The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Dramatized) recap

After becoming an outlaw, the master archer Robin Hood builds a merry company in Sherwood Forest. Robin, Little John, Will Scarlet, and their companions repeatedly outwit the Sheriff of Nottingham, welcome worthy fighters into the band, rescue friends, and use disguises to expose greed. They help Allan a Dale marry Ellen, lend Sir Richard of the Lea the money that saves his estate, and recover wealth from the grasping churchmen who expected to ruin him. Queen Eleanor later invites Robin's archers to a royal contest, where they defeat the king's men. The sheriff renews his pursuit, while Guy of Gisbourne attempts to kill Robin and is defeated. King Richard finally enters Sherwood in disguise, experiences the band's rough hospitality, reveals himself, and pardons the outlaws. Robin tries life at court but misses the forest. He and Little John return to Sherwood, summon their old companions, and resume the free fellowship that has defined their adventures.

Young Robin of Locksley is driven into Sherwood after a quarrel with foresters ends in a man's death. Other people put outside the law gather around him, and the new company adopts a code of loyalty, hospitality, and aid to those mistreated by the powerful. Robin's skill with the bow and love of a daring joke quickly make him a celebrated outlaw. He turns the tables on a tinker carrying a warrant for his arrest, then enters the Sheriff of Nottingham's public archery contest in disguise and wins the prize. The sheriff's attempt to draw him into the open therefore becomes another embarrassment. When Will Stutely is captured and sentenced to hang, Robin and the band enter Nottingham in disguise, interrupt the execution, and carry their companion safely back to the greenwood. By this point the contest between the forest fellowship and the sheriff has become both personal and public.

Robin has become the acknowledged leader of an outlaw company in Sherwood, while the Sheriff of Nottingham remains determined to capture him. Disguised as a butcher, Robin sells meat at foolishly low prices, attends a feast at the sheriff's home, and lures the official into the forest, where the band makes him pay for his greed before releasing him. Little John then goes to Nottingham and enters the sheriff's service under another name. He quarrels with the household servants, wins over the cook, and helps himself to the sheriff's wealth before returning to Robin. On the road afterward, Little John meets Arthur a Bland, a tanner who refuses to yield the path. Their staff fight shows Arthur to be both powerful and fearless. Once the misunderstanding is settled, the tanner is welcomed among the outlaws, adding another formidable companion to the growing band.

The Sherwood company continues to grow through challenges that end in friendship. Robin encounters the elegant young fighter Will Scarlet and learns that he is a kinsman; Midge the Miller likewise proves his courage and joins the fellowship. The band then finds the minstrel Allan a Dale lamenting that Ellen, the woman he loves, is to be married against her will to a rich old knight. Robin promises to prevent it. Because the plan requires a sympathetic priest, he seeks the renowned Friar Tuck near Fountain Dale. The friar first meets Robin as a physical equal, carrying him across water and trading both blows and tricks before the two recognize one another's spirit. With Tuck's help, Robin and his men enter the wedding, stop the unwanted match, and ensure that Allan and Ellen are married to each other. The episode establishes the band as a force that intervenes not only against officers and wealthy travelers but also on behalf of people denied a fair choice.

Robin's men stop Sir Richard of the Lea, a sorrowful knight who explains that his estate will be seized unless he can repay a large debt to St. Mary's Abbey. Convinced that Sir Richard is honorable, Robin lends him the full sum, equips him for the journey, and asks no harsh security. At the abbey, the abbot and his associates expect the knight to default and are dismayed when he produces the money in time. Sir Richard later returns to Sherwood with repayment and gifts, proving that Robin's trust was justified. The outlaws also continue their comic war against prosperous churchmen and officials. Little John adopts the dress of a wandering friar, while Robin takes a beggar's rags, and their disguises expose the selfishness or violence of the people they meet. Wealth taken through these encounters sustains the band and relieves need, while the sheriff's authority is again made to look brittle beside the outlaws' resourcefulness.

Queen Eleanor invites Robin and selected companions to London to represent her in an archery match against the king's best bowmen. Protected by her promise of safe conduct, the Sherwood archers win the contest and deepen Robin's national fame, although royal and local hostility follows them home. The Sheriff of Nottingham mounts another armed pursuit into the forest. When Little John is wounded, Sir Richard of the Lea repays Robin's earlier kindness by sheltering the outlaws and defying demands that he surrender them. A still more dangerous hunter, Guy of Gisbourne, then comes to Sherwood seeking Robin's life. Robin meets him alone, defeats him in combat, and assumes his identity to approach the sheriff's party. The disguise lets him reach the captured Little John; the rescue succeeds, and Little John's arrow kills the sheriff. Robin has survived his most direct personal challenge, but the death of Nottingham's chief officer leaves the band's position uncertain as royal authority draws nearer.

After Robin defeats Guy of Gisbourne and Little John kills the sheriff during his escape, King Richard decides to encounter the famous outlaws himself. The king and several knights enter Sherwood disguised as an abbot and attendants. Unaware of their identities, Robin stops them according to the band's custom, but treats them as guests, shares a forest feast, and displays the fellowship's archery and staff play. Richard is impressed by Robin's generosity and by the respect the men retain for the rightful king. He reveals himself, grants a pardon, and invites Robin and chosen companions to enter his service. Robin accepts and spends a period at court, but formal life and separation from the forest gradually wear down his spirits. Given permission for a short visit to Sherwood, he leaves with Little John and does not return. Robin sounds his horn among the trees; old companions answer, the band gathers again, and the adventures end with Robin restored to the greenwood fellowship he values above rank and comfort.

Guy of Gisbourne enters Sherwood to hunt Robin, but Robin defeats him and uses the hunter's identity to approach the sheriff's men. Little John is freed, and the sheriff is killed during the rescue. Later King Richard visits the forest disguised as an abbot. Robin welcomes the strangers, shares his food, and even submits to the band's customary tests of strength. Impressed by the outlaws' fellowship and Robin's underlying loyalty to the crown, Richard reveals himself, pardons the company, and takes Robin and several companions into royal service. Court life soon feels confining to men accustomed to the forest. Robin obtains leave to visit Sherwood, then slips away with Little John and sounds his horn beneath the trees. The scattered band gathers around them, and Robin chooses the greenwood life again. The book closes with the fellowship restored in Sherwood rather than with Robin's death.