Pleasantly to their nostrils came the tender fragrance of the purple violets and wild thyme that grew within the dewy moisture of the edge of the little fountain, and pleasantly came the soft gurgle of the water. In front of them, over beyond the hedge, the dusty road stretched away across the plain behind them the meadow lands and bright green fields of tender young corn lay broadly in the sun, and overhead spread the shade of the cool, rustling leaves of the beechen tree. Here, kneeling and making cups of the palms of their hands, they drank their fill, and then, the spot being cool and shady, they stretched their limbs and rested them for a space. So saying, they all stepped out once more, with the right foot foremost, as the saying is.Īfter they had traveled some distance, the day being warm and the road dusty, Robin Hood waxed thirsty so, there being a fountain of water as cold as ice, just behind the hedgerow, they crossed the stile and came to where the water bubbled up from beneath a mossy stone. 'O Little John!' said he, 'what butter wits hast thou in that head of thine! Who could hold anger against such a one as thou art?' 'Nevertheless,' growled Little John, 'the holy Saint Swithin holdeth the waters of the heavens in his pewter pot, and he could have poured them out, had he chosen, even from a clear sky and wouldst thou have had me wet to the skin?'Īt this Robin Hood burst into a roar of laughter. 'Why, thou great oaf! not a drop of rain has fallen these three days, neither has any threatened, nor hath there been a sign of foul weather in earth or sky or water.' 'The rain!' cried Robin, stopping of a sudden in the middle of the road, and looking at Little John in wonder.

'I feared the rain that threatened,' said Little John in a sullen tone, for he was vexed at being so chaffed by Robin with what had happened to him. Quoth Robin Hood to Little John, 'Why didst thou not go straight to Ancaster, yesterday, as I told thee? Thou hadst not gotten thyself into such a coil hadst thou done as I ordered.' Many stopped to gaze after them as they strode along, so broad were their shoulders and so sturdy their gait. THUS THEY traveled along the sunny road, three stout fellows such as you could hardly match anywhere else in all merry England. Previous Chapter Next Chapter Robin Hood and Will Scarlett

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