=_Instructor Literature Series--No. 212_= The Story of Robin Hood [Illustration] By BERTHA E. BUSH Published Jointly By F. A. OWEN PUB. CO., DANSVILLE, N. Y. HALL & McCREARY,--CHICAGO, ILL. INSTRUCTOR LITERATURE SERIES STORIES OF ROBIN HOOD BY _Bertha E. Bush_ [Illustration] PUBLISHED JOINTLY BY F. A. OWEN PUB. CO., DANSVILLE, N. Y. HALL & MCCREARY, CHICAGO, ILL. COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY F. A. OWEN PUBLISHING CO _Robin Hood_ CONTENTS WINNING THE SHERIFF'S GOLDEN ARROW HOW LITTLE JOHN JOINED ROBIN HOOD ALLEN-A-DALE AND FRIAR TUCK ROBIN HOOD AND THE SORROWFUL KNIGHT ROBIN HOOD AND THE KING DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD ROBIN HOOD AND ALLEN-A-DALE Stories of Robin Hood "And what of Peter the Ploughman? He was a good friend of mine." "Alack, Peter the Ploughman hath been hanged and his wife and little ones turned out of their home to beg." The father of young Robin Hood with his little son at his side, had met a man from his old home and was eagerly questioning him about the welfare of his old neighbors. But much of the news was sad, for the times were evil in England. The Normans had conquered the country and were the lords and officials in the land, and they cruelly oppressed the common people, who were Saxons. The father said not a word although his face grew very sad, but the boy beside him burst out indignantly. "But why should such a thing be done? Peter the Ploughman was one of the best men I ever knew and his wife was as good and kind as an angel. Why should such a dreadful thing be done to them?" "Because he shot deer in the king's forest. But indeed he had an excuse for breaking the law if ever a man did. His crops had been destroyed by the huntsmen riding through them. The tax collector had taken all that he had, and his children were crying for hunger. He shot the deer that they might have food to eat; but the sheriff caught him and hung him for it. As to the reason why his wife was turned out from her home with her orphan children, the abbot wanted that bit of ground for an extension to his garden, so out the poor folks must go." "It's a shame," cried the boy with flashing eyes. "Such laws as that are wicked laws and ought to be broken. The greedy lords and rich, ease-loving churchmen strip the people bare and go rolling in wealth while the rest of the people are starving." "Hush, boy, hush," said the news-teller warningly. "Our England is indeed cruelly misgoverned, but it is not safe to say so, for the very walls have ears and many have been hanged because their tongues wagged too freely, as well as for shooting the king's deer." "But the king,--the king is good," faltered the boy. He had been taught to love and reverence the king.