Little John and The Hood

When Robin Hood turned nineteen years old, he stumbled upon a man named Little John. John was a jolly man with lusty eyes and a smirk on his face. Though Little John was not so little. His arms were bigger than some trees, and he stood high in the sky. Wherever he went people stared, and they looked with curiosity.

But how did Robin Hood and Little John become friends? If you stay a while and listen close I'll tell you all the rest. I'll be brief, but nevertheless this story will surely cause a smile.

Robin Hood approached Little John and said, "I see you there in the grove, and I see that all who observe you respect you; I am Robin Hood, the one and only, and you shall be my accomplice."

Then they shook hands, and Little John let out a loud bellow. They left the long bridge where they had met, and off they went to Nottingham.

The people of Nottingham were quite poor. They barely had shoes for their feet.

Little John grew weary and dim. His smirk was not so wide.

The King was responsible for the poor. His taxes was outrageously unfair. Robin Hood could not simply sit back, and he knew what needed to be done.

So they waited till dark fell upon Nottingham to strike.

Robin was fierce with his bow, and his arrow never missed.

He took aim and released. The arrow soared through the night and struck the King's tower. They had to be sneaky so that the sheriff of Nottingham didn't know they were there. He had it out for Robin Hood and anyone who helped him. Little John was responsible for the guards and the sheriff. He struck them with his big arms, and they fell to sleep on the ground.

It was time to help those of Nottingham, and Robin Hood knew just what to do. He began by sneaking into the Grand Hall. This was where all the gold was kept.

They had to be quick, for if the King woke up they were both dead. Trouble soon hit and Little John was in the path. The King's wife awoke from her sleep and went to go clear her head.

Little John was in the hallway she would come down. He had to improvise quickly. Little John bent over behind the only vase in the hall and made himself as small as possible.

She was getting closer, and Little John knew she would scream if she saw his figure. She came quickly down the hall. Little John held his breath as she walked by.

She never saw him, and Little John and Robin Hood finished grabbing the gold. Their plan was almost ruined, but luckily Little John's frame did not give them away.

And so began the friendship and Little John and Robin Hood.

Author's Note: I was inspired by the Robin Hood and Little John from the British and Celtic Unit. I honestly gutted the story (except for the characters and the rob-the-rich aspect) and gave it my own spin with a new plot. The style of writing was very old and hard to understand so I made the language modern and easier to read. The original story was written as a ballad and used phrases that were very old British terms like "prepare then a feast, and none of the least, for we will be merry, quoth he." Ballads typically involve rhyming, but I felt like the rhyming made the story feel childlike so I decided to omit it. The character Little John is a little different in my story. The original story said he was seven feet tall, but I wanted to let my readers and their imagination decide how tall is tall because everyone thinks of "tall" differently. The first half of my story was close to the original plot and it talked about how Robin Hood and Little John met and why he is called Little John, but the last half of my story is very different. The original story only had a bow shooting contest with another townsman where Robin Hood was able to show his bow skills, but I wanted to make it more exciting with them stealing gold and almost getting caught. I even added the queen to the story to make it more complex. I hope that you guys enjoy my spin on the original Robin Hood!

This image is by Louis Rhead (1912) on Wikipedia

Bibliography:

Author - Francis James Child (1882-1898)

Title - The English and Scottish Popular Ballads: Robin Hood and Little John

Link - Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: Robin Hood: Little John (mythfolklore.blogspot.com)