Week 12 Reading: Robin Hood, Part A

Robin Hood: The Butcher

Since I was a little girl, I've loved stories about Robin Hood. I used to watch the Disney movie all the time, but I also had a book of stories about him that I would read over and over again. I wanted to be one of his Merry Men and live in the forrest - I thought it seemed like a really charmed way to live. I thought this story about the butcher was cute, and I hadn't ever heard it before.

- Robin Hood runs into a butcher who is headed to Nottingham with his meats to sell

- Robin Hood offers to buy the man's horse and all his wares 

- the butcher agrees

- Robin Hood goes into town disguised as a butcher and sets up shop next to the other butchers

- He sells so much more than all of them, and they are all curious as to who he is

- Robin Hood is very young, and they've never seen him before

- They invite him to dine with them after the day is over, and Robin agrees

- They head to the Sheriff's house for dinner

- The Sheriff wonders who Robin Hood is, and the other butchers say that they think he just inherited all his land and may be looking to sell

- The Sheriff asks Robin Hood if this is the case, and Robin confirms 

- The Sheriff goes with Robin Hood to look at what he has to sell, and Robin Hood takes him to Sherwood Forest

- Once there, the Sheriff begins to realize that something is going on and Robin Hood blows on his horn and Little John and the Merry Men show up

- They send the Sheriff back home and Robin Hood says "please commend me to your wife"

I thought this story was funny because it was basically just a prank to prove that Robin Hood has more power than the Sheriff. Even though Robin Hood doesn't actually hurt the Sheriff or anything like that, he still has a victory because the Sheriff knows that Robin Hood managed to sneak into town, eat dinner at his own house, and trick him into coming back to Sherwood with him. 

A Medieval painting of Sherwood Forest

Story source: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898).