Robin Hood bedtime story
A long time ago, England was ruled by an evil and greedy prince named John. He ordered the Sheriff of Nottingham to tax the people so heavily that some were forced to become outlaws. Two of the most famous outlaws were Robin Hood and Little John, who would steal the tax money from the sheriff and give it back to the poor.
One day, Prince John traveled in his horse-drawn carriage to Nottingham to collect more tax money. He was so busy counting his gold that he didn’t notice he was traveling through Sherwood Forest – Robin Hood’s home. Nor did he see that Little John and Robin Hood were watching him from the trees.
“Look at all that gold. Hey, Little John, let’s pay Prince John a little visit!” said Robin Hood. Prince John was sitting and talking with his advisor – Sir Hiss – about his favorite topic – gold. “Life has become so wonderful since King Richard left for the Crusades. He treated the people too kindly, and he missed out on all this lovely gold,” said Prince John.
Robin Hood and Little John stood by the roadside disguised as fortune-telling women as Prince John passed by. Prince John ordered his carriage to stop. While Robin Hood was telling Prince John’s fortune, he slipped the royal rings off Prince John’s fingers, and Little John stole Prince John’s gold at the same time. Prince John didn’t realize he had been robbed until Robin Hood and Little John had escaped.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff of Nottingham was busy collecting taxes. He even took a coin that Mrs. Bunny had given her son, Skippy, for his birthday. The sheriff had no heart. Robin Hood thought that little Skippy shouldn’t go without gifts on his birthday, so he gave him a bow and arrow and his big hat as a present. The first time Skippy tried the bow, his arrow flew over Prince John’s castle wall. On the other side, he saw Lady Marian and Lady Kluck. Although Marian was related to Prince John, she was Robin’s friend. Long ago, they had been sweethearts.
One day, Robin’s friend Friar Tuck came to Sherwood Forest with some news. “Prince John is holding an archery contest tomorrow. The winner will get a kiss from Lady Marian.” Everyone knew that Robin Hood was the best archer in all of England. The next day, two strangers appeared at the tournament, a stork and a sheriff. “No one will recognize us in these disguises,” thought Robin Hood. “I’ll win the tournament and the kiss, but no one will know the winner is me,” said Robin Hood.
Soon, the stork and sheriff were the only ones left in the competition. And although the sheriff tried to cheat by moving the target, the stork made an amazing shot and won. Prince John watched very closely. Robin Hood came to claim his prize, but Prince John ordered his guards to seize him and ordered him to be killed.
But suddenly, Little John grabbed Prince John and demanded he release Robin Hood. When Robin Hood was free, a great fight began. Robin Hood and Little John bravely fought against the guards. Swords clashed and arrows flew everywhere! Lady Marian was almost captured by the guards, but Robin Hood saved her. Robin Hood and his friends escaped into the forest.
Safely back in Sherwood Forest, they all celebrated the entire adventure, and Little John sang a song making fun of Prince John. The matter was so funny that soon all of Nottingham was singing the song. When Prince John heard the song, he became very angry and ordered the taxes to be doubled. But of course, no one could pay, and the prisons were full. The sheriff even robbed the church and arrested Friar Tuck for resisting.
When Prince John heard that Friar Tuck was in prison, he planned a new trap for Robin Hood. “We’ll hang Friar in the morning, and when Robin comes to his rescue, we’ll attack him,” said Prince John. But Robin Hood was very cunning, and he was disguised as a guard. He and Little John climbed the high castle wall and carefully stole the prison keys from the sheriff, who was asleep. Everyone was surprised to see familiar faces and cheered with joy.
Meanwhile, Robin had climbed into Prince John’s bedroom where all the gold was kept. Prince John and Sir Hiss were fast asleep. Robin tied the bags of gold to a rope between the bedroom window and the prison. Suddenly, Prince John woke up and saw that there was no gold left. The courtyard turned into chaos of arrows, guards, and fleeing prisoners. But Robin Hood had escaped by diving into the moat. Even Little John thought Robin had drowned. But suddenly, Little John saw Robin and was overjoyed.
