Robin ran through the forest, shooting his bow for practice. He had a sack of gold coins tied to his belt, and he was laughing and running as fast as he could. Soon after, the sheriff came running after him. He was new to the job, and, quite frankly, not very good at it. He stumbled on the rocks and vines on the ground as he tried to catch up to his enemy. Eventually, he could no longer see even a trace of Robin, so he gave up, trying to catch his breath. This is not my thing, the sheriff thought to himself. Father is going to be so disappointed in me.
Robin Hood, link to online source
"Mom!" Robin yelled as he returned home from his day in the forest.
"Oh, Robin! Where have you been? It is late! I sent Little John out to look for you."
"I'm sorry, Mom. I decided to give the new sheriff an opportunity to get his heart racing. Boy, he sure is terrible."
"Now Robin, why was the sheriff chasing you?" Robin tossed the sack of gold coins onto the table in front of him.
"Thank you, bishop," he said with an ornery smile.
"Oh, you are just like your father, aren't you?" Robin's smile grew wider at the mention of his father. He loved hearing stories about his dad, and he wanted to be just like him. He began to daydream about his father racing through the woods, a smile on his face as the sheriff and his men chased after him, unable to catch him, but his mother soon interrupted his dream. "Robin. What did we talk about just this morning?"
"Umm... I'm not sure I remember..." Robin answered, although he knew exactly to what his mother was referring.
"I admire your dedication to your father's plight, Robin. However, if you are going to engage in such risky activities, I would like Little John or any of the other merry men to accompany you." Robin fought the urge to roll his eyes, but he understood his mother's reasons for being worried. After all, he had never met his on father due to his risky tendencies.
"Yes ma'am," Robin replied reluctantly.
The next day, Robin headed into the woods to practice shooting his bow. He planned on taking heed to his mother's words, but things changed when he ran into the sheriff.
"I have caught you now, Robin!" The new sheriff exclaimed. Robin did a true eye roll now.
"Sheriff, I have done nothing wrong. I have committed no crime. So, if you will excuse me, I will be on my way."
"Stop right there, Robin. I know that you stole those gold coins from the bishop. I saw that sack around your waist yesterday."
"Number one, sheriff, you have not the slightest idea as to what was in my sack yesterday. Number two, if it had been gold coins, who is to say that they were not mine? Now, if you will excuse me," Robin said as he walked past the sheriff.
"You won't get away with this!" The sheriff yelled, simply because it is something he had heard his father say many times. Honestly, he did not feel that those words sounded right coming out of his mouth.
Robin stopped mid-step and turned around. "Get away with what exactly, sheriff? Charitable acts? You know just as well as I do that the bishop deserved what he got. You know where those gold coins ended up? In the hands of a family so poor that they had not eaten in days. If you ask me, I think they needed those coins whole lot more that they bishop ever has in his life. The rich don't care about anyone but themselves. I'm sure you know this. I can see you are trying to walk in your father's footsteps, but wake up, sheriff. I am not the problem here. I think you know what is the true crime." Before the sheriff could reply, Robin was gone. The sheriff sat there pondering what he had just heard. Robin was right. He had always had that same thought in the back of his head, but he had suppressed it so as not to let his father down. He would not compromise his morals any longer.
The sheriff left a note for his father, explaining everything.
Dear Father,
I write this note to inform you that I resign from my position as sheriff. I do not agree with the actions of the nobility, and I will work for them no longer. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have to do what is right. That is why I am joining Robin Hood and the merry men. I believe in justice, and the poor deserve it just as much as the rich. I hope one day you may see the flaw in your perspective.
Much Love,
Son
Bibliography: Ballads of Robin Hood from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child, link to online source
Author's Note: Robin Hood is an extremely ornery character who carries himself with extreme confidence and what seems like arrogance at times. Despite this though, he is an extremely likable character who is generous and kind. His many adventures create this illusion that he is truly invincible, so when I read the story about him dying, I could hardly accept it. Of course, Robin Hood was a real person, so it had to happen eventually. I would like to see his legacy live on though in some way other than through the stories. This is why I wanted to write a story about the offspring of Robin Hood who continue his wild yet admirable antics. I also chose to have the new sheriff join Robin because I wanted there to be some unity between the two rivals. I thought it would be nice to have the two characters on the same moral compass.
After-stories are always fun, discovering where our heroes are after the battles are won, so I'm intrigued by your concept. It's also interesting to see a departure from Nottingham's usual character in the form of his son.
ReplyDeleteThe story appears to be about both Robin Jr. and Nottingham Jr., but Robin Jr. has more of the focus, so I couldn't help but long to know more about Nottingham Jr.'s pressures under his father.
The first, second, and 18th paragraphs could use a little restructuring and splitting info to keep the delivery of ideas balanced. And there are a few quirks in the writing, such as the absence of a thought line in the second paragraph, but not too terrible.
Does Nottingham Jr. have a proper name? I think it might be neat if he had his own name. Even his father had a proper name in some portrayals of his character.
Overall: Compelling concept, and the dynamic of the children of Robin and Nottingham is an interesting idea. Balancing focus and paragraph structure, as well as fixing up some writing slips, will let both characters breathe their conflicts and make it even better. Good write-up.
Lillie! I liked your story a lot. I think that it was interesting to compare the relationships of the fathers and the sons side-by-side. It's interesting that both Robinhood and the sheriff with their fathers. I also liked the relationship between Robinhood and his mother. It was so relatable and humorous. Overall I think you did a great job with your story!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a great story, Lillie! At first I thought this was going to be the shortest story ever because Robin was dying right off the bat. However, when you introduced the fact that Marian was with child I was like, "oh ok, I see what she's doing here." Hahah I also really enjoyed your writing style, you make everything flow very nicely. It definitely made reading your story easy and enjoyable. It's sad that these are our last stories for this class, but with that being said, I think you wrote a terrific story!
ReplyDeleteYour story was so cute. I like how you had Robin’s son live up to his legacy. It is sad to read the Robin Hood died, but it was cute to see his son act just like him. I also liked how you included the sheriff’s son, who is also the new sheriff. I like how in the end he decided to join Robin and do some good in the world.
ReplyDeleteLillie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story. I liked how you were able to transform the story into something completely different than what I was expecting. It was very cute that you wanted his legacy to live on. I thought your use of dialogue was also very good! I need to work on mine still. The letter at the end was also very clever and cute. I liked how you italicized it. Great job!
Aw what a cute story! I have to admit it was a bit of a shock seeing an actual human Robin Hood rather than the fox I'm accustomed to (from the Disney movie haha), but this was great! I was a little confused at the beginning that the kid running from the sheriff was Robin's son (I thought it was a flashback since they had the same name), but I got it by the end. I like how they behave really similarly and how Little John still helps raise Robin's son!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a cute story! It was very well written. You did great expanding on Robin's child.
ReplyDeleteIf I do make one suggestion (I know it's probably too late), but maybe put a separation between Robin dying and talking about the son. I was so confused during the story, just cause I though maybe you went back in time to talk about Robin becoming who he did, but after reading the author's note I realized what you did. It was a great story though! I really enjoyed reading it!