About the product
The novel Don Quixote by Cervantes consists of two parts. The first volume was published in 1605, and the second ten years later. The book is a parody of the chivalric romances that were so popular at the time.
To better prepare for a literature lesson, we recommend reading online a summary of Don Quixote chapter by chapter. Also, a retelling of the novel about the adventures of a noble hidalgo will be useful for a reader’s diary.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Kuchmina Nadezhda Vladimirovna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 27 years.
Summary
First part
Chapters 1-3
Once upon a time in La Mancha there lived “one of those hidalgos whose property consists of a family spear, an ancient shield, a skinny nag and a greyhound.” He was a lean, strong man of about fifty years old.
With great pleasure, he “devoted himself to reading chivalric novels,” sometimes forgetting about his immediate responsibilities - housekeeping and hunting. He spent so much time reading that “his brain began to dry out, so that in the end he completely lost his mind.”
One day, following the example of the heroes of his favorite novels, he himself decided to “become a knight errant”, calling himself Don Quixote and his old nag Rocinante. After some thought, he found a lady of his heart, in whose honor he was to perform many valiant deeds. She turned out to be a “very pretty village girl” Aldonza Lorenzo, whom the knight christened Dulcinea of Toboso.
Without hesitating for a minute, Don Quixote set off on the road. After a while, a palace appeared before his eyes, which turned out to be an ordinary tavern. The wanderer's stories amused the guests, and Don Quixote received food and drink.
The hero was tormented by the thought “that he had not yet been knighted.” To fulfill his plan, he chose the owner of the tavern. When asked a reasonable question about whether he had money, Don Quixote was quite surprised: he had not read in any of the novels that knights should have money. Taking pity on the eccentric, the tavern owner advised him to always have money with him, which could be useful at any moment.
The mule driver, deciding to give his animals water, took Don Quixote's armor from the watering trough and received a strong blow from him with a spear. Wanting to quickly get rid of the crazy guest, the owner of the tavern knighted him with a slap on the head and a blow to the back with a sword, after which the hero set off on an adventure.
Chapters 4-6
Hearing someone's crying, Don Quixote saw a boy whom "a certain stalwart villager was mercilessly whipping with a belt, accompanying each blow with reproaches and moralizing." The newly-minted knight stood up for the boy, but after his departure the man beat the offending shepherd boy almost to death.
Don Quixote soon had to taste his fair share of punches himself when he tried to get local merchants to recognize Dulcinea of Toboso as the most beautiful lady in the world.
The household, seeing the beaten and exhausted Don Quixote, decided that the cause of his troubles were books that needed to be burned. They carefully examined the hero's rich library and destroyed almost all of it, except for a few harmless publications.
Chapters 7-20
Having come to his senses, Don Quixote invited the naive farmer Sancho Panza to go on the road with him “as his squire.” He, without thinking twice, saddled his faithful donkey and followed the knight.
On their way, they met windmills, which Don Quixote mistook for mighty giants and decided to fight them. But, having failed in the fight against them, the knight and his squire were forced to continue their journey.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza stopped to spend the night at an inn, which the knight once again mistook for “some glorious castle.” Meanwhile, the owner’s daughter was getting ready “to go on a date with the driver,” but in the dark she came across Don Quixote, who decided that she was the daughter of “the owner of the castle, whom he allegedly managed to charm.”
There was a commotion, a fight broke out - the knight and his innocent squire got a lot of nuts.
Further on their way they met a herd of sheep, which Don Quixote mistook for an enemy army. He began to mercilessly beat the unfortunate animals, but as a result he himself became a victim of the shepherds, who threw stones at him. Looking at the sad expression on his master's face, Sancho called him the Knight of the Sad Countenance.
One day, while spending the night, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza heard strange loud sounds that frightened them. They prepared for the worst, but in the morning it turned out that the sounds were made by ordinary fulling hammers.
Chapters 21-31
The wanderers set off again and soon noticed “a horseman with some object on his head that sparkled like gold.” It turned out to be a barber with a basin on his head. Don Quixote decided to capture the sparkling helmet and was very happy when he succeeded.
Next, the travelers freed the convicts. As gratitude, they beat their savior just because he asked them to say hello to the beautiful Dulcinea.
While spending the night, Sancho Panza's donkey was kidnapped. The thief “even before dawn managed to drive so far that it was no longer possible to overtake him.” But soon the loss was compensated very generously: Don Quixote and his squire found a chest with money and a book. The knight took the book for himself and gave all the money to Sancho Panza.
Don Quixote wrote two letters, one of which was intended for Dulcinea of Toboso, and the other for his niece, asking him to send three donkeys belonging to the hero. The letters were to be delivered by Sancho Panza.
The squire set off, but, meeting a barber and a priest on the way home, he realized that he had forgotten to take Don Quixote’s messages with him. Then he began to reproduce them from memory and “talked who knows how much nonsense.”
The villagers decided that the maddened Don Quixote should be returned to his native village. They asked Sancho to tell the knight that he should return home, since Dulcinea herself wanted it. They assured the squire that the service he had provided would allow him to become king, and he began to implement the plan.
Sancho Panza conveyed to his master the “request” of the beautiful Dulcinea, to which he replied that he would not return to his native land until he accomplished feats worthy of his lady’s heart.
Then a girl named Dorothea came to the aid of the barber and priest. She lured Don Quixote by introducing herself to him as a princess who needed the help of a noble knight. On the way, they met a convict who had stolen Sancho Panza's donkey, and the squire's property was returned to the owner.
At the source, the companions saw the same boy who was “lashed with the reins by a certain villager” and for whom Don Quixote stood up. The shepherd admitted that the knight’s intervention had backfired on him, and scolded his defender to the best of his ability.
Chapters 32-46
The company decided to stop for the night at an inn, where at night Don Quixote imagined an enemy attack. He began to swing his sword, piercing the vessels with wine and frightening his squire. Fellow villagers notified everyone in the area that Don Quixote had lost his mind.
During the travelers' stay at the inn, they witnessed a wide variety of everyday stories: dramatic, love and frankly comedic.
One of the visitors to the tavern was the barber, from whom Don Quixote took the basin and placed it on his head as a helmet. To quell the flaring conflict, the priest paid the barber the required amount.
Next, the guards arrived at the tavern. They provided "a decree directly concerning Don Quixote, whom the Holy Brotherhood decided to detain because he had freed convicts." To eliminate the trouble, this time the priest had to pay off and remind him that the wanted person was crazy.
Chapters 47-52
Fellow villagers, with good intentions, decided to put Don Quixote in a makeshift cage in order to bring the madman home safe and sound. After some time, the knight managed to convince his escorts that he did not intend to run away, and he was transferred to a cart.
Having reached his native village, Sancho Panza did not fail to tell his wife that he would soon become “a count or governor of the island, and not just some seedy one, but the very best.”
Meanwhile, the “housekeeper and niece of Don Quixote” began to look after the knight. The priest told the girl to “take the best possible care of her uncle and for both of them to be on alert, otherwise, they say, he will run away again.”
Part two
Chapters 1-11
Entrusting himself to the care of his housekeeper and niece, Don Quixote restored his health. The barber and the priest did not visit him for a month, “so as not to evoke and resurrect past events in his memory.” When the priest ventured to visit Don Quixote, he realized that he was completely healthy. But as soon as the visitor casually mentioned chivalry, it became clear: Don Quixote was still obsessed with it.
From his faithful squire, the hero learned that a book “titled The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” had been published, which was enjoying great success. After this conversation, Don Quixote decided that he absolutely had to hit the road. Suspecting something was wrong, the housekeeper and Antonia tried with all their might to prevent this, but to no avail.
Before setting off on the road, the Knight of the Sorrowful Image decided to receive the blessing of the lady of his heart. He ordered his squire to take him to the castle of Dulcinea, but he had no idea where to look for him.
Then Don Quixote was forced to admit that he had never seen Dulcinea in person and “fell in love with her only by rumor.” Sancho almost admitted that he didn’t know what this lady looked like, but in time he remembered how he “gave” letters to her and bit his tongue.
The squire had no choice but to pass off an ordinary peasant woman as the beautiful Dulcinea. Imagine Don Quixote's surprise and disappointment when, instead of a charming lady, he saw an uncouth, ugly woman. The last straw was the behavior of the “lady of the heart” when she rudely cursed the knight and his servant. Sancho Panza managed to get out of it: he said that this was the machinations of an insidious sorcerer. Don Quixote was satisfied with this explanation, and they set off.
Chapters 12-21
During a halt, Don Quixote and Sancho noticed how two men, one of whom was the Knight of Mirrors, settled down to rest not far from them. Having met him, Don Quixote learned his sad love story.
The Knight of Mirrors admitted that, for the sake of his lady’s favor, he threatened to defeat “all the knights errant of Spain and even the whole world,” including the famous Don Quixote. Offended by such lies, the Knight of the Sorrowful Image challenged him to a duel.
Don Quixote managed to defeat the enemy, and he soon learned that it was none other than Samson Carrasco, the author of a book about Don Quixote, who wanted to bring the eccentric home in this way. The hero had no doubt that all this was the work of an evil magician, and continued on his way with his faithful squire.
On the road, Don Quixote met the noble hidalgo Diego, and together they continued their journey. Soon they noticed a cart, and on it - “a cage with two fierce lions.” The knight realized that this was an excellent chance to demonstrate courage and ordered the driver to open the cage. He obeyed, but the lions never left the cage. As a result, Don Quixote appropriated the title of Knight of Lions and continued on his way.
Next, the wanderers found themselves at the wedding of Quiteria the Beautiful and Camacho the Rich. Suddenly, Basillo, in love with the girl, appeared at the celebration, declaring that he could not live without his beloved and piercing himself with a dagger. The young man told the priest “that he would never confess until Quiteria gave him her hand.” Quiteria agreed, and after a while it turned out that the lovers had deliberately arranged everything in order to get rid of the hated Camacho.
Chapters 22-41
Don Quixote decided to explore Montesinos' cave. They tied him tightly with ropes, and the brave knight prepared for the dangerous descent. Faithful Sancho asked the owner not to be like “a bottle that is lowered into a well to cool it,” but no one listened to him.
When the rope ran out, the researcher had to be lifted up. At first it was so easy that everyone came to the “conclusion that Don Quixote remained in the cave.” Only the last jerks were difficult, and the knight was brought to the surface of the earth in a faint state. Having come to his senses, he said that, having found himself at the bottom of the cave, he witnessed many strange things.
Having reached the Ebro River, the knight noticed a boat. He admitted to Sancho that this boat “forces one to enter it and go to the aid of some knight or other suffering noble person who has suffered a great misfortune.” Having boarded the boat, the travelers soon found themselves “into a whirlpool formed by mill wheels.” The flour millers tried to save them, but the knight waved his sword and called for the release of the noble person they had imprisoned. As a result, the boat was smashed into pieces, and the travelers had to pay a significant amount for it.
Once in the meadows, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza met the dukes, who read a book about the brave knight and were filled with respect for him. At first, the wanderers were greeted with honor, but soon ridicule began to arise against them.
Having learned that Dulcinea Toboso was bewitched by an evil magician, the local sorcerer suggested a way to get rid of the spell. To do this, Sancho had to receive several thousand lashes. The squire rebelled, because for him even “three blows with a whip are the same as three blows with a dagger.” Only after Sancho learned that the period of scourging was unlimited, and after that he would receive an island as a gift, did he agree.
Chapters 42-59
The Duke and Duchess, “seeing that their jokes were accepted as truth without the slightest hesitation, set out to joke further.” They sent Sancho to the promised island as governor, after warning the servants how to behave with him.
So many annoying incidents happened to him on the island that Sancho decided to return to his knight, fully realizing that power was not his calling.
Meanwhile, Don Quixote began to “become burdened by the idle life that he led in the castle.” He asked the Duke for permission to leave his hospitable abode and again set off on the road with his faithful squire. Feeling all the beauty of the road, the knight admitted to Sancho that freedom “is one of the most precious bounties that heaven pours out on people.”
The Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance decided to head to Barcelona.
Chapters 60-74
On the way to Barcelona, the travelers had to encounter a gang of robbers. They would certainly have lost their horses and all their money if not for the robber leader Roque Guinart, “who is not so much cruel as merciful.” Having recognized Don Quixote, he not only saved him from an unenviable fate, but also personally escorted him.
In Barcelona, the hero fought with the Knight of the White Moon and was defeated. He found out that his opponent was the same writer who wrote a book about him - Samson Carrasco. The Knight of the White Moon demanded that Don Quixote go home and not leave him for a year until his mind became stronger.
The knight followed his advice and, finding himself in his native village, decided to forget about knighthood and become a shepherd. On his deathbed, he realized that stupid fantasies had deprived him of his sanity and distracted him from more important matters. Before his death, he called "friends, the priest, bachelor Samson Carrasco and the barber" to inform them of his desire to change his name to Alonso Quijano. He died “so calmly and so Christianly”, like no other knight from his favorite novels...
1
Don Alonso Quejano devotes all his time to reading novels... Knights, duels, giants and enchanted princesses occupy his imagination so much that he can raise his huge sword over the head of the old housekeeper, imagining that she is a giant. This tall, thin man of about fifty is completely immersed in the world of chivalry. “The knights,” he thinks, “did not live for themselves. They performed feats for the whole world! They stood up for widows and orphans, for the weak and defenseless, for the oppressed and insulted. And now everyone lives in his own hole, does not care about the welfare of his neighbor.”
The income from the estate of a poor nobleman is barely enough for the most modest food and clothing. He spends all his free money on novels. This passionate and naive man believes that everything in these books is true.
And so he decides to become a knight errant and go in search of adventure. But you can’t go to heroic deeds in an old caftan! In the closet, Don Alonso found old armor and weapons; they belonged to one of his ancestors. He made the helmet with his own hands, somehow assembling an old cone and visor into one whole.
Old Quejano chose a sonorous name for himself: Don Quixote of La Mancha. The riding horse was found - an old and skinny white nag named Rocinante. All that remains is to find the lady of your heart. After all, the knights dedicated all their exploits to the beautiful lady.
In the neighboring village of Toboso, an elderly knight saw a young, hard-working peasant girl named Aldonsa. He called her a magnificent name - Dulcinea Toboso. And if someone doubts that his chosen one is a princess of the blood, he will be able to defend the honor of her name!
2
Early on a July morning, Don Quixote saddled Rocinante, put on his armor, picked up a spear and set off.
And suddenly the traveler realized that no one had knighted him. But the uninitiated cannot fight! If you believe the novels, then any owner of the castle can knight. Don Quixote let go of Rocinante's reins - let the horse and fate lead him where he needs to go. The poor knight rode all day, the horse had already begun to stumble from fatigue.
And then a poor hotel appeared in the distance. The horseman mistook two village girls gossiping at the gate for beautiful ladies. He made them laugh a lot with his polite turns of phrase.
The tavern owner asks if the traveler has money. Don Quixote never read that knights took such a thing as money with them on the road.
The owner convinces him of the need to stock up on money, linen, ointment for wounds and, most importantly, a smart squire.
The cunning innkeeper, not wanting to provide housing without payment, sent the wanderer to guard his armor in the courtyard. Don Quixote took this “task” with great responsibility: he put his armor on a trough by the well and, like a ghost at night, trampled around it. The muleteers, who needed to water the animals, were defeated by the “knight’s spear.”
The madman was almost stoned. But the innkeeper stood up for the poor fellow and knighted him with two strong blows on the shoulder.
3
Don Quixote thought about the choice of a squire. He mentally settled on one simple-minded peasant. Rocinante quickly turned towards the house. Suddenly, screams and sounds of blows were heard in the nearby forest. But the fat peasant tied the shepherd boy to a tree and whips him with a belt because he again did not guard the sheep.
Don Quixote threatens the brute with a spear and forces him to give his honest, noble word that they will no longer beat the shepherdess and will pay him his salary. Naturally, as soon as the intercessor left, the shepherd boy was stuffed by the owner “with an increase and with an extra charge,” and did not receive any money.
Don Quixote, in full confidence that he has committed a heroic act, moves on. On the road he meets a whole company of horsemen - these are merchants who appear to the don’s fevered imagination as knights. And that means, according to the code approved by the novels, you need to fight them: let them admit that Dulcinea of Toboso is the most beautiful in the world.
The merchants laugh at the crazy wanderer. He rushes and fights, falls off his horse, cannot get up - heavy armor interferes with him. One of the servants stands up for the owner and brutally beats the unlucky hero.
A certain kind peasant, much amazed at Don Quixote’s absurd ravings, loaded him onto his donkey. And he dumped the armor and even fragments of the spear on Rocinante. The dreamer was taken home.
The housekeeper and the priest believe that all the harm comes from stupid books. We must burn them! Yes, burn it, and tell the madman that his library was taken away by a scarlet sorcerer...
4
The door to the library was sealed and plastered tightly.
The priest and the barber (hairdresser, barber) burned the library on a fire in the yard, and the crazy reader was told tales about a wizard who flew in on a huge dragon and destroyed the books. Alonso Quejano fully believed this, but did not stop dreaming of exploits.
A poor peasant, Sancho Panza, lived nearby. He was not very smart and incredibly wanted to get rich. Don Quixote offered him a salary and the service of a squire. In addition, the gullible peasant was promised that in the future he would be made governor of some conquered island.
Don Quixote sold the best part of his estate, filled his wallet with coins, repaired his broken weapon and ordered the newly minted squire to take care of provisions. Sancho set off on a donkey ride, which seemed rather indecent to the lord for a squire. But without his long-eared comrade, Sancho refused to go out - walking on foot was not at all his thing.
These two got out of the village at night and twisted along the road, wanting to get rid of the pursued one.
5
In search of adventure and dreams of governorship, the travelers reached a clearing on which stood about three dozen windmills. Don Quixote assures Sancho that these are in fact giants, and rushes into battle with the “monsters” despite the persuasion of the prudent squire.
The wind rises and turns the wings of the mills more and more. It seems to the noble don that the giants are running away. He goes on the attack. The wind is getting stronger, the wings resemble the flapping arms of a mad lord. Spurring Rocinante, the adventurer rushed forward and plunged his spear into the wing. The wind lifted the poor fellow up, threw him to the ground - almost a mile away from the scene of events, and broke the spear into chips.
With the help of a faithful squire, the old don, groaning, climbs onto his nag. He placed the tip of the spear on a stick found in the forest. He is absolutely sure that the sorcerer Freston (the same one who burned his library) turned the giants into mills.
Next, Don Quixote meets two monks. They ride on horseback, sheltering from the heat under umbrellas. In the same direction as the monks, there is also a carriage in which a certain lady is traveling. The mad knight immediately declares the lady to be a beautiful princess, and the monks to be robbers who took her captive. And no matter how they try to convince him, he throws the monks to the ground. Sancho immediately begins to rob one of them: after all, knights get spoils in battle?
The noble don, with a polite bow, informs the lady and her servant that they are free from their tormentors - and let them, in gratitude, report this feat to the ruler of his heart, Donna Dulcinea of Toboso. The women are ready to promise anything, but then the servants accompanying the carriage came to their senses. The “defender of the oppressed” slashed one of them so hard on the head with a sword that he fell, bleeding from his nose and ears.
The frightened lady threw herself on her knees in front of the seriously distraught madman, begging him to spare her servant. Mercy was mercifully granted. Sancho bandages his master's severed ear. Don Quixote enthusiastically tells the gullible squire another legend - about a miraculous healing balm, the recipe for which he allegedly knows. The peasant tells the master that by selling such a balm, you can get rich. But the nobleman very seriously replies that he is “not a tradesman.”
The Don's helmet is all chopped up, and he takes an oath “not to eat bread from the tablecloth” until he takes the helmet from some knight in battle. Sancho reasonably counters that helmeted knights do not stand at every crossroads.
The seekers of heroic deeds have to spend the night with shepherds in the open air. The squire sighs for a soft bed, and the knight rejoices that everything happens to him, as in novels - nomadic life, deprivation...
6-8
Rocinante, during the travelers' rest in the forest, galloped towards a herd of young healthy horses, which did not rightfully enjoy his company. The horses began to bite and kick the poor fellow, and the herders began to whip him with whips. Don Quixote, delighted with the new reason for battle, rushed to the defense of his faithful horse. Here the herdsmen beat both the knight and the squire so badly that the miraculous balm would have been very useful to them.
The good-natured innkeeper covered the sufferers with healing plasters and gave them shelter in the attic. At night, the beaten knight moaned so much that he woke up the mule driver who was sleeping nearby - and he attacked the traveler with such fury that he broke the bed on which he was sleeping.
In the morning, Don Quixote sends his squire to fetch wine, oil, salt and rosemary for a miraculous balm. He mixed the potion, muttered prayers over it, extended his hand for a blessing... The result of the sacred rite was a terrible disgusting thing, from which both the don himself and Sancho had bouts of vomiting. Moreover, the don slept for three hours - and he felt better, but the squire was so weak that he could barely climb onto the donkey and cursed all the balms in the world. Don Quixote was justifiably angry about Sancho: “Why then was it necessary to give a remedy if you know that it cannot help?”
The noble don refuses to pay for staying at the tavern: he has never read that knights pay for this - after all, they honor the owners with such a visit. For this refusal, poor Sancho suffered: the innkeeper and the people gathered at the inn tossed Sancho on a blanket like a ball. Having had enough of it, they put him on a donkey and put him outside the gate.
Moreover, they took away the bag of provisions...
But the knight errant still cannot calm down: he mistakes two oncoming herds of sheep for fighting troops - and rushes into the thick of an imaginary battle, crushing sheep right and left. The shepherds tried to calm the madman down with shouts, but then they couldn’t stand it and threw stones at him. Don Quixote, despite the assurances of his companion that they were just rams, considers this incident to be the jokes of the evil wizard Freston.
The thirst for achievement does not leave the knight: he attacks the funeral procession of monks, which he mistakes for a procession of ghosts. This time the poor don is not beaten, but Sancho Panza quietly gets to the mule loaded with provisions and collects a supply of food.
After meeting the monks, Sancho gives his don the name by which he has been known for many centuries: the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance.
Near the river, Don Quixote almost repeats his feat with windmills - only this time with fulling hammers driven by the power of water. Sancho, finally realizing the impossibility of opening his master's eyes to reality, slowly entangles Rocinante's hind legs - and he cannot move, he only neighs pitifully. Don Quixote believes that hostile forces have bewitched the horse - and the travelers quietly await the dawn. When the sun rises, Sancho begins to laugh:
- It would be nice if we galloped straight into the water!
Don Quixote, angry, hit his faithful squire on the shoulder with all his might with his spear:
-You forget the respect due to me! I myself am to blame for this: I allowed too much intimacy between us. Now you will only speak to me when I speak to you.
On the road, travelers come across a man riding a donkey. Something glitters on his head. This is a barber from a nearby village who put a copper basin over his new hat to protect it from dust and heat. The basin seemed to the wandering knight like a golden helmet, which he knocked off quite easily, simply threatening the barber with a spear. Sancho removes the beautiful new harness from the barber's donkey. He would have taken the donkey, but the knight forbade him.
Don Quixote placed the basin on his head, marveling at its size - obviously, this was the helmet of the legendary giant Mambrina.
A party of convicts under escort is moving towards the travelers. They are driven to the galleys. The brave knight first politely addresses the commander of the convoy with a request to free the “oppressed.” The boss, naturally, refuses - he is doing his job. The “Liberator of the Unfortunate” knocks the boss out of the saddle. The convicts (and they are punished for robbery and robbery) break their chains, disperse the convoy and rob the chief, who is lying on the ground.
The Knight of the Sad Image demands that in gratitude they come to Dulcinea and report on his feat. The convicts shower the knight and squire with a hail of ridicule and stones, take off Sancho's cloak and take away his donkey. The squire hobbles behind his master, dragging a bag of provisions.
Suddenly, the travelers find the corpse of a half-decayed mule, and next to it - a suitcase containing some linen and a wallet with a hundred gold coins. The knight presents this find to his squire. Sancho, feeling incredibly rich, wants to return home to please his wife.
The sad knight climbs high into the mountains. There he is going, imitating his hero - the knight of ancient times Amadis of Gaul, to fall into noble madness, walk naked, fast and flagellate himself. He sends the squire back with a letter to Dulcinea and an order to tell about his follies.
Sancho leaves his master in the mountains and sets off on his way back to Rocinante. He absent-mindedly forgot the letter to Dulcinea.
9
At home, meanwhile, they are worried about Don Quixote. His nephew and housekeeper are looking for him everywhere. The barber and the priest are getting ready to go on a search. But right outside the gate they meet Sancho riding Rocinante. After hearing the story of the adventures of the mad knight, concerned friends gather to search for him. We need to bring the poor don home. But how? Only by deception. The knight believes in fairy tales much more than in real facts and fair arguments.
The priest met a traveling lady who was persuaded to pose as an oppressed girl, and thus lure the don out of his hermitage in the mountains. Sancho on Rocinante was their guide.
The beauty pretended to be the princess of the Micomikon kingdom, the barber tied himself a beard from a red cow's tail - and pretended to be the faithful page of the unfortunate princess. Don Quixote believed everything he was told, climbed onto his skinny nag and set off to perform the feat. On the way they were met by a priest. The travelers stopped at a hotel.
At night, the noble don rushed into battle with the “terrible giant” who was oppressing the princess Micomikon. The inn owner ran into the room and saw that the guest was hitting the wineskins (skins) with wine that were stored in the same room with his spear. Wine flooded the entire room. The priest restrained the owner from reprisals: “The man is out of his mind! We will compensate for all losses! "
In the morning, Don Quixote assured everyone that he had cut off the giant’s head and demanded that this trophy be sent to Dulcinea of Toboso.
The barber and the pastor deceived the hero into a wooden cage placed on a cart, and thus took him home.
10
Don Quixote's family, seeing him in a cage, sheds tears. He was completely emaciated, extremely pale and suffering from incredible loss of strength. He is put to bed like a sick child.
Sancho Panza pleases his wife and daughter with a wallet full of gold and stories of fantastic adventures. Sancho soon found his long-eared friend and took him away from the thief.
The noble don begins to gradually recover, but still looks more like some kind of dried up mummy than a person. Student Samson Carrasco comes to the village. He volunteers to cure the knight of his madness, but only if he goes traveling again. This, they say, is his method. Carrasco tells the don that he read a book that describes the exploits of the Knight of the Sorrowful Image. The naive dreamer does not notice that the student is laughing at him evilly. Inspired by the fact that he can serve as an example for noble youth, Don Quixote sets off on a new journey. With him is a faithful squire on a newly found donkey. Carrasco secretly follows them, observing the interesting phenomenon of the crazy knight wanderer.
Don Quixote behaves quite quietly, he does not even think about entering into battle with the traveling comedians, even though they are dressed in strange costumes: devils, angels, emperors and jesters...
Carrasco makes himself a luxurious outfit as a Knight of the Forest or Mirrors, actually embroidered with mirrors. On the helmet there is a luxurious plume of colorful feathers. The face is covered with a visor. His squire (Foma, Sancho's neighbor) has a terrible hooked red nose with blue warts. The nose is made of cardboard - and Thomas scared Sancho so much with this nose that he climbed a tree. The Knight of the Forest challenges the Knight of the Sad Countenance to a duel, claiming that in honor of his lady he has defeated many knights - including Don Quixote. Don begins to argue and proposes to settle the dispute by duel.
The skinny old man unexpectedly easily manages to knock his young opponent out of the saddle. The fact is that Carrasco’s horse balked - and this thwarted his plan: to defeat (unrecognized!) in battle the mad wanderer and, by right of the winner, take an oath from him for at least two years not to seek adventure and to live peacefully at home.
Don Quixote decides that the transformation of the Knight of Mirrors into a familiar student is the work of the wizard Freston. He majestically sends the “Knight of Mirrors” to Dulcinea: let him tell about the next feat of her admirer. But Carrasco, who after a fight with an old man had to have his bruised sides healed by a random chiropractor, continues to pursue the noble don. Now the student does not want to treat the madman - Samson dreams of revenge for his defeat.
11, 12
On the way, Don Quixote meets a man in a beautiful green outfit, on a beautiful horse. This is the owner of the neighboring estate - the rich man Don Diego. He became interested in the strange ideas of the lean seeker of exploits and invited him and the squire to his estate, to which they agreed.
The knight notices dust on the road. These are cages with lions that someone sends as a gift to the king. The escort says that the lions are hungry on the way - and it’s time to quickly get to the neighboring village to feed the animals exhausted from the journey.
Don Quixote demands that the hungry lions be released from their cage - he will fight them immediately!
No matter how hard they try to convince the knight, he is unshakable. The lion is released. The animal pokes its huge head out of the cage... So what? Seeing the don sticking out in front of the cage with a shield in one hand and a spear ready in the other, the lion shook his mane and retreated back into the cage. The seeker of exploits was about to tease the beast, but the counselor managed to persuade him to leave the animal alone - the knight had already sufficiently proven his courage.
Don Quixote ordered Sancho to pay the mule drivers for their troubles, and to inform the king about the unprecedented feat of the Knight of the Lions - this is the proud name he decided to call himself from that day on.
In Don Diego's estate, both the knight and the squire lived in honor - they were fed with various delicious dishes, generously poured wine, invited to a peasant wedding...
But Don Quixote could not live in one place for long - and soon he set off on the road again.
New roads - new meetings. Street comedian Pedro wanders into one of the hotels with the fortune-telling monkey Pittacus.
The Knight of Lions watches with interest the performance of the puppet theater. When the puppet Moors are chasing Princess Melisande, the Don takes the theatrical performance for the pure truth. He bravely knocked the heads off the cardboard infidel “troops.” Christians also suffered in the confusion: the Mélisande doll was left with a broken head and without a nose.
I had to pay for the losses. However, the noble don does not repent of what he did: he is sure that it was the same insidious sorcerer Freston who turned the army into dolls - and vice versa.
On the further journey, the Knight of Lions forced Sancho to leave his horse and donkey on the river bank and jump into a boat without oars or sail. The boat immediately drifted downstream.
- Where are you going? - they shouted to them from the shore. - The boat will fall under the wheel of a water mill! You will crash!
Good people tried to block the boat's path with poles, but Don Quixote screamed:
- Get out! Everything here is enchanted! You won't be able to stop me! I will enter the enchanted castle and free the prisoners whose groans I hear.
The boat hit the poles and capsized. The knight and squire flew into the water, from where they were safely pulled out. But the boat itself fell under the wheel of the mill and was smashed into pieces. The same fate would await our adventurers.
Then the fishermen, the owners of the destroyed boat, swooped in and demanded compensation for the loss. Don Quixote ordered the squire to pay them off and left in sadness: he was unable to save the imaginary captives.
Fortunately, the donkey and Rocinante remained safe and sound.
Sancho was angry and even wanted to leave his owner, but then he was convinced, ashamed and even shed tears of repentance.
13-15
In a clearing near the forest, the travelers met a cavalcade of hunters. A richly dressed horsewoman galloped ahead, clearly from the highest circles of society. A hunting falcon sat on her hand. She was talking with a stately man - also noble and superbly dressed.
The Duke and Duchess invite the famous knight to relax at their estate. The travelers agree.
In front of the Duke's eyes, by an absurd accident, the knight and the squire simultaneously fall - one from a horse, the other from a donkey. This greatly amuses the noble company, which expects to have more fun at the expense of the legendary couple. In a special room, prepared with all possible luxury for the Knight of Lions, he is provided with magnificent robes: silk, velvet, lace, satin. Water in a silver basin and other utensils for washing are brought to him by as many as four chambermaids (maids).
However, the shaving water runs out at the very moment when the knight’s face is lathered... He stands with his neck outstretched, and everyone secretly makes fun of him. That's how it's meant to be. The gentlemen have fun making fun of the knight, and the servants are making fun of Sancho.
However, the noble couple is developing a whole plan - how to prank Sancho as well. He is promised an island where he will be governor.
While hunting, noble gentlemen hunted a wild boar. As darkness fell, the forest was filled with trumpet sounds and thousands of lights lit up. A fantastic messenger galloped up - with the head of the devil and riding a zebra. He announced that at that very moment the wizard Merlin would appear to the Knight of the Sad Image with the enchanted Dulcinea. The wizard will tell the noble don how to free the unfortunate woman from the spell.
A procession of sorcerers appears in the most incredible outfits. They are carrying a lovely girl, wrapped in a transparent veil. The hunched wizard (everyone notices in horror that he has a bare skull instead of a head!) announces that there is only one way to disenchant the beautiful Dulcinea: Sancho must inflict three thousand lashes on his naked body with his whip!
Sancho tries his best to avoid it. But Dulcinea showers him with wild curses, including “evil freak”, and “chicken heart”, and “cast iron soul”... Sancho is offended: Dulcinea would do well to learn politeness!
The Duchess hints to the squire that if he does not agree to help the great mistress of his master’s heart, then he will not see the governorship, like his ears without a mirror.
The Duke's chief chamberlain was in charge of this entire comedy. He played the role of Merlin himself, and the beautiful Dulcinea was portrayed by a pretty young page.
The pranks didn't end there. Another procession appears, led by a giant covered with a black veil, through which a long gray beard is visible.
They announce to Don Quixote that they are coming to him on foot from Asia itself! - Countess Dolorida Trifalda appeared. She wants to beg him for protection... and here is the Countess herself. She lifts the veil... Oh horror! Her face is overgrown with a beard, and so are the faces of her maids...
To free the women from the wizard's curse, Don Quixote must mount a wooden (supposedly flying) horse, controlled by a spring in its forehead. And not alone - but together with the squire.
“I don’t care about all the bearded countesses!” - Sancho fights back, but in the end agrees.
In the evening, four people dressed as Asian savages bring a huge wooden horse into the garden. The knight and his squire are seated lady-style (sideways) on this monstrous structure. They were blindfolded under the pretext that otherwise they might be afraid of heights and fall down. To simulate flight, the servants of the ducal couple either blow in the faces of the “brave travelers” with the help of huge bellows, like blacksmith’s, or shove burning torches under their very noses.
And finally, the wooden horse flies into the air because it was filled with firecrackers.
The Duke and Duchess and all his retinue pretended to be unconscious. “Having recovered from their fainting spell,” they told Don Quixote that his flight so surprised the formidable wizard that he delivered all the victims from his curse and carried them back to their homeland, and returned the brave knight with his valiant squire to the duchess’s garden.
The “enchanted” countess lost her beard and, leaving, left a large parchment with gratitude to her savior.
16, 17
Sancho was very glad that he got off so easily, and wove three boxes, telling about his journey under the heavens...
And so the Duke finally ordered Sancho to go to governorship. The squire was dressed in a rich dress, seated on a mule, and followed by a richly decorated donkey. Sancho was convinced that it was indecent for the governor to ride on a donkey, but he was unable to completely part with his long-eared friend.
The island of Baratoria was in fact not an island at all, but one of the cities that belonged to the duke. But Sancho had little understanding of geography, so he was not at all surprised that the road to the “island” never crossed the body of water.
Everyone was waiting for new eccentricities, but Sancho behaved with dignity, although those who did not know what was the matter seemed strange to his heavy figure and kind, peasant face.
The chamberlain, disguised as a marshal, says that the new governor must prove himself as a wise judge. Therefore, people with controversial issues are brought to him. Sancho resolves all disputes brilliantly, using his powers of observation and common sense.
So, for example, two old men appeared at the governor’s chair, one of whom was leaning on a staff.
The old man without a staff complained that he had long ago lent the second man ten gold coins. The debtor assures that he paid the money back a long time ago, and the lender simply forgot about it.
- Let him take an oath in front of the governor! - the plaintiff demands.
The defendant asks the plaintiff to hold his staff, he obeys. The old man who borrowed money raises his hands to the sky and swears:
- God knows that I gave the money to this man!
Sancho Panza watches what is happening carefully, then takes out the staff and breaks it. There are coins hidden in the staff!
That is, having given a hollowed stick with coins hidden in it before the oath, the debtor was formally right: he gave the money. But it was a deception!
Sancho guessed the deceiver's intentions. The people marveled at his intelligence.
Great disappointment awaited the governor at lunch. As a mockery, they assigned Doctor Pedro Callous to him, who forbade him to eat pears, pineapples, pates, and partridges... Moreover, all the food was first brought and then removed by order of the false doctor.
First they teased Sancho's appetite, and then left him with nothing. Moreover, the Duke, who was the initiator of this fun, sent a dispatch (message, letter) to the governor, warning him that they wanted to poison Sancho. So he shouldn’t touch tasty dishes: what if they contain poison?
Sancho ate bread and grapes and went to survey his possessions. In one of the taverns he managed to have a hearty dinner of lamb with onions and veal legs. He fell asleep not hungry, but extremely dissatisfied with his new position. He dreams of getting rid of the annoying doctor and his orders.
At night he is roused from bed by screams about the attack of the conspirators. Sancho is put on heavy armor, in which he cannot not only fight, but also move. He tries to step, but falls. Torches are burning, screams are heard, people are constantly jumping over the “governor”, half-dead with fear, and even climbing onto him as if on a dais.
In the end, it is announced that the conspirators have been defeated. Sancho collapses on the bed, exhausted. In the morning, he renounces his powers as governor, saddles his beloved gray, and does not accept any gifts. He only takes a crust of bread for himself and some oats for the donkey.
On the way back, Sancho and the donkey suddenly fell into a very deep hole. Rather, it was a dry well with walls lined with stone. Below there was a branched labyrinth.
The donkey brays pitifully, Sancho also lets out cries of despair. Wandering through the labyrinth, the donkey and his owner reach a small crevice through which light breaks through.
18
Don Quixote became bored with the duke's idle life. Besides, he misses his squire. The Duke restrains the wanderer, but he replies that his duties to the knightly order call him to new exploits. Driving thoughtfully around the castle, the noble don discovers the very crevice from which the voices of a donkey and a faithful squire are heard.
Don Quixote calls the Duke for help - and Sancho, along with the long-eared donkey, is pulled out of the pit. Don Quixote is going to a knight's tournament in Barcelona. There he will fight with some famous knight for the glory of his beloved Dulcinea. But she is enchanted! Sancho has not yet committed self-flagellation. And this is necessary - this is what the Duke inspired the owner to do. Sancho, loving his master, agrees...
During this unpleasant conversation for Sancho, the travelers in the forest are attacked by a robber. However, having heard such a famous name as the Knight of Lions, he abandons his intention to rob, shows a couple of travelers hospitality and gives them a letter to a noble gentleman in Barcelona - Don Antonio. In fact, it is the Duke who continues to have fun.
In Barcelona, the knight and his squire were surrounded by brilliant horsemen. They were shown extraordinary honor and fed well. All this, of course, was again arranged by noble gentlemen for entertainment.
In the evening, Senor Antonio hosted a ball at his place. Guests were warned about the possibility of a laugh. The girls and ladies, having fun, invited the “celebrity” to dance, and since Don Quixote, not the most dexterous and experienced dancer, did not want to offend anyone, he politely and politely talked and danced with each one, not noticing the ridicule. This brought him to the point of fainting from exhaustion - and he was carried to the bedroom. Sancho, in anger, began to reproach those gathered: his master’s business is not to dance, but to perform feats!
The guests made fun of both.
In the evening, the famous hidalgo was taken through the streets of the city. Unbeknownst to him, the inscription “This is Don Quixote of La Mancha” was attached to the back of his new luxurious cloak. Onlookers and street urchins pointed at the rider and read the inscription aloud. The Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance considered this evidence of his extraordinary popularity.
The next day, Don Antonio, his wife, Don Quixote and Sancho entered the room where the bronze head was placed on a jade board. As Don Antonio assured, she was made by a skilled magician and knew how to predict without opening her mouth. The secret was explained simply: a hollow tube ran from the head through the table leg to the lower floor. Student Carrasco was hiding there, and he answered questions according to the circumstances, recognizing the voices. So, he predicted to Sancho that he would be governor - but only in his own house.
After the prediction session, student Carrasco dressed up as a Knight of the Moon, challenged Don Quixote to a fight, threw him to the ground along with Rocinante and demanded that he give up travel and exploits for a year.
“I am ready to admit the incomparable beauty of Dulcinea,” assured the Knight of the Moon, “just return home.”
As you guessed, all the Duke’s pranks were also started on the student’s initiative. Don Quixote made this promise and fainted. Rocinante was so hurt that they barely made it to the stables. Sancho wept: the light of his knight's glory had faded. However, the sensible squire was soon consoled. He sat with his master in a roadside forest, gnawed at the bone of a pork ham and reasoned that a good piece of meat was better than any adventure. Then, dousing them with an unbearable stench, a herd of pigs rushed almost over their heads.
“This, Sancho, is the joke of Merlin, who is taking revenge on us for the fact that we have not yet freed Dulcinea from the spell.”
Sancho agreed that it was time. He made himself a whip from a donkey's harness, went into the forest and, after the first five very painful blows, began to scourge... trees. At the same time, he squealed so much that his master, accustomed to torment, was imbued with unprecedented pity for his squire.
19
Don Quixote returns home. His strength is broken. He fell ill with a fever, he was exhausted... And, most importantly, he finally saw how pathetic his nag was, how wretched his armor was and how little he himself looked like a knight.
Three days before his death, he told those around him:
“I see that everything I did was pointless... I chased a ghost and served as a laughing stock.” Now I am only a poor Spanish hidalgo, Quejano.
Sancho, wonderfully received by his family (after all, he brought them a lot of gold - a gift from the Duke), cries at the bedside of his dying master:
- Live, live... Forget about your failures... Blame them all on me...
Before his death, the former knight made a will in which he gave up his entire estate to his niece on the condition that she should not marry the knight errant. He died quietly - as if he had fallen asleep.
On his grave there is an epitaph composed by Samson Carrasco: “He surprised the world with his madness, but died like a sage.”
