The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

For almost a year Robin and the Merry Men live quietly in Sherwood Forest, avoiding the authorities. Finally, Robin, tired of being confined, ventures out of Sherwood and meets a butcher along the road. In exchange for money, Robin trades places with the butcher for a day. Taking up a post in the marketplace in Nottingham, the well-disguised Robin sells meat for very low prices, outselling the other butchers. At the end of the day, the butchers’ guild invites Robin to dinner at the Guild Hall with the Sheriff of Nottingham, who hopes to cheat the “butcher” out of some of his money.

The Sheriff strikes a bargain with Robin to buy his cattle for 300 pounds—a low sum. As Robin leads him deep into Sherwood Forest, the Sheriff begins to suspect that he is the one being tricked. Robin and the Merry Men give the Sheriff a feast and entertainment, and at the end, Robin asks the Sheriff to pay 300 pounds for the evening or else face violence. The Sheriff pays up, ashamed that he “went to shear and came home shorn” (66).