The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 7: A Story of Robin Hood
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 7, A Story of Robin Hood, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 7, A Story of Robin Hood, brings the bold outlaw of the greenwood into the book. Robin Hood, who robbed the rich and helped the poor, meets a sorrowful young man named Allin-a-Dale, whose bride has been promised to a rich old man against her will. Robin resolves to help. Disguised as a harper, he slips into the church where the wedding is to take place, then blows his horn to summon his men across the fields. With their help the maiden is given her true choice, and she gladly weds young Allin instead. It is a lively tale of loyalty and fair play, retold from the old ballads of Sherwood Forest.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 6, King John and the Abbot?Have a look
In the last chapter, King John and the Abbot, a harsh king was jealous of a rich abbot and threatened to put him to death unless he could answer three impossible questions. The worried abbot rode to Oxford and Cambridge for help, but not one scholar could solve them. At last his own quick-witted shepherd offered to ride to the king in his master's place. Dressed as the abbot, the shepherd answered all three questions so cleverly that the king was delighted and granted a full pardon. A humble man's plain good sense had proved greater than a king's cruel puzzle.
Read the previous lesson: King John and the Abbot →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 7, A Story of Robin Hood?lances, feeble, scarlet, foremostHave a look
- lances: long spears carried by knights on horseback
- feeble: very weak, with little strength
- scarlet: a bright, vivid red
- foremost: first; at the very front
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 7, A Story of Robin Hood?
- Find Sherwood Forest (Nottinghamshire, England).
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 7 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 7 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- This chapterSherwood Forest was a real royal hunting forest in Nottinghamshire.
- This chapterRobin Hood may not have been real; the Richard-and-John setting came later, and robbing the rich to help the poor was added over time.
- This chapterThe Robin Hood ballads are real and were sung for hundreds of years.
- This chapterThis rescue comes from the traditional ballad Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale, a later addition to the legend.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 7 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Robin Hood, Allin-a-Dale, The Fair Maiden, The Rich Old Man, The Bishop, The GreenwoodHave a look
- Robin Hood: The bold outlaw leader of the greenwood, who robbed the rich, helped the poor, and was called king by his men.
- Allin-a-Dale: The young man whose bride had been promised to a rich old man, until Robin helped him win her back.
- The Fair Maiden: The bride who, given the choice, chose Allin-a-Dale over the wealthy suitor.
- The Rich Old Man: The aged, wealthy suitor to whom the maiden had been promised, sent home at last in a rage.
- The Bishop: The churchman who welcomed the disguised Robin as a harper to play at the wedding.
- The Greenwood: The forest where Robin and his outlaws lived; the old songs place it in Sherwood, near Nottingham.
Chapter 7 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Was Robin Hood a real person?
We cannot be sure. Robin Hood may not have been a real man at all. The famous idea of him robbing the rich to help the poor was added to the legend over time, and the setting in the days of Richard and John came later too. He lives on as one of England's best-loved legendary heroes rather than a figure of proven history.
Was Sherwood Forest real?
Yes. Sherwood Forest was a real royal hunting forest in Nottinghamshire, in England. While Robin Hood himself may be a legend, the greenwood where the old songs place him truly existed. That mix of a real place and a possibly imaginary hero is part of what has kept the Robin Hood stories alive for so long.
Where does this particular story come from?
The rescue of Allin-a-Dale comes from a traditional ballad called Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale, a later addition to the legend. The Robin Hood ballads themselves are real songs that were sung for hundreds of years. Baldwin has retold one of them in prose, keeping the rhythm and spirit of the old sung verse.
What is the lesson of the story?
The tale celebrates loyalty, kindness, and fair play. Robin uses his cleverness and his faithful band not for his own gain but to help a poor young man win the bride he loves. For a young reader it quietly honors standing up for others and setting a wrong to right, which is the heart of every Robin Hood story.