, the eyepatch man roared, I'll pay you nothing.
Get out of here before I beat you until you can't walk.
Another man shouted, You killed one of the king's deer.
His men will cut your ears off.
Grab him, cried a third man.
No, argued a fourth man.
Let him go.
He's just a boy.
Robin said nothing.
He turned away and began walking.
All would have been well, but the man with the eyepatch notched an arrow and aimed at Robin.
I'll hurry the boy along, he muttered.
Then he loosed his arrow.
The arrow missed Robin's head by inches.
In self-defense, Robin quickly turned and shot back.
You said I was no archer.
Now, say so again, Robin shouted.
The arrow flew straight to the man's heart.
He fell forward on the ground.
Robin ran through the woods as fast as he could.
The happiness he had felt earlier was gone.
Oh, he thought, I wish he had never said one word to me.
I wish I had never walked down that path.
I will carry this pain with me for the rest of my life.
That was how Robin came to live in the forest as an outlaw.
A man had died by his hand, and he had poached one of the king's deer.
The sheriff of Nottingham himself vowed to catch Robin.
Over time, Robin met other men who had fled to the forest.
Some had shot deer because their families were starving.
Others had been cheated of their land and money.
All had been unjustly declared outlaws.
Within a year, they had chosen Robin as their leader.
They vowed to fight evil men and promised never to harm a child or a woman.
The people of Nottingham soon learned to trust Robin and his men, praising him and telling tales of his adventures in Sherwood Forest.
Those tales are told to this day.
