Page 204 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

‘May Heaven forfend!’ cried the Bishop earnestly; for
he knew right well what manner of feast it was that Robin
Hood gave his guests in Sherwood Forest.
But now Robin Hood gathered his men together, and,
with Allan and his young bride in their midst, they all
turned their footsteps toward the woodlands. On the way
thither Friar Tuck came close to Robin and plucked him by
the sleeve. ‘Thou dost lead a merry life, good master,’ quoth
he, ‘but dost thou not think that it would be for the welfare
of all your souls to have a good stout chaplain, such as I, to
oversee holy matters? Truly, I do love this life mightily.’ At
this merry Robin Hood laughed amain, and bade him stay
and become one of their band if he wished.
That night there was such a feast held in the greenwood
as Nottinghamshire never saw before. To that feast you and
I were not bidden, and pity it is that we were not; so, lest we
should both feel the matter the more keenly, I will say no
more about it.

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