| |
| But how many months be in the year? | |
| There are thirteen, I say; | |
| The midsummer moon is the merryest of all | |
| Next to the merry month of May. | |
| |
I
IN summer time, when leaves grow green, | 5 |
| And flowers are fresh and gay, | |
| Robin Hood and his merry men | |
| Were [all] disposed to play. | |
| |
II
Then some would leap, and some would run, | |
| And some use artillery: | 10 |
| ‘Which of you can a good bow draw, | |
| A good archer to be? | |
| |
III
‘Which of you can kill a buck? | |
| Or who can kill a doe? | |
| Or who can kill a hart of grease, | 15 |
| Five hundred foot him fro?’ | |
| |
IV
Will Scadlock he kill’d a buck, | |
| And Midge he kill’d a doe, | |
| And Little John kill’d a hart of grease, | |
| Five hundred foot him fro. | 20 |
| |
V
‘God’s blessing on thy heart,’ said Robin Hood, | |
| ‘That hath [shot] such a shot for me; | |
| I would ride my horse an hundred miles, | |
| To finde one could match with thee.’ | |
| |
VI
That caus’d Will Scadlock to laugh, | 25 |
| He laugh’d full heartily: | |
| ‘There lives a curtal friar in Fountains Abbey | |
| Will beat both him and thee. | |
| |
VII
‘That curtal friar in Fountains Abbey | |
| Well can a strong bow draw; | 30 |
| He will beat you and your yeomen, | |
| Set them all on a row.’ | |
| |
VIII
Robin Hood took a solemn oath, | |
| It was by Mary free, | |
| That he would neither eat nor drink | 35 |
| Till the friar he did see. | |
| |
IX
Robin Hood put on his harness good, | |
| And on his head a cap of steel, | |
| Broad sword and buckler by his side, | |
| And they became him weel. | 40 |
| |
X
He took his bow into his hand, | |
| It was made of a trusty tree, | |
| With a sheaf of arrows at his belt, | |
| To the Fountains Dale went he. | |
| |
XI
And coming unto Fountain[s] Dale, | 45 |
| No further would he ride; | |
| There was he aware of a curtal friar, | |
| Walking by the water-side. | |
| |
XII
The friar had on a harness good, | |
| And on his head a cap of steel, | 50 |
| Broad sword and buckler by his side, | |
| And they became him weel. | |
| |
XIII
Robin Hood lighted off his horse, | |
| And tied him to a thorn: | |
| ‘Carry me over the water, thou curtal friar, | 55 |
| Or else thy life’s forlorn.’ | |
| |
XIV
The friar took Robin Hood on his back, | |
| Deep water he did bestride, | |
| And spake neither good word nor bad, | |
| Till he came at the other side. | 60 |
| |
XV
Lightly leapt Robin Hood off the friar’s back; | |
| The friar said to him again, | |
| ‘Carry me over this water, fine fellow, | |
| Or it shall breed thy pain.’ | |
| |
XVI
Robin Hood took the friar on’s back, | 65 |
| Deep water he did bestride, | |
| And spake neither good word nor bad, | |
| Till he came at the other side. | |
| |
XVII
Lightly leapt the friar off Robin Hood’s back; | |
| Robin Hood said to him again, | 70 |
| ‘Carry me over this water, thou curtal friar, | |
| Or it shall breed thy pain.’ | |
| |
XVIII
The friar took Robin Hood on’s back again, | |
| And stept up to the knee; | |
| Till he came at the middle stream, | 75 |
| Neither good nor bad spake he. | |
| |
XIX
And coming to the middle stream, | |
| There he threw Robin in: | |
| ‘And chuse thee, chuse thee, fine fellow, | |
| Whether thou wilt sink or swim!’ | 80 |
| |
XX
Robin Hood swam to a bush of broom, | |
| The friar to a wicker wand; | |
| Bold Robin Hood is gone to shore, | |
| And took his bow in hand. | |
| |
XXI
One of his best arrows under his belt | 85 |
| To the friar he let flye; | |
| The curtal friar, with his steel buckler, | |
| He put that arrow by. | |
| |
XXII
‘Shoot on, shoot on, thou fine fellòw, | |
| Shoot on as thou hast begun; | 90 |
| If thou shoot here a summer’s day, | |
| Thy mark I will not shun.’ | |
| |
XXIII
Robin Hood shot passing well, | |
| Till his arrows all were gone; | |
| They took their swords and steel bucklers, | 95 |
| And fought with might and maine; | |
| |
XXIV
From ten o’ th’ clock that day, | |
| Till four i’ th’ afternoon; | |
| Then Robin Hood came to his knees, | |
| Of the friar to beg a boon. | 100 |
| |
XXV
A boon, a boon, thou curtal friar! | |
| I beg it on my knee; | |
| Give me leave to set my horn to my mouth, | |
| And to blow blasts three.’ | |
| |
XXVI
‘That will I do,’ said the curtal friar! | 105 |
| ‘Of thy blasts I have no doubt; | |
| I hope thou’lt blow so passing well | |
| Till both thy eyes fall out.’ | |
| |
XXVII
Robin Hood set his horn to his mouth | |
| He blew but blasts three; | 110 |
| Half a hundred yeomen, with bows bent, | |
| Came raking over the lee. | |
| |
XXVIII
‘Whose men are these,’ said the friar, | |
| ‘That come so hastily?’ | |
| ‘These men are mine,’ said Robin Hood | 115 |
| ‘Friar, what is that to thee?’ | |
| |
XXIX
‘A boon, a boon,’ said the curtal friar, | |
| ‘The like I gave to thee! | |
| Give me leave to set my fist to my mouth, | |
| And to whute whutès three.’ | 120 |
| |
XXX
‘That will I do,’ said Robin Hood, | |
| ‘Or else I were to blame; | |
| Three whutès in a friar’s fist | |
| Would make me glad and fain.’ | |
| |
XXXI
The friar he set his fist to his mouth, | 125 |
| And whuted whutès three; | |
| Half a hundred good ban-dogs | |
| Came running the friar unto. | |
| |
XXXII
‘Here’s for every man of thine a dog, | |
| And I my self for thee!’— | 130 |
| ‘Nay, by my faith,’ quoth Robin Hood, | |
| ‘Friar, that may not be.’ | |
| |
XXXIII
Two dogs at once to Robin Hood did go, | |
| T’ one behind, the other before; | |
| Robin Hood’s mantle of Lincoln green | 135 |
| Off from his back they tore. | |
| |
XXXIV
And whether his men shot east or west, | |
| Or they shot north or south, | |
| The curtal dogs, so taught they were, | |
| They kept their arrows in their mouth. | 140 |
| |
XXXV
‘Take up thy dogs,’ said Little John, | |
| ‘Friar, at my bidding be.’— | |
| ‘Whose man art thou,’ said the curtal friar, | |
| ‘Comes here to prate with me?’— | |
| |
XXXVI
‘I am Little John, Robin Hood’s man, | 145 |
| Friar, I will not lie; | |
| If thou take not up thy dogs soon, | |
| I’le take up them and thee.’ | |
| |
XXXVII
Little John had a bow in his hand, | |
| He shot with might and main; | 150 |
| Soon half a score of the friar’s dogs | |
| Lay dead upon the plain. | |
| |
XXXVIII
‘Hold thy hand, good fellow,’ said the curtal friar, | |
| ‘Thy master and I will agree; | |
| And we will have new orders taken, | 155 |
| With all the haste that may be.’ | |
| |
XXXIX
‘If thou wilt forsake fair Fountains Dale, | |
| And Fountains Abbey free, | |
| Every Sunday throughout the year, | |
| A noble shall be thy fee. | 160 |
| |
XL
‘And every holy day throughout the year, | |
| Changed shall thy garment be, | |
| If thou wilt go to fair Nottingham, | |
| And there remain with me.’ | |
| |
XLI
This curtal friar had kept Fountains Dale | 165 |
| Seven long years or more; | |
| There was neither knight, lord, nor earl | |
| Could make him yield before. | |
| | | GLOSS: raking] advancing. whute] whistle. |
|
| |
