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thee talk, thou pretty fellow, and if, haply, thou art not yet
done, finish, I beseech thee. I have yet some little time to
stay.’
‘I have said all,’ quoth Robin, ‘and now, if thou wilt give
me thy purse, I will let thee go thy way without let or hin-
drance so soon as I shall see what it may hold. I will take
none from thee if thou hast but little.’
‘Alas! It doth grieve me much,’ said the other, ‘that I can-
not do as thou dost wish. I have nothing to give thee. Let me
go my way, I prythee. I have done thee no harm.’
‘Nay, thou goest not,’ quoth Robin, ‘till thou hast shown
me thy purse.’
‘Good friend,’ said the other gently, ‘I have business else-
where. I have given thee much time and have heard thee
patiently. Prythee, let me depart in peace.’
‘I have spoken to thee, friend,’ said Robin sternly, ‘and I
now tell thee again, that thou goest not one step forward till
thou hast done as I bid thee.’ So saying, he raised his quar-
terstaff above his head in a threatening way.
‘Alas!’ said the stranger sadly, ‘it doth grieve me that this
thing must be. I fear much that I must slay thee, thou poor
fellow!’ So saying, he drew his sword.
‘Put by thy weapon,’ quoth Robin. ‘I would take no van-
tage of thee. Thy sword cannot stand against an oaken staff
such as mine. I could snap it like a barley straw. Yonder is
a good oaken thicket by the roadside; take thee a cudgel
thence and defend thyself fairly, if thou hast a taste for a
sound drubbing.’
First the stranger measured Robin with his eye, and then

1 The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood