Robin Hood / Рассказы о Робин Гуде - страница 5

For a moment there was stunned silence. Robin casually sat down. A spear whizzed past him as the Normans shouted, “Kill him! Kill him!”

In a flash, Robin took out his bow. The men stepped back, for Robin was famous for his archery. Robin leapt to a window. He knew Will and Much would be waiting below the window with his horse. He jumped down on to the saddle of his horse and the three men sped away.

The Normans were up in arms. They called for their horses and gave chase.

“Which way did the traitor go?” they asked the guard, their horses rearing to go.

The frightened guard pointed towards the forest. The knights galloped away in the direction of the forest, determined to kill Robin.

Robin heard the galloping horses and the angry shouts of the riders. He fixed a black arrow on his bow and released it. It whizzed through the trees and hit a Norman knight. He fell, but the others galloped on. Robin shot another arrow and another Norman knight fell.

Frightened by this, the rest of the Normans fled the forest. Robin rode back to Sherwood Forest.

“Now we cannot return to your castle,” grumbled Will.

“We’ll sleep on this soft green grass under the clear blue sky,” was Robin’s happy reply. “Feel the grass. It’s so fresh and cool.”

Then he called Much and said to him, “Go to the village and get Crippen, who is famous for the arrows he makes. Also, tell all Saxons who have been oppressed by Normans to come to the Gallows Oak in Sherwood Forest tomorrow night.”

Robin had chosen to live in Sherwood Forest for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was a very big forest with many clear streams. Secondly, it was so thickly wooded that a whole army could hide in its leafy shelter and never be discovered. It was an ideal place for Robin and his men.

Thirdly, Robin chose Sherwood because it stood between Prince John’s Nottingham Castle on one side, and Kenilworth Castle of Sir Guy and the Black Cannons Abbey of the Bishop on the other. Men and soldiers had to ride through Sherwood, whether on work or pleasure, every time they visited one another.

The day after Robin’s escape from Nottingham Castle, he and Will woke up while it was still dark. They walked quietly through the forest that was to become their home. It was beautiful, thought Robin. He loved the greenery, the fresh air and the freedom which he knew he would enjoy here. They watched as night gave way to dawn, and the sky turned orange. They sat down to admire the beauty of the sky and then moved on.