We keep an inn hereabouts, and for
fifty pounds we will not only give thee a good draught of wine, but will
give thee as noble a feast as ever thou didst tickle thy gullet withal."
So saying, he put his fingers to his lips and blew a shrill whistle.
Then straightway the bushes and branches on either side of the road
swayed and crackled, and threescore broad-shouldered yeomen in Lincoln
green burst out of the covert.
"How now, fellow," quoth the King, "who art thou, thou naughty rogue?
Hast thou no regard for such holy men as we are?"
"Not a whit," quoth merry Robin Hood, for the fellow was he, "for in
sooth all the holiness belonging to rich friars, such as ye are, one
could drop into a thimble and the goodwife would never feel it with the
tip of her finger. As for my name, it is Robin Hood, and thou mayst have
heard it before."
"Now out upon thee!" quoth King Richard. "Thou art a bold and naughty
fellow and a lawless one withal, as I have often heard tell. Now,
prythee, let me, and these brethren of mine, travel forward in peace and
quietness."
"It may not be," said Robin, "for it would look but ill of us to let
such holy men travel onward with empty stomachs.
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