The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883) by Howard Pyle is a novel that recounts the adventures of Robin Hood and his companions known as the Merry Men. People admired them for their humane, though illegal, deeds of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Robin Hood had been an outlaw since his eighteenth birthday, during which he won an archery contest. The losing contestants aimed at Robin, but he escaped, killing one of the assailants in the process. Ever since then, the town Sheriff has been chasing Robin. The Sherriff is callous in his search as his cousin was the archer that Robin killed.