Chapter 4 The King's Deer
After the fight in the abbey, the Sheriff of Nottingham asked Prince
John for Robin Fitzooth's lands. The prince sold them to him for a lot of
money in gold. The greedy sheriff, of course, wanted to get the money
back again as fast as possible. So his poor villagers had to pay the
sheriff more money than before. The villagers on Robin's land also had
to pay. Their new lord, the sheriff, was a very hard man.
One of these villages was Farnsfield. It was very close to Sherwood,
and the villagers often went into the forest. There they caught small
animals and birds for their dinner. On their first visit to Farnsfield, the
sheriff and his men took money and food. They also found an old man
in the forest, with a dead deer on his back.
That evening, the sheriff called all the villagers. Then his men
brought out the old man and the dead deer.
‘Listen well!’ said the sheriff loudly. ‘You know that the deer in the
forest are the king's deer. The king and his lords can catch and kill them
— you cannot. This evening, I will help you to remember that!’
The sheriff looked at the villagers and smiled. Nobody spoke. Then
he turned to the old man.
‘What is your name, old man ?’ asked the sheriff, coldly.
‘I ... I ... I am Much the forester, My Lord,’ answered the man, very
afraid.
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