Fifty Famous Stories Retold | Page 8

merry men
and me?"
"I have nothing at all," said the young man, "but five shil-lings and a
ring."
"A gold ring?" asked Robin.
"Yes?" said the young man, "it is a gold ring. Here it is."
"Ah, I see!" said Robin: "it is a wedding ring."
"I have kept it these seven years," said the young man; "I have kept it to
give to my bride on our wedding day. We were going to be married
yes-ter-day. But her father has prom-ised her to a rich old man whom
she never saw. And now my heart is broken."
"What is your name?" asked Robin.
"My name is Allin-a-Dale," said the young man.
"What will you give me, in gold or fee," said Robin, "if I will help you
win your bride again in spite of the rich old man to whom she has been
promised?"
[Illustration]
"I have no money," said Allin, "but I will promise to be your servant."
"How many miles is it to the place where the maiden lives?" asked
Robin.
"It is not far," said Allin. "But she is to be married this very day, and
the church is five miles away."

Then Robin made haste to dress himself as a harper; and in the
after-noon he stood in the door of the church.
"Who are you?" said the bishop, "and what are you doing here?"
"I am a bold harper," said Robin, "the best in the north country."
"I am glad you have come," said the bishop kindly. "There is no music
that I like so well as that of the harp. Come in, and play for us."
"I will go in," said Robin Hood; "but I will not give you any music until
I see the bride and bridegroom."
Just then an old man came in. He was dressed in rich clothing, but was
bent with age, and was feeble and gray. By his side walked a fair young
girl. Her cheeks were very pale, and her eyes were full of tears.
"This is no match," said Robin. "Let the bride choose for herself."
Then he put his horn to his lips, and blew three times. The very next
minute, four and twenty men, all dressed in green, and car-ry-ing long
bows in their hands, came running across the fields. And as they
marched into the church, all in a row, the fore-most among them was
Allin-a-Dale.
"Now whom do you choose?" said Robin to the maiden.
"I choose Allin-a-Dale," she said, blushing.
"And Allin-a-Dale you shall have," said Robin; "and he that takes you
from Allin-a-Dale shall find that he has Robin Hood to deal with."
And so the fair maiden and Allin-a-Dale were married then and there,
and the rich old man went home in a great rage.
"And thus having ended this merry wedding, The bride looked like a
queen: And so they re-turned to the merry green wood, Amongst the
leaves so green."

BRUCE AND THE SPIDER.
There was once a king of Scot-land whose name was Robert Bruce. He
had need to be both brave and wise, for the times in which he lived
were wild and rude. The King of England was at war with him, and had
led a great army into Scotland to drive him out of the land.
Battle after battle had been fought. Six times had Bruce led his brave
little army against his foes; and six times had his men been beaten, and
driven into flight. At last his army was scat-tered, and he was forced to
hide himself in the woods and in lonely places among the moun-tains.
One rainy day, Bruce lay on the ground under a rude shed, lis-ten-ing to
the patter of the drops on the roof above him. He was tired and sick at
heart, and ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that there was no
use for him to try to do anything more.
As he lay thinking, he saw a spider over his head, making ready to
weave her web. He watched her as she toiled slowly and with great care.
Six times she tried to throw her frail thread from one beam to another,
and six times it fell short.
"Poor thing!" said Bruce: "you, too, know what it is to fail."
But the spider did not lose hope with the sixth failure. With still more
care, she made ready to try for the seventh time. Bruce almost forgot
his own troubles as he watched her swing herself out upon the slender
line. Would she fail again? No! The thread was carried safely to the
beam, and fas-tened there.
"I, too, will try a seventh time!" cried Bruce.
He arose and called his men together. He told them of his plans, and