Sherwood forest was swarming with outlaws. It was dangerous to even ride through it. If you do, you run the risk of being relieved of your purse, and all your other valuables.

However, your life, being the most valuable of all your possessions, is never at risk. The reason for this is, those outlaws are "noble" outlaws!

Confused? Read on! Here is a flash forward.

"Rise, noble outlaw!" says Richard the Lionhearted when the CEO of these outlaws kneels before him.

These outlaws were known as the "Merry Men." Their mission statement was "rob from the rich and feed the poor."

Cool! Good enough to enter Lionheart's top ten!

Heroes of the likes of the Merry Men lived within the pages of history books as well as comic books.

The need for heroes arises out of oppression. Total oppression reigns when there is no opposition. This is where the likes of Robin Hood comes in handy.

The oppression committee was headed by none other than the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham.

He was a mean cat. Whenever he could, he took everything he could from the poor and stuffed his pockets.

Injustice was the order of the day, and was justifiable since it was meted out by the land's lawmakers.

Robin Hood was an ordinary guy, but an extraordinary archer. As a teenager, he participated and excelled in many an archery contest.

He was highly respected by the city's top archers who used to chill out at the local bow and arrow shops in Nottingham.

Richard the Lionhearted or "Lion-heart" as he was known in some publications, was the King of England and owner of the nation's deer population.

The killing of one of these animals by any civilian would immediately qualify him to outlaw status, disqualifying him from civilian status.

This is exactly happened to Robin Hood. He was tricked by a forester into shooting one of them.

Hanging around in the city after being proclaimed an outlaw was unwise.

So Robin Hood heads for the forest to live there in hiding for the rest of his life.

En route he has an encounter with a giant of a man by the name of John Little. Robin Hood challenges this man to a fight over an issue which arises over the use of a makeshift bridge.

Coming from opposite sides, they both meet in the middle of the bridge. The question arises as to who should make way for whom.

Robin Hood loses the fight badly, but notices some traits in the giant very much to his liking. He then invites the giant to join him on a journey into fighting injustice and tyranny.

The giant agrees, and Robin Hood mockingly re-names him Little John. In similar fashion many more join them.

Most of them have been at the receiving end of some injustice by the courtesy of the Sherrif of Nottingham or some other similar weirdo.

The band gains popularity by virtue of their virtues and gets to get called Robin Hood and the Merry Men.

They swarm into the city and fight the Sheriff's men in order to rescue those who have been unjustly imprisoned. Many a wrong has been put right by Robin Hood and his band.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is totally vexed by this interference to his activities, and makes many unsuccessful attempts to capture Robin Hood and company.

On one occasion, the Sheriff arranges a sports event, an archery contest hoping that Robin Hood, famed for his shooting prowess would take part.

"When he comes over to participate, we just capture him," announces the Sheriff. Cool! Childishly simple!

The Sheriff declares the shooting games open and on doing so, notices Robin Hood's absence and announces loudly that he is most shamefully absent.

The archers then fire away, some hitting the target, some close enough, and some not hitting anything at all! Then comes the finals. Only the top three enter the finals.

One of the guys in the finals is a poorly dressed man with a black patch over one eye. This stranger was at first jeered by the crowd because of the black patch over his left eye. However, he proved good enough to enter the finals.

The finals get under way. One of the archers fired and came close to the center. The second one shoots and hits the exact center. "That's it," declares the Sheriff. "The contest is over."

Then the stranger with the black patch comes forward and appeals to the Sheriff to let him try out a shot as well, "although" he declares "I am aware that I cannot better it." The Sheriff quite generously grants him permission to have a go.

The second archer's arrow which had hit the target remains embedded in it when the stranger with the black patch takes aim and fires.

The stranger's arrow follows it's trajectory and hits the precise center of the rear of the protruding arrow of the second archer, splitting the second archer's arrow into two.

The onlookers are astonished. So is the Sheriff. The stranger with the black patch over his left eye, and poorly dressed too, is declared the best archer in all England. The Sheriff hands over to him his prize, a golden arrow.

The stranger thanks the Sheriff profusely and he is on his way, back to wherever he came from.

There is some consolation for the Sheriff that Robin Hood has been humiliated by a total stranger, with a black patch over an eye, and poorly dressed too.

While rejoicing over this, suddenly an arrow whizzes past the Sheriff's nose and hits a nearby tree. Attached to the arrow is the black patch that covered the left eye of the poorly dressed stranger, along with a note.

The note says, "here is my black patch in return for the golden arrow!" and signed "Robin Hood."

This news generates much rejoicing everywhere except in the Sheriff's quarters. There is only one thing left for the Sheriff to do, and he does just that.

He complains to Richard the Lionhearted. King Richard had already heard of the activities of the Merry Men and their leader Robin Hood. The King is somewhat amused too!

One of the King's advisers suggests that the King rides into the forest himself and check it all out firsthand.

A few days later, King Richard, disguised as a peasant rides all by himself into Sherwood Forest. Surely enough the King soon encounters the Merry Men.

Not recognizing the King, they invite the peasant to join them in the partaking of a meal. The King readily accepts the offer.

The meal is grand indeed. Really fit for a king. There is much fun, games and merrymaking too. Robin Hood then proclaims, "Let us now drink a toast to King Richard the Lionhearted."

To this the peasant reacted by asking "why drinkest thou to King Richard when thou art an outlaw in his very kingdom?" Robin Hood boldly replies "Nay! Richard hath outlawed me not. T'is but the foul laws of the evil doers that hath outlawed me!"

The merry making continues long afterwords. Games and contests mostly associated with strength and skill get under way.

However, it does not take long for the King's true identity to be revealed. It is then that Robin Hood kneels before the King.

"Rise noble outlaw." "Thou art more noble than most of the noblemen that I know of."

So, that marks the end of an enterprise. Led by King Richard, the Merry Men and their leader ride out of Sherwood Forest.

Happy men indeed! Now that they all have government jobs, freedom, status, and of course the right to live happily ever after.

And they surely do!

... concuded