Little John was there, lying down, smiling and contented after a hard day’s hunting, listening to young Robin, who was displaying the treasures he had brought in that day, and telling his great companion where he had found them.

There were flowers for Maid Marian, because she was fond of the purple and yellow loosestrife, and long thick reeds in a bundle.

“You can make me some arrows of those,” said Robin; “and I’ve found a young yew tree with a bough quite straight.  You must cut that down and dry it to make me a bigger bow.  This one is not strong enough.”

“Very well, big one,” said Little John, smiling and stretching out his hand to smooth the boy’s curly brown hair.  “Anything else for me to do?”

“Oh yes, lots of things, only I can’t think of them yet.  Look here, I found these.”

The boy took some round prickly husks out of his pocket.

“Chestnuts—­eating ones.”

“Yes, I know where you got them,” said Little-John, “but they’re no good.  Look.”

He tore one of the husks open, and laid bare the rich brown nut; but it was, as he said, good for nothing, there being no hard sweet kernel within, nothing but soft pithy woolly stuff.

“No good at all,” continued the great forester; “but I’ll show you a tree which bears good ones, only the nuts are better if they’re left till they drop out of their husks.”

“And then the pigs get them,” said Robin.

“Then you must get up before the pigs, and be first.  Halloa!  What now?”

For a horn was blown at a distance, and the men under the great oak tree sprang to their feet, while Robin Hood came out to see what the signal meant.

Young Robin, who was now quite accustomed to the foresters’ ways, caught up his bow like the rest, and stood looking eagerly in the direction from which the cheery sounding notes of the horn were blown.

He had not long to wait, for half a dozen of the merry men in green came marching towards them with a couple of prisoners, each having his hands fastened behind him with a bow-string and a broad bandage tied over his eyes, so that they should not know their way again to the outlaws’ stronghold.

“Prisoners!” said young Robin.

“Poor men, too,” grumbled Little John.

“Then you’ll give them their supper and send them away to-morrow morning,” said young Robin.

“I suppose so,” said Little John, “but I don’t know what made our fellows bring them in.”

“Let’s go and see,” said young Robin.

Little John followed as the boy marched off, bow in hand, to where Robin Hood was standing, waiting to hear what his men had to say about the prisoners they had brought in.  And as they drew near the boy saw that one was, a homely poor-looking man with round shoulders, the other, well dressed in sad-colored clothes, and thin and bent.  But the boy could see little more for the broad bandage, which nearly covered the prisoner’s face and was tied tightly behind over his long, gray hair, while his gray beard hung down low.