In the days of Henry II lived in Sherwood Forest the famous outlaw Robin Hood, with his band of sevenscore men.  At eighteen years of age Robin left Locksley to attend a shooting-match in a neighboring town.  While crossing the forest one of the royal game-keepers tauntingly challenged him to prove his skill as a marksman by killing a deer just darting past them.  But, when the unsuspecting youth brought down this quarry, the forester proposed to arrest him for violating the law.  Robin, however, deftly escaped, and, when the keeper sent an arrow after him, retaliated by another, which, better aimed, killed one of the king’s men!

Although unwittingly guilty of murder, Robin, knowing his life was forfeit, took to the forest, where he became an outlaw.  In vain the Sheriff of Nottingham tried to secure him:  Robin always evaded capture at his hands.  Still he did not remain in hiding, but frequently appeared among his fellow-men, none of whom would betray him, although the sheriff promised a reward of two hundred pounds for his capture.

Once, while in quest of adventures, Robin met on a narrow bridge a stranger who refused to make way for him.  Irritated by what he considered the man’s insolence, Robin seized his quarter-staff, only to find that his antagonist more than matched him in the skilful use of this weapon.  Then a misstep suddenly toppled Robin over into the stream, where he might have perished had not some of his men leaped out of the thicket to his rescue.  Vexed at being beaten at quarter-staff, Robin now proposed a shooting-match, and, his good humor entirely restored by winning a victory in this contest, he promptly enrolled the stranger in his band.  His merry companions, on learning the huge new-comer was John Little, ironically termed him Little John, by which name he became very famous.

Baffled in his attempts to secure Robin and unable to find any one near there to serve a warrant upon him, the sheriff hired a Lincoln tinker, who, entering an inn, loudly boasted how cleverly he was going to accomplish his task.  Among his listeners was the outlaw, who enticed the tinker to drink, and made him so drunk that he had no difficulty in stealing his warrant.

The tinker, on awaking, was furious, and, coming face to face with Robin soon after, attacked him fiercely.  Seeing his opponent was getting the better of him, Robin blew his horn, whereupon six of his men appeared to aid him.  Awed by the sudden appearance of these men,—­who were all clad in Lincoln green,—­the tinker laid down his cudgel and humbly begged permission to join the band.