A long time ago, the city of Nottingham (England) was ruled by King Richard. Richard was a very generous king. He always helped the poor and spread happiness. Moreover, he was a just king. He never gave punishment to the innocent.
The king had a wicked brother, Prince John. “John, there’s some news I have to give you. I’ll have to go fighting our enemies and winning at the war. So, I entrust you with the responsibility of running the kingdom in my absence.” The prince smiled slyly. This was what he had always wanted.
“Don’t worry, brother. Emerge victorious! I will look after the state.” Prince John was very unkind to the people of Nottingham. Under his rule, the rich became richer, and the poor turned very poor. The poor of Nottingham had a saviour named Robin Hood.
Robin Hood always wore a green costume, and a green hat accompanied by a feather on top Robin Hood had a friend whose name was Little John. They lived in the middle of Sherwood forest. In order to reach Prince John’s treasury, many caravans loaded with wealth had to pass through the forest.
Together, Little John, Robin Hood and his other allies robbed the rich merchants and the princes’ caravans. The vehicles, called caravans, carried huge amounts of gold and money which had been unduly collected from the common people.
Robin Hood wasn’t a bad man. He used to distribute this robbed wealth amongst the poor, and was fondly, called as the ‘Prince of Thieves’ by them. Soon the Sheriff of the city heard about Robin Hood
“Sheriff! What are you and your men doing? Gold and wealth gets robbed away whenever my caravans cross the forest. Catch this thief!” Prince John said. “Yes, Your Majesty,” the Sheriff answered. Soon, he announced many rewards for the person who could catch the robber, i.e. Robin Hood.
But this did not deter Robin Hood from doing good deeds. He continued to give away his loot to the needy. “I am warning you for the last time. Do something about the situation. I will not be humiliated by Robin Hood and his men,” Prince John ordered the Sheriff angrily
The Sheriff told, “Accept my apologies, Your Majesty. I will catch him soon.” The Sheriff thought a lot, and finally came up with an idea. He announced a competition of archery to be held in the city of Nottingham. “Spread the word about this competition. Tell the people that the winner will be announced as the best archer of the city in front of everyone and also win rewards,” the Sheriff said to his men.
“Robin, have you heard about this archery competition being held at the field? It is tomorrow,” a friend of
Robin Hood asked. “Yes, we have. But I don’t think he should participate in it. It is a trap laid down by the Sheriff to catch Robin,” Little John expressed.
“Yes, I agree. The entire city of Nottingham knows that Robin Hood is undoubtedly the best archer we have ever had,” another friend said. “I will go and have fun there. You people are worrying too much,” Robin Hood obviously had a plan.
Next day, Robin Hood adorned a disguise so that no one at the competition might recognize him. At the competition, Robin Hood shot arrows which hit the bull’s eye–not once, but five times! He was leading the scoreboard, and the audience applauded.
The loud cheers soon caught the Sheriff’s attention. “Who is this man so skilled at archery?” The Sheriff thought for a moment, and could finally comprehend what was happening! “That is Robin Hood dressed in disguise! Only he can shoot so well. Catch him,” the Sheriff ordered his men.
The men armed with weapons ran to catch Robin Hood, and finally arrested him. Chaos spread all around, as the Sheriff’s men captured him. “Make him captive. Do not let him go,” the prince ordered. All along, Little John was hiding behind the crowd of people.
He tiptoed towards the prince, and swung out a knife. “Release Robin, or I’ll kill your prince,” Little John said holding the knife against the prince’s neck. No one had a choice, and the men had to let go of Robin. Both Little John and Robin Hood marked their way outside the field.
Robin Hood and his friends celebrated their victory and had a feast. “Thank you my friend,” Robin Hood expressed his gratitude to his friend Little John. Everyone danced merrily and laughed heartily. Robin Hood’s story is a tale of kindness and selflessness. One should keep doing good deeds like Robin Hood.
