Chapter 177
And when he came bold Robin before, Robin asked him courteously, "O hast thou any money to spare For my merry men and me?"
"I have no money," the young man said, "But five s.h.i.+llings and a ring; And that I have kept this seven long years, To have it at my wedding.
"Yesterday I should have married a maid, But she is now from me ta'en, And chosen to be an old knight's delight, Whereby my poor heart is slain."
"What is thy name?" then said Robin Hood; "Come tell me without any fail."
"By the faith of my body," then said the young man, "My name it is Allen-a-Dale."
"What wilt thou give me," said Robin Hood, "In ready gold or fee, To help thee to thy truelove again, And deliver her unto thee?"
"I have no money," then quoth the young man, "No ready gold nor fee, But I will swear upon a book Thy true servant for to be."
"How many miles is it to thy truelove?
Come tell me without any guile:"
"By the faith of my body," then said the young man, "It is but five little mile."
Then Robin he hasted over the plain, He did neither stint nor lin, Until he came unto the church Where Allen should keep his wedding.
"What dost thou here?" the bishop he said, "I prithee now tell to me"
"I am a bold harper," quoth Robin Hood, "And the best in the north country."
"O welcome, O welcome," the bishop he said.
"That music best pleaseth me."
"You shall have no music," quoth Robin Hood, "Till the bride and bridegroom I see."
With that came in a wealthy knight, Which was both grave and old, And after him a finikin la.s.s,
"This is no fit match," quoth bold Robin Hood, "That you do seem to make here; For since we are come unto the church, The bride she shall choose her own dear."
Then Robin Hood put his horn to his mouth, And blew blasts two or three; When four and twenty bowmen bold Came leaping over the lea.
And when they came into the churchyard, Marching all in a row, The first man was Allen-a-Dale, To give bold Robin his bow.
"This is thy truelove," Robin he said, "Young Allen, as I hear say; And you shall be married at this same time, Before we depart away."
"That shall not be," the bishop he said, "For thy word shall not stand; They shall be three times asked in the church, As the law is of our land."
Robin Hood pulled off the bishop's coat, And put it upon Little John; "By the faith of my body," then Robin said, "This cloth doth make thee a man."
When Little John went into the choir, The people began for to laugh; He asked them seven times in the church, Lest three times should not be enough.
"Who gives me this maid?" then said Little John; Quoth Robin, "That do I, And he that doth take her from Allen-a-Dale Full dearly he shall her buy."
And thus having ended this merry wedding, The bride looked as fresh as a queen, And so they returned to the merry greenwood, Amongst the leaves so green.
SECTION XI
BIOGRAPHY AND HERO STORIES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbott, J. S. C., _Christopher Carson_. _David Crockett._
Antin, Mary, _The Promised Land_.
Baldwin, James, _Four Great Americans_. [Was.h.i.+ngton, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln.] _An American Book of Golden Deeds._
Bolton, Sarah K., _Lives of Girls Who Became Famous_. _Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous._
Boutet de Monvel, Louis Maurice, _Joan of Arc_.
Brooks, Elbridge S., _True Story of Christopher Columbus_.
Cody, Col. W. F., _Adventures of Buffalo Bill_.
Franklin, Benjamin, _Autobiography_.
Golding, V., _Story of David Livingston_.
Gould, F. J., _The Children's Plutarch_. [2 vols., one of Greeks, the other of Romans.]
Hathaway, Esse V., _Napoleon, the Little Corsican_.
Hughes, Thomas, _Alfred the Great_.
Jefferson, Joseph, _Autobiography_.
Jenks, Tudor, _Captain John Smith_.
Keller, Helen, _The Story of My Life_.
Larcom, Lucy, _A New England Girlhood_.
Mabie, Hamilton W., _Heroines Every Child Should Know_.
Moores, Charles W., _Life of Abraham Lincoln for Boys and Girls_.
Muir, John, _Story of My Boyhood and Youth_.
Nicolay, Helen, _Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln_.
Page, Thomas Nelson, _Robert E. Lee: Man and Soldier_.