Excerpt: Robin Hood's Day Off (1)

Once upon a time, before the first Harry Potter book was even made into a film, there was a man called Robin Hood. Robin Hood was a hero, but he wasn't really much good a being a hero. He was always doing things wrong.

Robin Hood had two friends called Little John and Will Scarlet. Little John was big and tall, and had often been mistaken for a giant. And, like a giant, he wasn't very clever. He was always pulling up trees. But was fantastic at cooking soup. Not that soup had been invented yet. Just shows that he was ahead of his time, eh?

Will Scarlet was Robin and John's faithful companion. He was a bit like a puppy, always bouncy, always ready to obey. He was also quite clever, and loved playing games. He would often make plans, but because he was away with the fairies a lot of the time, he would write his plan on a piece of paper, or a stick, or bark, and then put it in the fire by accident. Once, he'd even written his plan on the back of Maid Marian's skirt.