Next morning he kissed his wife and fondled his little son, and with his men rode northward, his eyes wistful but his mouth smiling.
What followed was for generations a tale among humble folk in England, who knew nothing of the deeds of the King's armies. By cottage fires they wove stories about it and made simple songs, the echo of which may still be traced by curious scholars. There is something of it in the great saga of Robin Hood,and long after the fens were drained women hushed their babies with snatches about the Crane and the Falcon, and fairy tales of a certain John of the Shaws,who became one with Jack the Giant-killer and all the nursery heroes.