Fifty Famous Stories Retold | Page 7

you must tell
me to the very day."
"You shall live," said the shepherd, "until the day that you die, and not
one day longer. And you shall die when you take your last breath, and
not one moment before."
The king laughed.
"You are witty, I see," he said. "But we will let that pass, and say that
your answer is right. And now tell me how soon I may ride round the
world."
[Illustration: "You shall live until the day that you die."]
"You must rise with the sun," said the shepherd, "and you must ride
with the sun until it rises again the next morning. As soon as you do
that, you will find that you have ridden round the world in twenty-four

hours."
The king laughed again. "Indeed," he said, "I did not think that it could
be done so soon. You are not only witty, but you are wise, and we will
let this answer pass. And now comes my third and last question: What
do I think?"
"That is an easy question," said the shepherd. "You think that I am the
Abbot of Can-ter-bur-y. But, to tell you the truth, I am only his poor
shepherd, and I have come to beg your pardon for him and for me."
And with that, he threw off his long gown.
The king laughed loud and long.
"A merry fellow you are," said he, "and you shall be the Abbot of
Canterbury in your master's place."
"O king! that cannot be," said the shepherd; "for I can neither read nor
write."
"Very well, then," said the king, "I will give you something else to pay
you for this merry joke. I will give you four pieces of silver every week
as long as you live. And when you get home, you may tell the old abbot
that you have brought him a free pardon from King John."

A STORY OF ROBIN HOOD.
In the rude days of King Rich-ard and King John there were many great
woods in England. The most famous of these was Sher-wood forest,
where the king often went to hunt deer. In this forest there lived a band
of daring men called out-laws.
They had done something that was against the laws of the land, and had
been forced to hide themselves in the woods to save their lives. There
they spent their time in roaming about among the trees, in hunting the
king's deer, and in robbing rich trav-el-ers that came that way.

There were nearly a hundred of these outlaws, and their leader was a
bold fellow called Robin Hood. They were dressed in suits of green,
and armed with bows and arrows; and sometimes they carried long
wooden lances and broad-swords, which they knew how to handle well.
When-ever they had taken anything, it was brought and laid at the feet
of Robin Hood, whom they called their king. He then di-vid-ed it fairly
among them, giving to each man his just share.
Robin never allowed his men to harm any-body but the rich men who
lived in great houses and did no work. He was always kind to the poor,
and he often sent help to them; and for that reason the common people
looked upon him as their friend.
Long after he was dead, men liked to talk about his deeds. Some
praised him, and some blamed him. He was, indeed, a rude, lawless
fellow; but at that time, people did not think of right and wrong as they
do now.
A great many songs were made up about Robin Hood, and these songs
were sung in the cot-ta-ges and huts all over the land for hundreds of
years after-ward.
Here is a little story that is told in one of those songs:--
Robin Hood was standing one day under a green tree by the road-side.
While he was lis-ten-ing to the birds among the leaves, he saw a young
man passing by. This young man was dressed in a fine suit of bright red
cloth; and, as he tripped gayly along the road, he seemed to be as happy
as the day.
"I will not trou-ble him," said Robin Hood, "for I think he is on his way
to his wedding."
The next day Robin stood in the same place. He had not been there
long when he saw the same young man coming down the road. But he
did not seem to be so happy this time. He had left his scarlet coat at
home, and at every step he sighed and groaned.

"Ah the sad day! the sad day!" he kept saying to himself.
Then Robin Hood stepped out from under the tree, and said,--
"I say, young man! Have you any money to spare for my