World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
Robin Hood
罗宾汉
Robin Hood (罗宾汉, Luóbīnhàn) is a legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 5-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from the medieval English ballads and Howard Pyle's 1883 book: a clever outlaw, a giant on a bridge, a jolly friar, a golden arrow and a returning king.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- Robin Hood · 罗宾汉 — A cheerful outlaw archer who takes from the rich to help the poor.
- Little John · 小约翰 — A gentle giant who is not little at all.
- Friar Tuck · 修士 — A round, jolly friar who loves meat and pranks.
- The Sheriff · 警长 — A proud official who wants to catch Robin.
- King Richard · 理查国王 — A warm, powerful king who returns in disguise.
- The Rich Merchant · 有钱人 — A fat, grumpy rich man on a horse.
- The Poor Mother · 穷妈妈 — A tired mother with hungry children.
5 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Fat Purse
森林里的罗宾
Robin stops a rich man on the forest road and gives his gold to a hungry family. Then he hears about a giant who lets nobody cross the bridge.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Log Bridge
小桥上的比赛
Robin meets a giant on a narrow bridge and picks a fight with a stick. It goes worse than he planned, and then better.
Free to read
Chapter 3: The Friar at the River
河边的修士
A jolly friar offers to carry Robin across the river. Robin should have asked why. Then comes news of a golden prize.
Free to read
Chapter 4: The Golden Arrow
金箭
In a ragged old man's disguise, Robin walks into the sheriff's own contest. Then, late at night, a stranger rides into the forest.
Free to read
Chapter 5: The King Comes
国王来了
A tall stranger with a hungry belly asks the outlaws for a seat by the fire. He has a secret bigger than Sherwood Forest.
Free to read
Key words in Robin Hood
Behind the story
Robin Hood is an English folk hero who lived, the stories say, in Sherwood Forest. He first appears in ballads sung in the 1400s, and later writers, especially Howard Pyle in 1883, gathered the tales into books for children.
Chinese readers know him as 罗宾汉, a name made from the sounds of "Robin Hood". Chinese translations of his adventures are popular with young readers, and his idea of taking from the rich to help the poor is known in Chinese as 劫富济贫.
Did you know?
- The longbow was the great weapon of medieval England, and the best archers practiced for hours every week.
- The real King Richard I was nicknamed Richard the Lionheart, and a golden lion is a symbol of his family.
- In many old ballads, a sheriff was the king's officer who collected taxes and kept order in a county.