0 PROLOGUE Robin Hood Becomes an Outlaw

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PRLOGUE 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 eighteen, 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 eye patch 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 am going to Nottingham town, where I will compete with other good men for a fine prize." Another man said, "Oh! Listen to the lad! Boy, you're too young to grow a beard, but you 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 eye patch 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 eye-patch man roared, "I'll pay you nothing. Get out of here before I beat you until you can't walk!"

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