The abbot which before I named
Sought all the means he could
To have by force this rebel taken,
And his adherents bold.

Therefore he armed five hundred men,
With furniture complete,
But the outlaws slew half of them,
And made the rest retreat.

The long bow and the arrow keen
They were so used unto
That still they kept the forest green,
In spite o'th' proudest foe.

Twelve of the abbots men he took,
Who came him to have taken;
When all the rest the field forsook,
These he did entertain

With banqueting and merriment,
And, having used them well,
He to their lord them safely sent,
And willed them him to tell

That if he would be pleased at last
To beg of our good king
That he might pardon what was past,
And him to favour bring,

He would surrender back again
The money which before
Was taken by him and his men,
From him and many more.

Lines 173-200 from A True Tale of Robin Hood