A funny story about Don Quixote - "Subtle Move!" The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha Novel Donky move read

Year of publication of the first part: 1605

The novel "Don Quixote" is rightfully considered one of the most famous novels of Cervantes. And in 2002 it was recognized as the best novel in world literature. The novel Don Quixote has been filmed more than 40 times in different countries of the world. Based on it, a huge number of cartoons were released, and the novel itself became a prototype for writing many works of art and theatrical productions. Therefore, it is not surprising that Cervantes’ novel “Don Quixote” is still popular to read, and not only in our country.

The novel "Don Quixote" summary

If you read a summary of Cervantes’s novel “Don Quixote,” you will learn about the adventures of a certain fifty-year-old hidalgo who lived in the village of La Mancha. He devoted a huge amount of time to reading chivalric novels and one fine day his mind became clouded. He called himself Don Quixote of La Mancha, his old nag Rocinante, and decided to become a knight errant. But since every knight errant must have a lady of his heart, he appointed Aldonza Lorenzo from the neighboring town of Tobos as such, whom he named Dulcinea of ​​Tobos.

Further in the novel “Don Quixote” you will learn how, after spending his first day on the road, our knight met an inn and went to spend the night there. He mistook the inn for a castle and began to ask the owner to knight him. Don Quixote made all the guests laugh greatly by refusing to take off his helmet to eat and dining in it. And when he told the owner of the inn that he had no money, because this was not written about in novels, the owner decided to quickly get rid of this madman. On top of that, one of the drivers received a spear blow during the night for touching Don Quixote's armor. Therefore, in the morning the owner made a pompous speech, slapped him on the head and hit Don Quixote on the back with a sword and sent him off to his exploits. Previously, he assured our hero of the novel “Don Quixote” that this is exactly what the rite of knighting looks like.

Further in Cervantes’ novel “Don Quixote” you can read about how the main character decided to return home for money and clean shirts. Along the way, he protected the boy from being beaten, although when he left the boy was beaten half to death. He demanded that the merchants recognize Dulcinea Toboska as the most beautiful woman, and when they refused, he rushed at them with a spear. For this he was beaten. In his native village, fellow villagers had already burned almost all of Don Quixote’s books, but the main character was not at a loss. He found a swineherd, to whom he promised to make him governor of the island, and now he and Sancho Panse set off on a journey.

If you read the summary of the book “Don Quixote” further, you will learn how the main character mistook the mills for giants and attacked them with a spear. As a result, the spear broke, and the knight himself made an excellent flight. A fight broke out in the inn where they stopped for the night. The reason for this was the maid who mixed up the room, and Don Quixote decided that it was the daughter of the inn owner who was in love with him. Sancho Panza suffered the most in the fight. The next day, Don Quixote mistook a flock of sheep for a horde of enemies and began to destroy them until he was stopped by the shepherd's stones. All these failures gave rise to sadness in the face of the main character, for which Sancho named the main character the Knight of the Sad Countenance.

On the way, Sancho Panzo is met by a barber and a priest from the village of Don Quixote. They ask to give the main character's letters to them, but it turns out Don Quixote forgot to give them to his squire. Then Sancho begins to quote them, shamelessly misinterpreting them. The barber and priest decide to lure Don Quixote home in order to cure him. So they tell Sancho that if Don Quiot returns, he will become king. Sancho agrees to go back and say that Dulcinea urgently demands her knight home.

Further in Cervantes’s novel “Don Quixote” you can read about how, while waiting for the appearance of the main character, the priest and the barber meet Cardeno. He tells them his love story. And at that moment Dorothea comes out. She loves Fernando very much, who became the husband of Cardeno’s beloved, Lucinda. Dorotea and Cardeno enter into an alliance designed to bring back their loved ones and end their marriage.

You can read the novel “Don Quixote” in its entirety online on the Top Books website.

Current page: 1 (book has 38 pages in total)

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Don Quixote

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Chapter 1, which tells who Don Quixote of La Mancha was

In a modest village in the province of La Mancha 1
La Mancha - district of New Castile - name La Mancha comes from the Arabic word Manxa, meaning "dry land".

Once upon a time there lived a hidalgo 2
Hidalgo is a small landed nobleman. The petty nobility, which played an important role in the life of Spain during the era of the struggle against the Moors (XI-XIV centuries), by the end of the 15th century had lost a large share of its importance. In the time of Cervantes, the impoverished hidalgo, who had lost his last piece of land, represented a characteristic figure of Spanish life.

Named Don Kehana. Like any nobleman, he was proud of his noble origin, sacredly guarded the ancient shield and ancestral spear and kept a skinny nag and a greyhound dog in his yard. Three-quarters of his income was spent on the vegetable and beef stew and vinaigrette he served for dinner; On Fridays he fasted, content with a plate of lentils boiled in water, but on Sundays he feasted on roasted pigeon. On holidays, Don Kehana wore a caftan made of fine cloth, velvet trousers and morocco shoes, and on weekdays he wore a suit made of rough homemade cloth. In his house lived a housekeeper, who was over forty years old, a niece, who was not yet twenty, and an old, decrepit servant. The hidalgo himself was about fifty years old; he was as thin as a skeleton - skin and bones, but, despite his terrible thinness, he was distinguished by great endurance.

All his free time, and Don Kehana was free around the clock, he devoted to reading chivalric novels. He indulged in this activity with delight and passion; For his sake, he abandoned hunting and farming. His passion reached the point that he, without hesitation, sold a decent piece of arable land in order to buy himself books of knights.

In the novels, our hidalgo especially liked pompous love letters and solemn challenges to fights, where the following phrases often came across: “The rightness with which you are so wrong about my rights makes my rightness so powerless that I have no right to complain about your rightness...” or: “...the high heavens, which with their stars divinely strengthen our divinity and honor all the virtues worthy of your greatness...”. It happened that the poor caballero spent whole nights trying to unravel the meaning of these phrases, which made his head cloudy and his mind wandered. He was also confused by other inconsistencies that kept appearing in his favorite novels. For example, it was difficult for him to believe that the famous knight Belyanis could inflict and receive so many terrible wounds; it seemed to him that, despite all the skill of the doctors who treated this knight, his face and body should be covered with ugly scars. Meanwhile, in the novel, Belyanis always appeared as a handsome young man without any scars or flaws.

However, all this did not stop Don Kehana from being carried away to the point of oblivion by descriptions of the countless adventures and exploits of the valiant heroes of the novels. He always really wanted to know their future fate, and he was delighted if the author on the last page of the book promised to continue his never-ending story in the next volume. Often our caballero would have long disputes with his friend, the priest, about whose valor was greater: Palmerin of England or Amadis of Gaul 3
Amadis of Gaul is the hero of a chivalric romance, extremely popular in Spain in the 16th century. The content of this novel is absolutely fantastic. The English princess Elisena gave birth to a son. Ashamed of her illegitimate child, the mother threw him into the sea. An unknown knight saved the child and took him to Scotland. When Amadis grew up, he fell in love with the incomparable beauty Oriana, daughter of King Lizuart. To win her love, Amadis travels throughout Europe, finds himself in mysterious magical lands, fights giants, sorcerers and magicians, and performs thousands of other entertaining feats. The novel ends with the triumph of Amadis, who finally marries the lady of his heart, the beautiful Oriana.

Don Kehana stood for Amadis, the priest for Palmerin 4
The novel “Palmerin of England” is perhaps the most brilliant of all imitations of “Amadis of Gaul.” Palmerin is the son of Don Duerte (Eduard), King of England. Together with his brother Florian, the ideal of a gallant gentleman, he performs countless feats for the glory of the lady of his heart, defeats the mighty sorcerer Deliant, ends up on a magical island, etc., etc.

And the local barber, Master Nicholas, argued that none of them could compare with the knight of Phoebus, who, in his opinion, surpassed the cutesy Amadis in endurance and courage, and Palmerin in courage and dexterity.

Gradually, the good hidalgo became so addicted to reading that he read from dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn. He abandoned all his affairs, almost lost sleep and often forgot about lunch. His head was full of all sorts of absurd stories read in books of knighthood, and in reality he raved about bloody battles, knightly duels, love affairs, kidnappings, evil magicians and good wizards. Little by little, he completely ceased to distinguish truth from fiction, and it seemed to him that in the whole world there was nothing more reliable than these stories. He talked with such fervor about the heroes of various novels, as if they were his best friends and acquaintances.

He agreed that Cid Ruy Diaz 5
Cid Ruy Diaz (“sid” - from the Arabic “lord”, “lord”) is a semi-legendary hero of Spain who lived in the second half of the 11th century. Sid became especially famous in the war with the Moors; many legends arose around his name, which have come down to us in the form of countless romances and poems.

He was a valiant knight, but added that he was far from the knight of the Flaming Sword, who with one blow cut two mighty giants in half. He ranked Bernard de Carpio somewhat higher, who defeated the invincible Roland in the Roncesvalles Gorge 6
Battle of the Roncesvalles Gorge. When Charlemagne was returning from the Spanish campaign (778), the rearguard of his army was caught by the enemy in the Roncesvalles Gorge and almost completely destroyed. In this battle, one of Charles’s associates, Hruadland (Roland), died. This event is sung in the famous work of the French epic - “The Song of Roland”.

He spoke very flatteringly about the giant Morgantha, who - unlike other giants - was distinguished by his courtesy and politeness. But most of all he praised Reynaldo of Montalban, the glorious thief of the golden idol of Mohammed and the hero of countless road adventures.

In the end, from eternal sitting within four walls, sleepless nights and continuous reading, the poor hidalgo went completely crazy. And then such a strange thought came into his head that no madman in the world had ever had before. Our caballero decided that he himself was obliged to join the ranks of knights errant. For the sake of his own glory, for the benefit of his native country, he, Don Kehana, must arm himself, mount a horse and go around the world to seek adventures, protect the offended, punish the wicked, and restore trampled justice. Inflamed by dreams of the great feats that he was about to accomplish, the hidalgo hastened to carry out his decision. First of all, he cleaned the armor that belonged to his great-grandfathers and was lying somewhere in the attic, covered with centuries-old rust and dust; sorting through them, he, to his deep chagrin, saw that only one bump remained from the helmet. To improve matters, the hidalgo had to call on all his ingenuity to help. He cut out a visor and headphones from cardboard and attached them to the bump. In the end he managed to make something like a real helmet. Then he wanted to test whether this helmet could withstand a battle. He pulled out his sword, swung it and struck it twice on the helmet. From the very first blow, the visor shattered into pieces, and all his painstaking work was in vain. Hidalgo was very upset by this outcome of the matter. He set to work again, but now for strength he placed iron plates under the cardboard. This precaution seemed to him quite sufficient, and he considered it unnecessary to subject his helmet to a second test. Without difficulty, he convinced himself that he had a real helmet with a visor of the finest workmanship.

Don Kehana then went to the stable and carefully examined his horse. It was an old, sick nag; in truth, she was only good for carrying water. However, our caballero was quite pleased with her appearance and decided that not even the mighty Bucephalus of Alexander the Great could compare with her. 7
Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great, was distinguished by its ferocity, terrible strength and endurance; He served his master for a long time and faithfully until he was killed in one of the bloody battles. Alexander gave his horse a magnificent funeral and founded an entire city on the site of his grave, named Bucephalia in his honor.

Nor the fleet-footed Babieka Sida 8
Babieka Sida - Sida's horse, like Bucephalus, was distinguished by extraordinary speed, strength and endurance and more than once saved its owner in fights and battles with the Moors.

It took him four whole days to find a sonorous and beautiful name for his war horse, for he believed that since the owner exchanged his modest life in the wilderness of the village for the stormy field of a knight errant, then his horse should change its village name to a new one, nice and big name. He suffered for a long time, inventing various nicknames, comparing them, discussing and weighing them. Finally he settled on the name Rocinante. This name seemed sonorous and sublime to him. Moreover, it contained an indication of what the horse was before, for Don Kehana composed it from two words: rocin (nag) and antes (formerly), so that it meant: “former nag.”

Having given such a successful nickname to his horse, he decided that now he needed to come up with a suitable name for himself. A week passed in these thoughts, but finally he had a brilliant idea: he simply changed his modest name Kehana into a more sonorous one - Don Quixote 9
Quijote is a word meaning "gaiter" in Spanish.

But then our caballero remembered that the brave Amadis, wanting the name of his homeland to be glorified along with his own name, always called himself not just Amadis, but Amadis of Gaul. Don Quixote decided to follow the example of this valiant knight and henceforth call himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. Now everything was fine: it was immediately clear who he was and where he came from, so that his native country could share with him the glory of his exploits.

And so, when the weapon was cleaned, the helmet and visor were repaired, the nag received a new nickname and he himself changed his name, all that remained for him was to find himself a lady of his heart, for it is known that a knight errant without a lady of his heart is like a tree without leaves and fruits. Don Quixote said about himself: “If, by the will of fate, I meet a giant (and this often happens with knights-errant) and in the first fight I throw him to the ground and force him to beg for mercy, then according to the laws of chivalry I will have to send him to my lady . He will come to my tender mistress, fall to his knees and humbly and obediently say: “I am the giant Caraculiambro, king of the island of Malindrania. I was defeated in a duel by the worthy knight Don Quixote of La Mancha. He ordered me to appear before your grace, so that your highness may dispose of me as he pleases...” Oh! - exclaimed the hidalgo, - I must certainly have a lady of my heart: only she alone can worthily reward the valor of a knight. But where can I find it? And Don Quixote plunged into gloomy thought. But suddenly a happy thought illuminated his mind. He remembered a pretty peasant girl from a neighboring village, her name was Aldonza Lorenzo; It was her that our knight decided to reward with the title of the lady of his heart. Looking for a name for her that would not be too different from her own, but at the same time would resemble the name of some princess or noble lady, he decided to christen her Dulcinea of ​​Toboso, since she was from Toboso. This name seemed to him expressive and melodic and quite worthy of the person for whose glory he was to perform his deeds.

Chapter 2, which tells about Don Quixote's first departure from his possessions

When all these preparations were completed, Don Quixote decided, without delay, to leave his home and set out in search of knightly adventures. It seemed to him that in such a matter any delay is a great sin against humanity: how many offended are waiting for revenge, how many disadvantaged are waiting for protection, how many oppressed are waiting for liberation! And then one fine summer day he rose before dawn, put on his armor, put a wretched helmet on his head, pulled his green strings tighter, jumped on Rocinante, grabbed a shield, took a spear in his hands and, secretly from everyone, rode out through the back gate of the barnyard. in the field, rejoicing that he was finally able to begin such a glorious task. But before he had time to get out onto the road, a thought came to him, so terrible that he almost returned home. Don Quixote suddenly remembered that he had not yet been knighted and that, according to the laws of chivalry, he could not and did not dare to engage in battle with any knight. And even if he had been initiated, he was supposed to wear white armor for the first time and not put any motto on his shield, so that everyone could immediately see that he was still a novice in knighthood. Don Quixote stood for a long time, not knowing what to decide, but the passionate desire to immediately set off on the road prevailed over all his doubts. He decided that he would ask the first knight he met along the way to ordain him to the rank of knight. At least that’s what many of the heroes of those novels did, the reading of which brought our hidalgo to such a deplorable state. And as for the white armor, he promised himself to polish his armor so that it would become whiter than ermine. Having made this decision, he calmed down and continued on his way, completely surrendering to the will of the horse: this is how, in his opinion, a knight errant should travel.

Rocinante trudged along, and our caballero could calmly give himself up to his thoughts.

“When the future historian of my exploits,” Don Quixote said to himself, “begins to describe my first trip, he will probably begin his story like this: the barely blond Phoebus 10
Phoebus is the god of the sun and light among the ancient Greeks.

He spread the golden threads of his beautiful hair over the face of the earth, as soon as the colorful birds greeted the appearance of Aurora with the gentle harmony of their melodious voices, when the famous knight Don Quixote of La Mancha jumped on his glorious horse Rocinante and set off across the ancient Montiel plain.

Then he added:

“Happy will be the age when, finally, my glorious deeds will be written down on paper, depicted on canvas, imprinted on marble.” But whoever you are, wise wizard, my chronicler, I ask you, do not forget about my good Rocinante.

Then he remembered about his lady love:

- O Princess Dulcinea, mistress of my captive heart! You caused me a bitter insult by expelling me and, with stern inflexibility, commanding me not to show myself to your incomparable beauty. May it please you, senora, to remember your obedient knight, who, out of love for you, is ready to endure the greatest torment.

Quite a lot of time passed in these outpourings and dreams. Don Quixote drove slowly along the dusty road. The sun had already risen high and was soaring with such force that it could melt even those pitiful remnants of the brain that still remained in the poor fellow’s head. He drove like this all day without seeing anything remarkable. This drove him into complete despair, because he wanted to meet some adventure as soon as possible and test the strength of his mighty hand. By evening both he and his nag were exhausted and dying of hunger. Don Quixote began to look in all directions in the hope of seeing some castle or shepherd's hut where he could rest and refresh himself. Hope did not deceive him: not far from the road he noticed an inn; our knight spurred Rocinante and drove up to the inn just at the moment when it began to get dark. Let’s not forget that to the imagination of our adventurer, everything around us was not presented as it was in reality, but as our favorite knightly novels depicted it. Therefore, when he saw the inn, he immediately decided that it was a castle with four towers and roofs of shining silver, with a drawbridge and a deep moat. He approached this imaginary castle and stopped Rocinante a few steps from the gate, expecting that some dwarf would appear between the battlements of the tower and blow a trumpet, announcing the arrival of the knight. Just at that moment, a swineherd, gathering his herd, blew his horn, and Don Quixote decided that this dwarf was announcing his arrival.

Don Quixote knocked on the gate of the inn with a spear, and the owner, a very fat man and therefore very peace-loving, came out to answer the knock. Looking at the strange horseman in outlandish weapons, the owner almost burst out laughing. However, the formidable appearance of Don Quixote’s military armor inspired him with respect, and he said extremely politely:

“If your honor, lord knight, would like to stay here, you will find with us everything you want, except a comfortable bed: there is not a single free bed in our hotel.”

Hearing how respectfully the commandant of the castle spoke to him, Don Quixote replied:

“Whatever you offer me, Senor Castellan, I will be satisfied with everything, because, as they say:

My outfit is my armor,
And my rest is a hot battle 11
An excerpt from an ancient Spanish romance.

“So, for your worship, a hard stone serves as a bed, and constant wakefulness is a dream?” If so, then deign to get off your horse and be sure that you will find everything you need with me and you will be able to spend without sleep not only one night, but at least a whole year.

With these words he held the stirrup, and Don Quixote dismounted with great difficulty and effort, for he had not eaten anything all day.

He then asked the owner to take special care of Rocinante, adding that she was the best of all barley-eating animals. Looking at Rocinante, the owner did not find him at all as wonderful as Don Quixote said, but he was careful not to express his opinion out loud, took the horse by the bridle and led him to the stable. Meanwhile, Don Quixote began to take off his armor. In this difficult and complex task, two maids approached him and helped him. It goes without saying that Don Quixote took them for noble ladies, the owners of the castle. With their combined efforts they managed to remove the armor, but the knots of the green ribbons with which the helmet was tied around the neck were so tight that it was impossible to untie them. All that remained was to cut the ribbons. However, Don Quixote did not agree to this, deciding it would be better to suffer all night in a helmet. While the women were pulling off his armor, Don Quixote solemnly ranted about his future exploits, about the glorious horse Rocinante, about his immense gratitude to the graceful ladies, and with feeling he recited absurd poems of his own composition:

– Never so tenderly ladies
Didn't care about the paladin 12
Paladin. Paladins were originally called noble associates of Charlemagne, who lived with him in his palace and accompanied the emperor on campaigns. Later, any noble and valiant knight began to be called a paladin.

,
How they cared about Don Quixote,
Arriving from their lands:
The maids of honor serve him,
I'll give him his mount - the countess 13
Don Quixote applies an ancient Spanish romance to himself here.

that is, Rocinante, for that is the name of my horse, noble lords, and my name is Don Quixote of La Mancha. True, I did not want to reveal my name until great deeds glorified it throughout the world. But to conceal it would be impolite towards you, my lords. However, the time will soon come when the valor of my hand will show how ardently I want to serve you.

The embarrassed maids did not know how to respond to such speeches, and therefore remained modestly silent.

Meanwhile, the owner, returning from the stable, asked Don Quixote if he wanted anything.

“I would gladly have a bite,” replied the hidalgo, “for I need to strengthen my strength.”

As luck would have it, it was Friday, and in the entire hotel there was nothing else to be found except salted fish.

The owner brought Don Quixote boiled cod and a piece of bread, as black and moldy as the knight’s armor. It was difficult not to laugh, seeing with what pain Don Quixote ate: the stupid helmet prevented him from reaching his mouth with a spoon. He himself could not bring a piece to his lips; it was necessary for someone to put food directly into his mouth. But it was completely impossible to give him something to drink if the owner had not brought a reed; He inserted one end of the reed into Don Quixote's mouth, and poured wine through the other. Don Quixote endured all this with great patience, just so as not to cut the strings of his helmet. At this time, a peasant who happened to enter the inn began to play his reed pipe. This was enough for Don Quixote to finally believe that he was in some magnificent castle, that music was playing at the feast, that the salted cod was the freshest trout, that the gray bread was a white loaf, and that the owner of the inn was the owner of the castle. Therefore, he was delighted with his first trip. The only thing that bothered him was that he had not yet been knighted and could be declared an impostor at any time.

Chapter 3, which tells how Don Quixote was knighted

Dejected by these thoughts, Don Quixote hastened to finish his meager dinner. Rising from the table, he called the owner aside, led him to the stable and, throwing himself there on his knees in front of him, began like this:

“O valiant knight, I will not rise from my place until your kindness deigns to fulfill my request.” What I am about to ask of you will serve to your glory and to the benefit of the human race.

Seeing that the guest was kneeling and hearing strange speeches, the owner at first was completely confused and, with his mouth open, looked at Don Quixote, not knowing what to do or what to say. Having recovered from his amazement, he began to beg Don Quixote to get up, but he never wanted to get up until, finally, the owner promised to fulfill his request.

“I was sure, senor, that due to your boundless nobility you would not refuse to fulfill my request,” said Don Quixote. “I ask you as a favor that tomorrow at dawn you knight me.” All this night I will watch over the weapon in the chapel of your castle, and at dawn you will perform the rite of passage over me 14
Knighting. Cervantes parodies the actual rite of knighting. The initiate spent the night before initiation in the church guarding the weapon. In the morning, this weapon was consecrated, and the new knight made a solemn promise over it to observe the laws and rules of chivalry. Then some noble and experienced knight, taking a sword, struck the initiate three times on the left shoulder, saying: “I knight you.” The initiate was girded with a sword, golden spurs were fastened on him, and all those present went to a feast in honor of the new knight.

Then I will finally receive all the rights of a knight errant and set off in search of adventure. My weapon will serve the cause of establishing truth and justice on earth, for this is the purpose of that great knightly order to which I belong and whose exploits are glorified throughout the world.

Here the owner, who had previously suspected that Don Quixote was crazy, was finally convinced of this and, in order to have a good time, decided to indulge his extravagance. Therefore, he answered Don Quixote that his desire and request were quite reasonable, that, judging by his proud appearance and manners, he must be a noble knight and that such an intention was quite worthy of his title. “I myself,” added the owner, “was engaged in this honorable craft in my youth. In search of adventure, I wandered all over Spain, visited Seville, Grenada, Cordoba, Toledo 15
All these places were known at that time as dens of thieves and robbers.

And in many other cities: I got involved in various pranks, scandals and fights, so that I became famous in all the courts and prisons of Spain. But in my declining days I calmed down: I live calmly in this castle and receive all the knights-errant, no matter what their rank and condition. I do this solely out of my great love for them, but, of course, on the condition that, as a reward for my kind attitude, they share their property with me.” The owner then said that there was no chapel in the castle where one could spend the night watching over weapons. But he knows that, if necessary, the laws of chivalry allow him to spend the night before initiation anywhere. Therefore, Don Quixote can stand guard over the weapons in the courtyard of the castle, and tomorrow, God willing, he will be knighted with all the necessary ceremonies, and even knighted such as has never been seen in the world.

At the end, the innkeeper asked if Don Quixote had money on him. He replied that he did not have a penny, since he had never read in any novel that knights-errant carried money with them. To this the owner objected that Don Quixote was mistaken. They don’t write about this in novels only because it is obvious. He knows from reliable sources that knights-errant are required to carry with them, just in case, not only a tightly stuffed wallet, but also clean shirts and a jar of healing ointment for wounds. After all, you can’t always count on the help of a kind wizard who will send a bottle of miraculous balm to a wounded man with some dwarf or maiden. It is much better to rely on yourself. And the owner advised Don Quixote never to set off on a journey without money and the necessary supplies. The knight will see for himself how all this will be useful to him on his travels.

Don Quixote promised to follow his advice exactly and immediately began to prepare to spend the night before the dedication in the courtyard of the inn. He collected all his armor and put it on a block from which he watered the cattle; then he armed himself with a spear and shield and began to walk importantly around the deck. It was already completely dark when he began this walk.

And the owner returned to the hotel and told the guests about the crazy hidalgo, who was now watching over his weapon, waiting to be knighted. The guests, interested in such a strange madness, ran out into the yard to look at the eccentric. Don Quixote walked rhythmically back and forth with a majestic air. Sometimes he stopped and, leaning on his spear, looked at his armor for a long time. The moon shone so brightly that the spectators from afar could see everything that our knight awaiting initiation was doing.

Probably, everything would have turned out calmly and peacefully, but, unfortunately, one of the drivers who spent the night at the hotel decided to water his mules. Suspecting nothing, he calmly walked towards the well. Hearing his steps, Don Quixote exclaimed:

“Whoever you are, daring knight, stretching out his hands to the armor of the most valiant of all knights-errant, think first of what you are doing!” Do not touch them, otherwise you will pay dearly for your insolence.

The driver didn’t bat an eye. Approaching the deck, he grabbed the armor by the straps and threw it far to the side. Seeing this, Don Quixote raised his eyes to the sky and, turning mentally to his lady Dulcinea, said:

- Help me, my lord, to take revenge for the first insult inflicted on the valiant heart you enslaved: do not deprive me of your mercy and support in this first test.

With these words, he put his shield aside, raised his spear with both hands and grabbed the driver with such force that he lay unconscious on the ground. And Don Quixote picked up the armor, put it on the block and again began to walk around the well with such a calm expression, as if nothing had happened. After some time, the second driver came out. Knowing nothing about the sad fate of his comrade, he also intended to throw the ill-fated armor off the deck. But Don Quixote prevented his attempt. Without saying a word, he raised his spear again and struck the poor fellow on the head with such a blow that the second driver fell to the ground. All the inhabitants of the hotel, led by the owner, came running to the noise. At the sight of this crowd, Don Quixote grabbed his shield, drew his sword and proudly exclaimed:

– O royal beauty, the stronghold of my soul and my heart! The hour has come when your greatness must turn its gaze to the knight you have captured, entering the great battle.

These words, which sounded like a prayer, awakened such courage in the heart of our hidalgo that even if all the drivers of the world had attacked him, he would not have retreated. He stood firmly under the hail of stones that his angry comrades showered on the wounded from afar; he only covered himself with a shield, but did not leave a single step from the deck where his armor lay. There was a desperate noise in the yard. The drivers shouted and cursed. The frightened owner begged them to stop the fight. And Don Quixote shouted at the top of his voice:

- Vile and low slaves! I despise you! Throw stones, approach, approach, attack! You will now receive a reward for your arrogance and madness!

There was so much courage and rage in these exclamations of Don Quixote that the attackers were seized with great fear. Little by little they calmed down and stopped throwing stones. Then Don Quixote allowed the wounded to be removed and again began to guard the armor with the same importance and calm.

However, the owner did not like this story, and he decided to immediately initiate the guest into this damned knightly order, before a new misfortune happened. Respectfully approaching Don Quixote, he said:

– Don’t be angry, Your Grace, with these impudent servants. I promise you to roughly punish her for her insolence. Now isn’t it time for us to begin performing the sacred rite? Usually, being awake over a weapon lasts no more than two hours, but you stood guard for more than four. I have already reported to you that I do not have a chapel in my castle. However, we can safely do without it. The main thing in initiation is a blow to the back of the head with a hand and a blow to the left shoulder with a sword. And this can be done in the middle of an open field. So, let's not waste precious time.

Our knight blindly believed the words of his master and replied that he was ready to obey.

“I ask you only one thing,” he added, “to hurry up with the ritual.” For when I am dedicated and someone decides to attack me again, I will not leave a single living soul in the castle. Out of respect for you, venerable owner of the castle, I will only spare those for whom you stand up.

These words of the knight only strengthened the owner’s desire to quickly get rid of the restless guest.

A resourceful and dexterous man, he immediately brought a thick book in which he wrote down how much barley and straw was given to the drovers; then, accompanied by two maids and a boy carrying a candle stub, he approached Don Quixote, ordered him to kneel down and, pretending to be reading some kind of pious prayer from a book, raised his hand and slapped him on the neck with all his might, then , continuing to mutter some psalm under his breath, grabbed him on the shoulder with his own sword. Following this, he ordered one of the maids to gird the initiate with a sword, which she did with great dexterity. True, she almost died laughing, but the exploits performed before her eyes by the knight forced her to contain her gaiety. Fastening the sword to Don Quixote's belt, the good lady said:

- God send your grace happiness in knightly affairs and good luck in battles.

Don Quixote asked her name, for he wanted to know to what lady he owed such great favor, so that in time he could share with her the honors that he would win by the strength of his hand. She answered with great humility that her name was Tolosa, that she was the daughter of a shoemaker from Toledo and that she was always ready to serve him faithfully. Don Quixote asked her, out of love for him, to be called Doña Tolosa from now on. 16
In Spain, the particle “don” is the title of nobles, and “donya” is the title of Spanish ladies.

She promised. Then another lady put spurs on him, and with her he had the same conversation as with the one who girded him with a sword. He asked her name, and she replied that her name was Molinera and that she was the daughter of an honest miller from Antequera; Don Quixote asked her to add the title of dona to his name; at the same time, he showered her with countless thanks. When all these ceremonies were completed, Don Quixote hurried to mount his horse: he was very impatient to go in search of adventure. He saddled Rocinante, jumped on him and began to thank his owner for the dedication in such extraordinary terms that there is no way to convey them. And the owner, delighted that he had finally gotten rid of the knight, responded to his speeches with shorter, but no less pompous phrases and, without taking anything from him for the night, he released him in good health.

PREFACE

Idle reader, you will believe me without an oath, of course, if I tell you that I would like this book, the child of my mind, to be the most beautiful and witty of the books that you can imagine. But, alas! It turned out to be impossible for me to escape the law of nature, which requires that every creature give birth only to a creature similar to itself. What else could such a barren and poorly educated mind as mine produce, except the story of a dry, skinny, extravagant hero, full of bizarre thoughts never found in anyone else - such, in a word, as he should be, having been produced? in prison, where all sorts of troubles are present and all ominous rumors nest. Sweet leisure, a pleasant way of life, the beauty of the fields, the clarity of the sky, the murmuring of streams, the tranquility of the spirit - this is what usually makes the most barren muses fruitful and allows them to give the world works that enchant and delight it.

When a father happens to have an ugly and awkward son, the love he has for the child blindfolds him and does not allow him to see the latter’s shortcomings; he takes his tomfoolery as cute fun and tells his friends about it, as if it were the smartest and most original thing in the world... As for me, I, contrary to appearances, am not the father, but only Don’s stepfather. Quixote; Therefore, I will not follow the accepted custom and will not, with tears in my eyes, beg you, dear reader, to forgive or not pay attention to the shortcomings that you may notice in this brainchild of mine. You are neither his relative nor his friend; you are the complete and supreme master of your will and your feelings; sitting in your house, you dispose of them completely autocratically, like a king with the revenues of the treasury, and, of course, you know the usual proverb: Under my cloak I kill the king; therefore, not obliging me to anything, you are freed from all kind of respect for me. Thus you may talk about the story as you please, without fear of punishment for speaking ill of it, and without expecting any reward for the good things you may say about it.

I would just like to give you this story completely bare, without decorating it with a preface and without accompanying it, as usual, with the obligatory catalog of a bunch of sonnets, epigrams and eclogues, which they are in the habit of placing in the title of books; because, I frankly admit to you, although compiling this story presented some work for me, it cost me even more work to write this preface, which you are reading at this moment. More than once I picked up the pen to write it, and then put it down again, not knowing what to write. But on one of these days, when I was sitting in indecision, with the paper lying in front of me, with a pen behind my ear, putting my elbow on the table and resting my cheek on my hand, and thinking about what I should write - at this time suddenly comes one of my friends, a smart man and a cheerful character, and, seeing me so much preoccupied and thoughtful, asks about the reason for this.

I, without hiding anything from him, told him that I was thinking about the preface to my history of Don Quixote - a preface that frightens me so much that I refused to write it, and, consequently, to make known to everyone the exploits of such a noble knight. “Because, please tell me, how can I not worry about what this ancient legislator, called the public, will say when he sees that, after sleeping for so many years in deep oblivion, I now appear again, old and crippled, with a history as dry as reed, devoid of invention and style, poor in wit and, moreover, not revealing any learning, having neither notes in the margins nor comments at the end of the book, while I see other works, however fictitious and ignorant, so filled with sayings from Aristotle, Plato and all other philosophers, that readers are shocked and consider the authors of these books to be people of rare learning and incomparable eloquence? Isn’t it also the case when these authors quote Holy Scripture? Are they not then called holy fathers and teachers of the church? In addition, they observe decency with such scrupulousness that, having portrayed the red tape of a lover, immediately after this they write a very sweet sermon in the Christian spirit, which gives great pleasure to read or listen to. None of this will be in my book; because it would be very difficult for me to make notes in the margins and comments at the end of the book; Moreover, I do not know the authors whom I could follow in order to give in the title of the essay a list of them in alphabetical order, starting with Aristotle and ending with Xenophon or, even better, Zoilus and Zeuxis, as everyone does, at least the first was an envious critic, and the second was a painter. They will not find in my book the sonnets that usually make up the beginning of the book, at least sonnets whose authors were dukes, marquises, counts, bishops, noble ladies or famous poets; although, to tell the truth, if I had asked two or three of my obliging friends, they would probably have given me their sonnets, and such that the sonnets of our most famous writers could not stand comparison with them.

“In view of all this, my dear sir and my friend,” I continue, “I have decided that Senor Don Quixote should remain buried in the archives of La Mancha until Heaven wills to send someone who can supply him with all the things he lacks.” decorations; because with my inability and lack of learning, I feel unable to do this and, being naturally lazy, have little desire to make research in authors who say the same thing that I myself can very well say without them. This is where my concern and my thoughtfulness come from, in which you found me and which, without a doubt, have now been justified in your eyes by my explanations.”

Having heard this, my friend hit himself on the forehead with his hand and, bursting into loud laughter, said: “Really, my dear, you have now brought me out of one delusion in which I have constantly been since the long time I have known you: I have always considered a smart and sensible person, but now I see that you are as far from this as the earth is far from the sky... How can it happen that such trifles and such an unimportant hindrance have the power to stop and keep indecisive a mind as mature as yours? , accustomed to winning and surpassing other greater challenges? Truly, this does not come from a lack of talent, but from an excess of laziness and lack of reflection. Do you want to see that everything I said is true? Well, listen to me and you will see how in the blink of an eye I will triumph over all difficulties and find you everything that is missing; I will destroy all the nonsense that stops you and frightens you so much that it even prevents you, as you say, from publishing and presenting to the world the story of your famous Don Quixote, the most perfect mirror of all knights errant.” “Tell me,” I objected, after listening to him, “how do you think of filling this emptiness that frightens me and clearing away this chaos in which I see nothing but confusion?”

He answered me: “As for the first circumstance that complicates you, these sonnets, epigrams and eclogues, which you lack to put in the title of the book, and which, as you would like, should be compiled by important and titled persons, then I I will indicate a means: you just have to take the trouble to write them yourself, and then you can christen them with whatever name you like, attributing them either to the Presbyter of India Juan or the Emperor of Trebizond, who, as I positively know, were excellent poets: what if even if this were not so, and if picky pedants suddenly decided to offend you by challenging this assurance, then don’t worry about it for the life of you; even assuming that the lie will be noticed, because they won’t cut off the hand that wrote it.”

“In order to cite in the margins the books and authors from which you drew the memorable sayings and words that you will place in your book, you only need to arrange it so that, on occasion, you can use some of the Latin sayings that you would know in memory or could have found them without much difficulty. For example, speaking about freedom and slavery, you cite:

Non bette pro toto libertas vendrtur auro,

and now in the margin you mark Horace or the one who said it. If you talk about the power of death, the verses immediately appear:

Pallida mors aequo pulsst pede pauperum tabernas
Regumque turres.

“If it is said about the disposition and love that God commands you to have towards our enemies, then immediately you turn to the Holy Scriptures, it is worth the effort, and bring no more, no less than the words of Bot himself: Ego autem dico vobis: Diligite inimicos vestros . If the question concerns evil thoughts, then you resort to the gospel: De corde exeunt cogitationes malae. If - the inconstancy of friends, then Cato gives you his couplet:

Donec eris felix, multos numerabis amicos;
Tempera si fuerint nubila, solus eris.

“And thanks to these Latin and other similar phrases, you will be considered at least a humanist, which in our time is considered no small honor and a significant advantage.

“In order to put notes and commentary at the end of the book, here is how you can do it completely calmly: if you have to name any giant in your essay, then make it so that it is the giant Goliath, and, thanks to this, you get a great comment with little difficulty; you can say: The giant Goliath or Goliath was a Philistine, whom the shepherd David killed with one blow of a sling in the valley of Terebinth, as it is told in the book of Kings, chapter ... and here is an indication of the chapter in which this story is found, after this, so that he shows himself to be a learned man and a good cosmographer, arrange in such a way that the Togo River is mentioned in your book, and here is an excellent commentary at your disposal; you just have to say: The Togo River, named after an ancient Spanish king, originates in such and such a place and flows into the ocean, washing the walls of the glorious city of Lisbon. They say that she carries golden sands, etc. If you are talking about robbers, then I will tell you the story of Caco, which I know by heart, if you are talking about women of easy morals, then Bishop Mondoviedo will introduce you to Lamia, Laida and Flora, and this is a note will give you great respect; if about cruel women, then Ovid will give you Medea; if about sorceresses or sorceresses, Homer will make Calypso appear before you, and Virgil - Circe; if - about valiant commanders, then Julius Caesar will offer himself to you in his comments and Plutarch will give you a thousand Alexanders. When you talk about love, then consult with Leon Gebreo, if you only know at least a few words in Italian, and you will find everything you need in full, but if you don’t like speaking to a foreigner, then you have at your fingertips Fonseca’s treatise On the Love of God , which contains everything you could wish for and that the most intelligent man could wish for on this subject. In a word, bring only these names and mention in your history those stories that I just told you, and entrust me with notes and comments; I undertake to fill with them all the fields of your book and even several sheets at the end of it.

“Let us now move on to these references to authors that are available in other works and are absent in yours. The remedy for this is one of the easiest: you just need to find a book that would list them all from A to Z, as you say, and you will place this same alphabet in your work. Suppose that this theft is discovered, and these authors bring you only mediocre benefit, what do you care about that? Or maybe there will be a simple-minded reader who will think that you have collected tribute from all of them in your simple and ingenuous story. It is also good that this long list of authors will give the book some authority at first glance. And, besides, who would think, if he has no interest in it, to check whether we used them or not? Moreover, if I am not deceived, your book does not need any of all that, as you say, it lacks; because, from board to board, it is nothing more than a satire on books of chivalry, about which Aristotle knew nothing, Cicero had not the slightest idea, and Saint Basil did not say a word.”

“There is no need to confuse these fantastic inventions with the exact truth or with astronomical calculations. Geometric measurements and judgments of pedantic rhetoric have little meaning for them. Do they intend to teach anyone, presenting a mixture of the divine and the sinful - an obscene mixture, which every truly Christian mind should avoid? You need to imitate only the syllable, and the more complete your imitation, the closer your syllable will be to perfection. And, since your essay has only the goal of destroying the strange trust that books of chivalry enjoy in the world, then what need do you need to beg sayings from philosophers, instructions from the Holy Scriptures, fables from poets, speeches from rhetoricians and miracles from saints? Try only easily and naturally, using appropriate, clear and well-placed words, to make your phrase harmonious and your story entertaining; let your tongue describe as vividly as possible everything that you have in mind, and let it express your thoughts without obscuring or confusing them. Just try to ensure that, when reading your story, melancholic people cannot help but laugh, people prone to laughter feel their gaiety doubled, so that ordinary people do not get bored with your inventions, so that smart people are surprised by them, serious people do not neglect them, and wise people are forced to praise them. Finally, try to deftly destroy these shaky scaffoldings of knightly books, cursed by so many people, but praised by even more. If you succeed, you will gain no small merit.”

I listened silently to what my friend told me, and his arguments made such a strong impression on me that I, without any argument, recognized their superiority and decided to compose this preface, in which you will recognize, my dear reader, intelligence and common sense my friend, my happiness in finding such an adviser in such extreme need, and the advantage you will derive from finding in all its simplicity the story of the glorious Don Quixote of La Mancha, who was, according to the inhabitants of the district of the Montiel Valley, the most chaste lover and the bravest knight of all , which have only been seen for many years in this area. I do not want to boast too much of the service I am doing you in introducing you to such a wonderful and noble knight; but you, I hope, will be pleased with me for introducing you to his squire Sancho Panza, in whom, as it seems to me, I present to you a collection of all the brilliant qualities of a squire that have hitherto remained scattered in an innumerable heap of empty knightly books. And then, may God keep you healthy and me too. Vale!

CHAPTER I
Telling about the character and habits of the glorious Don Quixote of La Mancha

In one place in La Mancha - I don’t want to remember his name - recently lived one of those hidalgos who have a spear in a goat, an old round shield, a skinny horse and a greyhound dog. A meat dish consisting more often of beef than lamb 1
Lamb in Spain is more expensive than beef.

And sauce with seasonings almost every evening, a dish of sorrow of sorrow 2
This was the name of a dish made from the offal of animals, which the Castilian nobles usually ate on Saturdays in fulfillment of a vow made after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

On Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, and, above all, a few young pigeons on Sundays, all this consumed three-quarters of his income. He spent the rest on a caftan made of fine cloth, trousers made of velvet and shoes made of the same material for holidays; on weekdays he wore a dress made of durable, but not particularly thick cloth. He lived with a housekeeper, who was already over forty years old, a niece, who was not yet twenty years old, and a young guy for field work and other assignments, who knew how to saddle a horse and work with a garden knife. Our hidalgo was about fifty years old; he had a strong build, a lean body, a skinny face, got up very early and was a great hunter. It was said that it was called Quijada or Quesada (there is disagreement on this issue between the authors who wrote about it); but according to the most probable guesses, his name seemed to be Kihana. However, for our story this has little meaning: it is enough that the story does not stray even one iota from the truth.

But you need to know that the aforementioned hidalgo, in his moments of leisure, that is, almost all year round, indulged in reading books of knighthood and, moreover, with such enthusiasm and such passion that he almost completely forgot the pleasures of hunting and even the management of his estate. Finally, his mania, his extravagance in this, reached the point that he sold several acres of his best land in order to buy knightly books for reading, and collected as many of them in his house as he could get. But of all the books, not one seemed as interesting to him as the works of the famous Felician de Silva; for the clarity of his prose delighted him, and the confused periods were for him real jewels, especially when he had to read declarations of love or challenges in letters, where he quite often found expressions like the following: reckless judgment about my reasoning to such an extent my judgment is shaken by the fact that I regret your grace and beauty, not without reasoning; or he read: the high heavens, which, with the help of the stars, divinely strengthen your divinity and make you deserving of the merits that your greatness deserves.

Reading such beautiful things, the poor hidalgo lost his mind. He lost sleep, trying to understand them, trying to extract some meaning from the bottom of these intricacies - something that Aristotle himself would not have been able to do if he had been resurrected on purpose for this. He was only half satisfied with the wounds inflicted and received by Don Belianis, and imagined that, despite all the skill of the doctors who treated him, Don Belianis must necessarily have had his whole body and face covered with scars and wounds. But, nevertheless, he approved of the author's witty way of ending his book with the promise of a continuation of these endless adventures. He even often felt the urge to take up the pen and finish the book, as the author promised; and, without a doubt, he would have done it and fulfilled it safely if other, greater thoughts had not constantly interfered with him. He argued several times with the local priest, a well-read man who received an academic degree from Siluenza, 3
At that time there were only two large universities in Spain - in Salamanca and Alcala. Consequently, Cervantes speaks ironically about the academic degree of a priest.

On the question of who was the better knight - Palmerin of England or Amadis of Gaul. But Senor Nicholas, a barber from the same village, said that both of them were far from the knight Phoebus, and if anyone could compare with this, it was Don Galaor, brother of Amadis of Gaul; because he, truly, possessed all the desirable qualities, being neither a crook nor a crybaby, like his brother, and, at least, equaling him in courage.

In short, our hidalgo became so absorbed in reading that he spent the day from morning to evening, and the night from evening to morning, in this activity, and, thanks to reading and insomnia, he dried up his brain so much that he lost his mind. His imagination pictured everything that he read in his books: magic spells, quarrels, challenges, battles, wounds, explanations, love, cruelties and other madness; he firmly took it into his head that this whole bunch of nonsense was the absolute truth, and therefore for him in the whole world there was no other more reliable story. He said that Cid-Ruy-Diaz was a wonderful knight, but that he was still far from the knight of the Flaming Sword, who with one blow cut two huge and ferocious giants in half. He had more sympathy for Vernardo del Carpio because in the Valley of Roncesvalles he killed Roland the Enchanted, using the technique of Hercules, who strangled Antaeus, the son of the Earth, in his arms. He also spoke very highly of the giant Morgantha, who, although he came from a breed of giants always distinguished by arrogance and pride, was an exception and was amiable and well-mannered. But he preferred Reynald of Montalvan to all of them, especially when he imagined him leaving the castle to rob everyone who came along the road, or stealing on the other side of the strait the idol of Mohomet, cast in gold, as history claims. As for this traitor Gamelon, for the opportunity to give him a good beating, he would willingly give up his housekeeper and even his niece in addition.

Finally, when he had completely lost his mind, the strangest of all thoughts that madmen have ever indulged in occurred to him; it was as follows: it seemed to him useful and even necessary, both for his personal glorification and for the good of his homeland, to become a knight errant himself and, on horseback and with weapons in his hands, go around the world to seek adventures, doing everything that, as he read, what knights-errant did was to correct all sorts of injustices and constantly be exposed to more and more new dangers, by overcoming which he could acquire an immortal name for himself. Our poor dreamer has already seen his forehead crowned with a crown, and, moreover, a crown, at least, of the Trebizond Empire. Therefore, full of these pleasant thoughts and the pleasure felt from them, he hastened to set about executing his project. And his first task was to clean the armor that belonged to his ancestors and which, corroded by rust and covered with mold, had rested forgotten in a corner for centuries. He cleaned and fixed them as well as he could. But, noticing that this weapon was missing a very important thing and that, instead of a full helmet, he had only one knob, he, with the help of his art, eliminated this shortcoming: he made something like a half-helmet out of cardboard, attached a knob to it, and in his eyes he appeared as a whole helmet. It must be told the truth that when, to test its strength, he drew his sword and dealt two blows to the helmet, the first blow destroyed the work of an entire week. The ease with which he turned his helmet into pieces did not quite please him; and in order to reliably protect himself from a similar destruction, he, starting again to restore it, provided it with iron strips inside in order to give it sufficient strength. He did not want to do a new test and for now accepted it as a real helmet with a visor of the best temper.

Michael Bulgakov

Don Quixote

A play by Cervantes in four acts, nine scenes

CHARACTERS

Alonso Quijano, aka Don Quixote of La Mancha.

Antonia is his niece.

Don Quixote's housekeeper.

Sancho Panza is Don Quixote's squire.

Pero Perez is a village priest, licentiate.

Nicholas is the village barber.

Aldonza Lorenzo is a peasant woman.

Sanson Carrasco – Bachelor.

Palomek Lefty is the owner of the inn.

Maritornes is a maid at an inn.

Muleteer

Tenorio Hernandez

Pedro Martinez) guests of Palomec.

Martinez's servant)

A worker at an inn.

Duchess.

The Duke's confessor.

Majordomo of the Duke.

Dr. Aguero.

Duena Rodriguez.

Duke's Page.

Pig farmer.

The First and Second Old Men, the First and Second Monks, the First and Second Servants, the Horse Drivers, the Duke's Retinue.

The action takes place in Spain at the very end of the 16th century.

ACT ONE

PICTURE ONE

Summer evening. The courtyard of Don Quixote's house with a stable, a well, a bench and two gates: one in the background leading to the road, and the other on the side leading to the village. Also, the inside of Don Quixote's house. In Don Quixote's room there is a large curtained bed, an armchair, a table, old knight's armor and many books.

Nicholas(appears in the yard with barber supplies). Senora the housekeeper! Isn't she there? (He goes up to the house and knocks.) Senor Quijano, can I come in? Senor Quijano!.. Apparently, no one is there. (Enters Don Quixote's room.) Senora's niece!.. Where did they all go? And he told me to come and cut my hair! Well, I'll wait, fortunately I have nowhere to rush. (Places the barber's basin on the table, draws attention to the knight's armor.) Please tell me what it is! Where did he get all this from? And, I know, he removed this armor from the attic. Oddball! (Sits down, takes a book from the table, reads.) Mirrors, knights... Hm... How much he loves these knights is incomprehensible...

Don Quixote(behind the scenes). Bernardo del Carpio! Bernardo del Carpio!

Don Quixote(behind the scenes). The great Bernardo del Carpio strangled the enchanted Don Roldan in Roncesval!..

Nicholas(in the window). What is he weaving?

Don Quixote(appears through the gate in the background with a book in one hand and a sword in the other). Ah, if I, the knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, as a punishment for my mortal sins or as a reward for the good that I have done in my life, would finally have to meet the one I am looking for! Oh!..

Nicholas. Which Don Quixote? Hey, hey, there seems to be something wrong with him!

Don Quixote. Yes, if I had a chance to meet my enemy - the giant Brandabarbaran in snake skin...

Nicholas. Brandabar... Has our hidalgo gone completely crazy?!

Don Quixote. ... I would follow Bernardo's example. If I lifted the giant, I would strangle him in the air! (Throws away the book and begins to slash the air with his sword.)

Nicholas. Righteous sky!

Don Quixote goes up into the house, Nicholas hides behind the knight's armor.

Don Quixote. Is there someone here?.. Who is here?

Nicholas. It’s me, dear Senor Quijano, it’s me...

Don Quixote. And, finally, fate made me happy with a meeting with you, my blood enemy! Come out here, don't hide in the shadows!

Nicholas. Have mercy, Senor Quijano, what are you saying! What an enemy I am to you!

Don Quixote. Don't pretend, your charms are powerless before me! I recognize you: you are the crafty wizard Friston!

Nicholas. Senor Alonso, come to your senses, I beg you! Look at the features of my face, I am not a wizard, I am a barber, your faithful friend and godfather Nicholas!

Don Quixote. You are lying!

Nicholas. Have mercy!..

Don Quixote. Come fight with me!

Nicholas. Oh, woe is me, he doesn't listen to me. Senor Alonso, come to your senses! Before you is a Christian soul, and not a wizard at all! Leave your terrible sword, sir!

Don Quixote. Take your weapon and come out!

Nicholas. Guardian angel, help me!.. (Jumps out the window and runs out through the side gate.)

Don Quixote calms down, sits down, opens the book. Someone passed behind the fence, the strings rang, and a heavy bass sang:

Oh, your beauty, no doubt,

Brighter than a sunny day!

Where are you, my lady?

Or have you forgotten me?

Aldonza(enters the yard with a basket in his hands). Senora is the housekeeper, and Senora is the housekeeper!..

Aldonza. Senora housekeeper, are you home? (Leaves his basket downstairs, goes up to the house, knocks.)

Don Quixote. Is she the one knocking? No, no, my heart is beating!

Aldonza(enters). Oh! Sorry, most respected sir, I didn’t know you were here. It's me, Aldonza Lorenzo. Is your housekeeper not at home? I brought salted pork and left it downstairs in the kitchen.

Don Quixote. You showed up on time, senora. I set off on a journey to meet the giant Carakuliambro, ruler of the island of Mamendrania. I want to defeat him and send him to you so that he will fall on his knees before you and ask you to dispose of him as you wish...

Aldonza. Oh, sir, what are you saying, God have mercy on us!

In a certain village of La Mancha, there lived a hidalgo, whose property consisted of a family spear, an ancient shield, a skinny nag and a greyhound dog. His last name was either Kehana or Quesada, it is not known for sure, and it doesn’t matter. He was about fifty years old, he had a lean body, a thin face and spent his days reading knightly novels, which is why his mind became completely disordered, and he decided to become a knight errant. He polished the armor that belonged to his ancestors, attached a cardboard visor to his bump, gave his old nag the sonorous name Rocinante, and renamed himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. Since a knight errant must be in love, the hidalgo, after thinking about it, chose the lady of his heart: Aldonço Lorenzo and named her Dulcinea of ​​Toboso, for she was from Toboso. Having donned his armor, Don Quixote set off, imagining himself as the hero of a chivalric romance. After traveling all day, he got tired and headed to the inn, mistaking it for a castle. The hidalgo's unsightly appearance and his lofty speeches made everyone laugh, but the good-natured owner fed and watered him, although it was not easy: Don Quixote never wanted to take off his helmet, which prevented him from eating and drinking. Don Quixote asked the owner of the castle, i.e. inn, to knight him, and before that he decided to spend the night in vigil over the weapon, placing it on a watering trough. The owner asked if Don Quixote had money, but Don Quixote had not read about money in any novel and did not take it with him. The owner explained to him that although such simple and necessary things as money or clean shirts are not mentioned in the novels, this does not mean that the knights had neither one nor the other. At night, one driver wanted to water the mules and removed Don Quixote’s armor from the watering trough, for which he received a blow with a spear, so the owner, who considered Don Quixote crazy, decided to quickly knight him in order to get rid of such an inconvenient guest. He assured him that the initiation rite consisted of a slap on the head and a blow with a sword on the back, and after Don Quixote’s departure, in joy, he made a speech no less pompous, although not as lengthy, as the newly-made knight.

Don Quixote turned home to stock up on money and shirts. On the way, he saw a burly villager beating a shepherd boy. The knight stood up for the shepherd, and the villager promised him not to offend the boy and to pay him everything he owed. Don Quixote, delighted with his good deed, rode on, and the villager, as soon as the defender of the offended was out of sight, beat the shepherd to a pulp. The merchants he met, whom Don Quixote forced to recognize Dulcinea of ​​Toboso as the most beautiful lady in the world, began to mock him, and when he rushed at them with a spear, they beat him, so that he arrived home beaten and exhausted. The priest and the barber, fellow villagers of Don Quixote, with whom he often argued about chivalric romances, decided to burn the harmful books, from which he was damaged in his mind. They looked through Don Quixote's library and left almost nothing from it, except for "Amadis of Gaul" and a few other books. Don Quixote invited one farmer - Sancho Panza - to become his squire and told and promised him so much that he agreed. And then one night Don Quixote mounted Rocinante, Sancho, who dreamed of becoming governor of the island, mounted a donkey, and they secretly left the village. On the way they saw windmills, which Don Quixote mistook for giants. When he rushed at the mill with a spear, its wing turned and smashed the spear into pieces, and Don Quixote was thrown to the ground.

At the inn where they stopped to spend the night, the maid began to make her way in the dark to the driver, with whom she had agreed on a date, but mistakenly stumbled upon Don Quixote, who decided that this was the daughter of the owner of the castle who was in love with him. There was a commotion, a fight broke out, and Don Quixote, and especially the innocent Sancho Panza, got a lot of trouble. When Don Quixote, and after him Sancho, refused to pay for the stay, several people who happened to be there pulled Sancho off the donkey and began to throw him on a blanket, like a dog during a carnival.

When Don Quixote and Sancho rode on, the knight mistook a herd of sheep for an enemy army and began to destroy enemies right and left, and only a hail of stones that the shepherds rained down on him stopped him. Looking at Don Quixote's sad face, Sancho came up with a nickname for him: the Knight of the Sad Image. One night, Don Quixote and Sancho heard an ominous knock, but when dawn broke, it turned out that it was fulling hammers. The knight was embarrassed, and his thirst for exploits remained unquenched this time. The barber, who put a copper basin on his head in the rain, was mistaken by Don Quixote for a knight in the Mambrina helmet, and since Don Quixote swore an oath to take possession of this helmet, he took the basin from the barber and was very proud of his feat. Then he freed the convicts, who were being led to the galleys, and demanded that they go to Dulcinea and give her greetings from her faithful knight, but the convicts did not want to, and when Don Quixote began to insist, they stoned him.

In the Sierra Morena, one of the convicts, Gines de Pasamonte, stole Sancho's donkey, and Don Quixote promised to give Sancho three of the five donkeys that he had on his estate. In the mountains they found a suitcase containing some linen and a bunch of gold coins, as well as a book of poetry. Don Quixote gave the money to Sancho and took the book for himself. The owner of the suitcase turned out to be Cardeno, a half-mad young man who began to tell Don Quixote the story of his unhappy love, but did not tell it enough because they quarreled because Cardeno had casually spoken ill of Queen Madasima. Don Quixote wrote a love letter to Dulcinea and a note to his niece, where he asked her to give three donkeys to the “bearer of the first donkey bill”, and, having gone crazy for the sake of decency, that is, taking off his pants and turning somersaults several times, he sent Sancho to take the letters. Left alone, Don Quixote surrendered to repentance. He began to think what was better to imitate: the violent madness of Roland or the melancholy madness of Amadis. Deciding that Amadis was closer to him, he began to compose poems dedicated to the beautiful Dulcinea. On the way home, Sancho Panza met a priest and a barber - his fellow villagers, and they asked him to show them Don Quixote's letter to Dulcinea, but it turned out that the knight forgot to give him the letters, and Sancho began to quote the letter by heart, misinterpreting the text so that instead of “passionate senora” he got “fail-safe senora”, etc. The priest and the barber began to invent a way to lure Don Quixote from Poor Rapids, where he was indulging in repentance, and deliver him to his native village in order to cure him of his insanity. They asked Sancho to tell Don Quixote that Dulcinea had ordered him to come to her immediately. They assured Sancho that this whole idea would help Don Quixote become, if not an emperor, then at least a king, and Sancho, expecting favors, willingly agreed to help them. Sancho went to Don Quixote, and the priest and the barber remained waiting for him in the forest, but suddenly they heard poetry - it was Cardeno, who told them his sad story from beginning to end: the treacherous friend Fernando kidnapped his beloved Lucinda and married her. When Cardeno finished the story, a sad voice was heard and a beautiful girl appeared, dressed in a man's dress. It turned out to be Dorothea, seduced by Fernando, who promised to marry her, but left her for Lucinda. Dorothea said that Lucinda, after getting engaged to Fernando, was going to commit suicide, because she considered herself Cardeno’s wife and agreed to marry Fernando only at the insistence of her parents. Dorothea, having learned that he did not marry Lucinda, had the hope of returning him, but could not find him anywhere. Cardeno revealed to Dorothea that he was Lucinda’s true husband, and they decided together to seek the return of “what rightfully belongs to them.” Cardeno promised Dorothea that if Fernando did not return to her, he would challenge him to a duel.

Sancho told Don Quixote that Dulcinea was calling him to her, but he replied that he would not appear before her until he accomplished feats, “the grace of those worthy of her.” Dorothea volunteered to help lure Don Quixote out of the forest and, calling herself the Princess of Micomikon, said that she had arrived from a distant country, which had heard rumors about the glorious knight Don Quixote, in order to ask for his intercession. Don Quixote could not refuse the lady and went to Micomikona. They met a traveler on a donkey - it was Gines de Pasamonte, a convict who was freed by Don Quixote and who stole Sancho's donkey. Sancho took the donkey for himself, and everyone congratulated him on this success. At the source they saw a boy - the same shepherd for whom Don Quixote had recently stood up. The shepherd boy said that the hidalgo’s intercession had backfired on him, and cursed all the knights-errant at all costs, which infuriated Don Quixote and embarrassed him.

Having reached the same inn where Sancho was thrown on a blanket, the travelers stopped for the night. At night, a frightened Sancho Panza ran out of the closet where Don Quixote was resting: Don Quixote fought with enemies in his sleep and swung his sword in all directions. There were wineskins of wine hanging over his head, and he, mistaking them for giants, tore them open and filled everything with wine, which Sancho, in his fright, mistook for blood. Another company arrived at the inn: a lady in a mask and several men. The curious priest tried to ask the servant about who these people were, but the servant himself did not know, he only said that the lady, judging by her clothes, was a nun or was going to a monastery, but, apparently, not of her own free will, and she sighed and cried all the way. It turned out that this was Lucinda, who decided to retire to a monastery since she could not unite with her husband Cardeno, but Fernando kidnapped her from there. Seeing Don Fernando, Dorotea threw herself at his feet and began to beg him to return to her. He heeded her pleas, but Lucinda rejoiced at being reunited with Cardeno, and only Sancho was upset, for he considered Dorothea the princess of Micomikon and hoped that she would shower his master with favors and something would also fall to him. Don Quixote believed that everything was settled thanks to the fact that he defeated the giant, and when he was told about the hole in the wineskin, he called it the spell of an evil wizard. The priest and the barber told everyone about Don Quixote's madness, and Dorothea and Fernando decided not to abandon him, but to take him to the village, which was no more than two days away. Dorothea told Don Quixote that she owed him her happiness, and continued to play the role she had begun. A man and a Moorish woman arrived at the inn. The man turned out to be an infantry captain who had been captured during the Battle of Lepanto. A beautiful Moorish woman helped him escape and wanted to be baptized and become his wife. Following them, a judge appeared with his daughter, who turned out to be the captain’s brother and was incredibly happy that the captain, from whom there had been no news for a long time, was alive. The judge was not embarrassed by his deplorable appearance, for the captain was robbed by the French on the way. At night, Dorothea heard the song of a mule driver and woke up the judge’s daughter Clara so that the girl would also listen to her, but it turned out that the singer was not a mule driver at all, but a disguised son of noble and wealthy parents named Louis, in love with Clara. She is not of very noble origin, so the lovers were afraid that his father would not consent to their marriage. A new group of horsemen rode up to the inn: it was Louis’s father who set out in pursuit of his son. Louis, whom his father's servants wanted to escort home, refused to go with them and asked for Clara's hand.

Another barber arrived at the inn, the same one from whom Don Quixote took the “helmet of Mambrina,” and began to demand the return of his pelvis. A quarrel began, and the priest quietly gave him eight reals for the basin to stop it. Meanwhile, one of the guards who happened to be at the inn recognized Don Quixote by signs, for he was wanted as a criminal for freeing convicts, and the priest had great difficulty convincing the guards not to arrest Don Quixote, since he was out of his mind. The priest and the barber made something like a comfortable cage out of sticks and agreed with one man who was riding past on oxen that he would take Don Quixote to his native village. But then they released Don Quixote from his cage on parole, and he tried to take away the statue of the virgin from the worshipers, considering her a noble lady in need of protection. Finally, Don Quixote arrived home, where the housekeeper and niece put him to bed and began to look after him, and Sancho went to his wife, to whom he promised that next time he would certainly return as a count or governor of the island, and not just some seedy one, but the best best wishes.

After the housekeeper and niece nursed Don Quixote for a month, the priest and barber decided to visit him. His speeches were reasonable, and they thought that his madness had passed, but as soon as the conversation remotely touched upon chivalry, it became clear that Don Quixote was terminally ill. Sancho also visited Don Quixote and told him that the son of their neighbor, Bachelor Samson Carrasco, had returned from Salamanca, who said that the history of Don Quixote, written by Sid Ahmet Beninhali, had been published, which described all the adventures of him and Sancho Panza. Don Quixote invited Samson Carrasco to his place and asked him about the book. The bachelor listed all her advantages and disadvantages and said that everyone, young and old, admires her, and servants especially love her. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza decided to go on a new journey and a few days later they secretly left the village. Samson saw them off and asked Don Quixote to report all his successes and failures. Don Quixote, on the advice of Samson, headed to Zaragoza, where the knightly tournament was to take place, but first decided to stop in Toboso to receive Dulcinea’s blessing. Arriving in Toboso, Don Quixote began to ask Sancho where Dulcinea's palace was, but Sancho could not find it in the dark. He thought that Don Quixote knew this himself, but Don Quixote explained to him that he had never seen not only Dulcinea’s palace, but also her, because he fell in love with her according to rumors. Sancho replied that he had seen her and brought an answer to Don Quixote’s letter, also according to rumors. To prevent the deception from coming to light, Sancho tried to take his master away from Toboso as quickly as possible and persuaded him to wait in the forest while he, Sancho, went to the city to talk with Dulcinea. He realized that since Don Quixote had never seen Dulcinea, he could marry any woman to her and, seeing three peasant women on donkeys, he told Don Quixote that Dulcinea was coming to him with the ladies of the court. Don Quixote and Sancho fell to their knees in front of one of the peasant women, and the peasant woman shouted at them rudely. Don Quixote saw in this whole story the witchcraft of an evil wizard and was very sad that instead of the beautiful senora he saw an ugly peasant woman.

In the forest, Don Quixote and Sancho met the Knight of Mirrors, who was in love with Casildeia of Vandalism, and who boasted that he had defeated Don Quixote himself. Don Quixote was indignant and challenged the Knight of Mirrors to a duel, under the terms of which the loser had to surrender to the mercy of the winner. Before the Knight of Mirrors had time to prepare for battle, Don Quixote had already attacked him and almost finished him off, but the squire of the Knight of Mirrors screamed that his master was none other than Samson Carrasco, who hoped to bring Don Quixote home in such a cunning way. But alas, Samson was defeated, and Don Quixote, confident that the evil wizards had replaced the appearance of the Knight of Mirrors with the appearance of Samson Carrasco, again set off along the road to Zaragoza. On the way, Diego de Miranda caught up with him, and the two hidalgos rode together. A cart was driving towards them, in which they were carrying lions. Don Quixote demanded that the cage with the huge lion be opened, and was going to chop it into pieces. The frightened watchman opened the cage, but the lion did not come out of it, and the fearless Don Quixote from now on began to call himself the Knight of Lions. After staying with Don Diego, Don Quixote continued his journey and arrived in the village where the wedding of Quiteria the Beautiful and Camacho the Rich was celebrated. Before the wedding, Basillo the Poor, Quiteria’s neighbor, who had been in love with her since childhood, approached Quiteria, and in front of everyone, pierced his chest with a sword. He agreed to confess before his death only if the priest married him to Quiteria and he died as her husband. Everyone tried to persuade Quiteria to take pity on the sufferer - after all, he was about to give up the ghost, and Quiteria, having become a widow, would be able to marry Camacho. Quiteria gave Basillo her hand, but as soon as they were married, Basillo jumped to his feet alive and well - he set all this up to marry his beloved, and she seemed to be in cahoots with him. Camacho, out of common sense, considered it best not to be offended: why does he need a wife who loves another? After staying with the newlyweds for three days, Don Quixote and Sancho moved on.

Don Quixote decided to go down to Montesinos' cave. Sancho and the student guide tied a rope around him and he began to descend. When all one hundred braces of the rope were unwound, they waited for half an hour and began to pull the rope, which turned out to be as easy as if there was no load on it, and only the last twenty braces were difficult to pull. When they pulled out Don Quixote, his eyes were closed and they had difficulty pushing him away. Don Quixote said that he saw many miracles in the cave, saw the heroes of the ancient romances Montesinos and Durandart, as well as the enchanted Dulcinea, who even asked him to borrow six reals. This time his story seemed implausible even to Sancho, who knew well what kind of wizard had bewitched Dulcinea, but Don Quixote firmly stood his ground. When they reached the inn, which Don Quixote, as usual, did not consider to be a castle, Maese Pedro appeared there with the soothsayer monkey and the priest. The monkey recognized Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and told everything about them, and when the performance began, Don Quixote, taking pity on the noble heroes, rushed with a sword at their pursuers and killed all the dolls. True, he later generously paid Pedro for the destroyed paradise, so he was not offended. In fact, it was Gines de Pasamonte, who was hiding from the authorities and took up the craft of a raishnik - so he knew everything about Don Quixote and Sancho, usually, before entering the village, he asked around about its inhabitants and “guessed” for a small bribe. past.

One day, driving out into a green meadow at sunset, Don Quixote saw a crowd of people - it was the Duke and Duchess's falconry. The Duchess read a book about Don Quixote and was filled with respect for him. She and the Duke invited him to their castle and received him as an honored guest. They and their servants played many jokes with Don Quixote and Sancho and never ceased to marvel at the prudence and madness of Don Quixote, as well as the ingenuity and simplicity of Sancho, who in the end believed that Dulcinea was bewitched, although he himself acted as a sorcerer and did all this himself set it up The wizard Merlin arrived in a chariot to Don Quixote and announced that in order to disenchant Dulcinea, Sancho must voluntarily beat himself with a whip on his bare buttocks three thousand three hundred times. Sancho opposed, but the Duke promised him the island, and Sancho agreed, especially since the period of scourging was not limited and it could be done gradually. Countess Trifaldi, aka Gorevana, the duenna of Princess Metonymia, arrived at the castle. The wizard Zlosmrad turned the princess and her husband Trenbreno into statues, and the duenna Gorevan and twelve other duennas began to grow beards. Only the valiant knight Don Quixote could disenchant them all. Zlosmrad promised to send a horse for Don Quixote, which would quickly take him and Sancho to the kingdom of Kandaya, where the valiant knight would fight with Zlosmrad. Don Quixote, determined to rid the duels of beards, sat blindfolded with Sancho on a wooden horse and thought that they were flying through the air, while the Duke's servants blew air from their furs on them. “Arriving” back to the duke’s garden, they discovered a message from Zlosmrad, where he wrote that Don Quixote had cast a spell on everyone by the fact that he had dared to undertake this adventure. Sancho was impatient to look at the faces of the duennas without beards, but the entire squad of duennas had already disappeared. Sancho began to prepare to rule the promised island, and Don Quixote gave him so many reasonable instructions that he amazed the Duke and Duchess - in everything that did not relate to chivalry, he “showed a clear and extensive mind.”

The Duke sent Sancho with a large retinue to the town, which was supposed to pass for an island, for Sancho did not know that islands exist only in the sea, and not on land. There he was solemnly presented with the keys to the city and declared governor of the island of Barataria for life. First, he had to resolve a dispute between a peasant and a tailor. The peasant brought the cloth to the tailor and asked if it would make a cap. Having heard what would come out, he asked if two caps would come out, and when he learned that two would come out, he wanted to get three, then four, and settled on five. When he came to receive the caps, they fit just right on his finger. He became angry and refused to pay the tailor for the work and, in addition, began to demand the cloth back or the money for it. Sancho thought and passed a sentence: not to pay the tailor for his work, not to return the cloth to the peasant, and to donate the caps to the prisoners. Then two old men appeared to Sancho, one of whom had long ago borrowed ten gold pieces from the other and claimed that he had returned them, while the lender said that he had not received the money. Sancho made the debtor swear that he had repaid the debt, and he, allowing the lender to hold his staff for a moment, swore. Seeing this, Sancho guessed that the money was hidden in the staff and returned it to the lender. Following them, a woman appeared, dragging by the hand the man who allegedly raped her. Sancho told the man to give the woman his wallet and sent the woman home. When she came out, Sancho ordered the man to catch up with her and take her wallet, but the woman resisted so much that he did not succeed. Sancho immediately realized that the woman had slandered the man: if she had shown even half the fearlessness with which she defended her wallet when she defended her honor, the man would not have been able to defeat her. Therefore, Sancho returned the wallet to the man and drove the woman away from the island. Everyone marveled at Sancho's wisdom and the justice of his sentences. When Sancho sat down at the table laden with food, he did not manage to eat anything: as soon as he reached out to some dish, Doctor Pedro Intolerable de Science ordered it to be removed, saying that it was harmful to health. Sancho wrote a letter to his wife Teresa, to which the Duchess added a letter from herself and a string of coral, and the Duke's page delivered letters and gifts to Teresa, alarming the whole village. Teresa was delighted and wrote very reasonable answers, and also sent the Duchess half a measure of selected acorns and cheese.

Barataria was attacked by the enemy, and Sancho had to defend the island with arms in hand. They brought him two shields and tied one in front and the other behind so tightly that he could not move. As soon as he tried to move, he fell and lay there, pinned between two shields. People were running around him, he heard screams, the ringing of weapons, they were furiously hacking at his shield with a sword, and finally shouts were heard: “Victory! The enemy is defeated! Everyone began to congratulate Sancho on his victory, but as soon as he was raised, he saddled the donkey and went to Don Quixote, saying that ten days of governorship was enough for him, that he was not born either for battles or for wealth, and did not want to obey either to the impudent doctor, and to no one else. Don Quixote began to be burdened by the idle life he led with the Duke, and together with Sancho he left the castle. At the inn where they stopped for the night, they met Don Juan and Don Jeronimo, who were reading the anonymous second part of Don Quixote, which Don Quixote and Sancho Panza considered slander against themselves. It said that Don Quixote had fallen out of love with Dulcinea, while he still loved her, the name of Sancho's wife was mixed up there, and it was full of other inconsistencies. Having learned that this book describes a tournament in Zaragoza with the participation of Don Quixote, which was replete with all sorts of nonsense. Don Quixote decided to go not to Zaragoza, but to Barcelona, ​​so that everyone could see that the Don Quixote depicted in the anonymous second part is not at all the one described by Sid Ahmet Beninhali.

In Barcelona, ​​Don Quixote fought the Knight of the White Moon and was defeated. The Knight of the White Moon, who was none other than Samson Carrasco, demanded that Don Quixote return to his village and not leave there for a whole year, hoping that during this time his reason would return. On the way home, Don Quixote and Sancho had to visit the ducal castle again, for its owners were just as obsessed with jokes and pranks as Don Quixote was with chivalric romances. In the castle there was a hearse with the body of the maid Altisidora, who allegedly died of unrequited love for Don Quixote. To revive her, Sancho had to endure twenty-four clicks on the nose, twelve pinches and six pin pricks. Sancho was very unhappy; for some reason, both in order to disenchant Dulcinea and in order to revive Altisidora, it was he who had to suffer, who had nothing to do with them. But everyone tried to persuade him so much that he finally agreed and endured the torture. Seeing how Altisidora came to life, Don Quixote began to rush Sancho with self-flagellation in order to disenchant Dulcinea. When he promised Sancho to pay generously for each blow, he willingly began to whip himself, but quickly realizing that it was night and they were in the forest, he began to whip the trees. At the same time, he moaned so pitifully that Don Quixote allowed him to interrupt and continue the scourging the next night. At the inn they met Alvaro Tarfe, who was portrayed in the second part of the fake Don Quixote. Alvaro Tarfe admitted that he had never seen either Don Quixote or Sancho Panza, who stood in front of him, but he saw another Don Quixote and another Sancho Panza, not at all similar to them. Returning to his native village, Don Quixote decided to become a shepherd for a year and invited the priest, the bachelor and Sancho Panza to follow his example. They approved of his idea and agreed to join him. Don Quixote already began to change their names into a pastoral style, but soon fell ill. Before his death, his mind cleared up, and he no longer called himself Don Quixote, but Alonso Quijano. He cursed the knightly romances that had clouded his mind, and died calmly and Christianly, as no knight errant had ever died.