In late twelfth century England, as Robin Hood and his best friend, Little John, stroll through Sherwood Forest, Little John worries that Robin is taking too many chances and wonders if their practice of robbing the rich to give to the poor makes them good or bad. While laughing over Little John's worries, Robin sees a large caravan of prosperous wagons in the distance and concocts a plan to rob them. Meanwhile, within the caravan, the crafty Sir Hiss tells his master, Prince John, that they are approaching Nottingham, the richest town in England. Prince John, who has taken the crown of England from his long-absent brother, King Richard, is giddy in anticipation of more riches, but then sucks his thumb and cries "Mommy," remembering that his mother always liked Richard best. Moments later, Robin and Little John, dressed as gypsy fortune tellers, approach the caravan and ask if they may read the prince’s fortune. He is delighted and invites them in, scoffing at Sir Hiss's warnings until Robin and Little John deftly steal his rings and gold before escaping into the forest. Even though the prince offers a one thousand pound reward for Robin, the impoverished peasants refuse to turn him in to the Sheriff of Nottingham. One day, when the local priest, Friar Tuck, gives a few coins to Otto, a crippled blacksmith, the bombastic sheriff cheerfully grabs the money and goes on his way. That same day, while the widow Mother Rabbit and her children are celebrating her son Skippy's birthday with the only money they have, a farthing, the sheriff quickly snatches it. Moments later, the sheriff takes coins from a blind beggar whom Mother Rabbit then invites into her home. The beggar reveals himself to be Robin and gives the delighted Skippy a bow and arrow and a feathered cap. Later, as Skippy and his friends play outside, Skippy accidentally shoots an arrow into the estate of King Richard’s niece, Maid Marian. Rather than being angry, Marian and her companion, Lady Kluck, are delighted to hear stories of Robin Hood, whom Marian knew and loved as a child. That evening, Marian wonders if Robin still thinks of her, not knowing that, at the same time, Robin is in the forest dreaming of her. Just then Tuck announces to Robin and Little John that the prince is sponsoring an archery tournament the next day in Nottingham, with a prize of a golden arrow and a kiss from Marian. Despite Little John's misgivings, Robin is determined to go, and the next day arrives in disguise at the tournament, not knowing that the prince has set a trap for him. Before the tournament begins, Little John approaches the prince's tent dressed as "Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney," and ingratiates himself enough to be invited in to watch the tournament. When the contest begins, Robin easily bests his opponents, but is recognized by Sir Hiss, who is quickly grabbed and placed in a barrel of ale by Tuck. When Robin goes to receive the arrow and the kiss from Marian, he is unmasked by the prince, who sentences him to an immediate execution. Before the execution can take place, Little John surprises the prince from behind and holds a knife to his back, forcing him to tell his men to release Robin. As Robin and Marian embrace, the sheriff sneaks up behind Little John and disarms him, after which chaos breaks out as Robin’s men battle the sheriff’s. Robin, Marian, Little John and Tuck are able to escape, to the frustration of the prince. Later, in Sherwood Forest, Robin and his band celebrate, and Robin and Marian rekindle their childhood love. Little John delights everyone by making up a song entitled “The Phony King of England,” and it soon becomes popular throughout the county. When even Sir Hiss and the sheriff start to sing it, the prince is so angry that he orders the sheriff to triple the taxes. Soon most of the starving peasants, including Skippy and his family, have been imprisoned for being unable to pay their taxes. One cold and rainy afternoon, when the sheriff steals the last farthing in the church’s poor box, Tuck is so enraged that he chases the sheriff out into the rain and fights him. Tuck quickly is arrested by the sheriff’s men and imprisoned alongside the peasants. Later, when Sir Hiss reminds Prince John, who is despondent that Robin is still at large, that Tuck is in jail, the prince decides that the best way to capture Robin is to set a trap by sentencing Tuck to hang. Even Sir Hiss is shocked at the suggestion of hanging a man of the church, but Prince John assures him that it is a good plan. While the sheriff’s men, Nutsy and Trigger, are building Tuck’s gallows, they boast to Robin, who again is disguised as the blind beggar, that there might be two hangings in the morning. After relating his escape plan to the apprehensive Little John, Robin cunningly overcomes Nutsy, exchanges clothes with him and steals the keys to the jail from the sleeping sheriff. As Little John then enters the prison and subsequently unshackles Tuck, Skippy and the others, Robin scales the walls to the prince’s tower and enters his chamber. Using a pulley he has fashioned from a line attached to an arrow, Robin steals bags of gold while the prince and Sir Hiss are sleeping, lowering the bags into the courtyard, where the peasants grab them and carry them outside the town walls. When one of the bags Robin lowers begins to leak its content of gold coins, the noise awakens the sheriff, but Little John quickly overwhelms him. However, when Robin grabs the last bag of gold from the sleeping prince’s hands, Sir Hiss and the prince awaken. Chaos ensues as the guards start to shoot at Robin. He and Little John escape across the drawbridge, but when Robin realizes that one of Mother Rabbit's children is still inside the walls, he rushes back. Robin saves the child but is soon trapped inside the tower and seems to have no means of escape when the prince sets the tower ablaze. Robin then yells “A pox on the phony king of England” as he leaps into the moat. While Little John and Skippy, and the prince and Sir Hiss, watch from opposite shores, Robin does not resurface, but his cap floats by with an arrow through it. Skippy then sees a reed go across the surface of the water and is delighted when Robin emerges from the water unharmed. Some time later, Robin has been pardoned by the newly returned King Richard who, along with all of Nottingham, attends the marriage of Robin and Marian. As their honeymoon carriage travels from the church, it passes Prince John, the sheriff and Sir Hiss, who are toiling on The Royal Rock Pile.