“John Little!” said Will Stutely laughing.  “John Little! what a name for a man that height!  John Little! why he is seven feet tall if he is an inch!”

Will laughed and laughed, till the tears ran down his face.  He thought it was such a funny name for so big a man.

Robin laughed because Will laughed.  Then John Little laughed because Robin laughed.  Soon they were all laughing as hard as they could.  The wind carried the sound of it away, till the folk in the villages round about said, “Hark! how Robin Hood and his Merry Men do laugh!”

“Well,” said Robin at last, “I have heard it said, ’Laugh and grow fat,’ but if we don’t get some dinner soon I think we will all grow very lean.  Come along, my little John, I’m sure you must be hungry too.”

“Little John,” said Will Stutely, “that’s the very name for him.  We must christen him again, and I will be his godfather.”

Back to their forest home they all went, laughing and talking as merrily as possible, taking John Little along with them.  Dinner was waiting for them when they arrived.  The head cook was looking anxiously through the trees, saying, “I do wish Master Robin would come, or the roast venison will be too much cooked and the rabbits will be stewed to rags.”

Just at that moment they appeared.  The cook was struck dumb at the sight of the giant, stalking along beside Robin.  “Where has master gotten that Maypole?” he said, laughing to himself, as he ran away to dish the dinner.

They had a very merry dinner.  Robin found that John was not only a good fighter but that he had a wise head and a witty tongue.  He was more and more delighted with his new companion.

But Will and the others had not forgotten that he was to be christened again.  Seven of them came behind him, and in spite of all his kicking and struggling wrapped him up in a long, green cloak, pretending he was a baby.

It was a very noisy christening.  The men all shouted and laughed.  John Little laughed and screamed in turn, and kicked and struggled all the time.

“Hush, baby, hush,” they said.  But the seven-foot baby wouldn’t hush.

Then Will stepped up beside him and began to speak.

  “This infant was called John Little, quoth he,
    Which name shall be changed anon,
  The words we’ll transpose, so wherever he goes,
    His name shall be called Little John.”

They had some buckets of water ready.  These they poured over poor Little John till he was as wet as Robin had been after he fell into the river.  The men roared with laughter.  Little John looked so funny as he rolled about on the grass, trying to get out of his long, wet, green robe.  He looked just like a huge green caterpillar.

Robin laughed as much as any one.  At last he said, “Now, Will, don’t you think that is enough?”

“Not a bit,” said Will.  “You wouldn’t let us duck him in the river when we had him there so we have brought the river to him.”