Of a wonderful Adventure which Don Quixote
went through without peril to himself
or Sancho
'Methinks, my Master,' said Sancho, 'that all the mishaps that have
befallen us in these days are without doubt in punishment for the sin
you committed against the rules of Knighthood, in not keeping your vow
which you made, not to eat bread, and all the other things you vowed to
do, until you got the helmet of Malandrino, or whatever his name was.'
'Thou art very right, Sancho,' said Don Quixote; 'but to tell the truth
it had passed from my memory; but I will make amends as may be done by
the rules of Knighthood.'
'And doubtless,' replied Sancho, 'all will then be well, and I shall
live to see none so great as Don Quixote of the Mancha, the Knight of
the Rueful Countenance.'
'Why do you give me that name, good Sancho?' asked his Master.
'Because truly,' replied his Squire, 'your Worship has now the most
ill-favoured face that any man ever saw, and it must be, I think,
because you are tired out after the battle, or on account of the loss
of your grinders.'
'I fancy,' said Don Quixote, 'that some sage must have put it into
thy head to give me such a name, for now I remember that all Knights
took a name of that kind, and there was "The Knight of the Flaming
Sword," and "The Knight of the Griffin," and many another. And from
this day forward I shall call myself by no other name than "The Knight
of the Rueful Countenance"; and that the name may become me better, I
will upon the first occasion cause to be painted on my shield a most
ill-favoured and sorrowful face.'
'There is no need,' said Sancho, 'to waste time and money in having
the countenance painted. All that has to be done is that your Worship
should discover your own, and show your face to those that look at you,
when without doubt they will name you "He of the Rueful Countenance."
Hunger and the loss of teeth have given your Worship so evil a face
that you may spare yourself the painting.'
Don Quixote laughed at his Squire's pleasantry, but determined
nevertheless to have the painting made on his shield according to his
fancy.
They had now arrived at a wide but hidden valley between two mountains,
where they alighted; and seeing a meadow on the side of the hill thick
with green and tender grass, they entered it and marched along, feeling
their way, for the night was so dark they could not see a jot.
They had scarcely gone two hundred paces when they heard a great noise
of water, as if it fell headlong from some great and steep rock, and
being by this time very thirsty, the sound cheered them greatly.
Stopping to listen whence it came, they heard another loud noise, which
drowned all their joy, especially Sancho's, who, as I have said, was by
nature timid and easily frightened.
They heard, I say, certain blows, louder than the sound of the rushing
water, and struck in regular beats, accompanied by the ugly sounds of
rattling irons and chains. These, with the furious sounds of the water,
and the surrounding darkness, were enough to strike terror into any
heart less brave than Don Quixote's.
The night, as I said, was dark, and they were now among some tall
trees, whose leaves, moved by a gentle breeze, made a low whispering
sound, so that the loneliness of the place, the darkness, the noise
of the water, the strange sounds of the heavy beating and rattling
chains, all caused horror and fright, the more so when they found that
the blows never ceased, and morning seemed as though it would never
come.
But Don Quixote was not disturbed by these things, and leaping on
Rozinante, he seized his shield, brandished his lance, and said:
'Friend Sancho, I am he for whom are reserved all dangerous, great, and
valorous feats. I am he who shall cause the feats of the Knights of
the Round Table to be forgotten. Mark well, trusty and loyal Squire,
the darkness of this night, the strange stillness, the dull, confused
trembling of the leaves, the dreadful noise of the water, which seems
as though it were leaping down from the steep mountains of the moon,
the constant thumping of the blows which wounds and pains our ears,
which all together and each by itself are enough to strike terror,
fear, and amazement into the mind of Mars, how much more in his that is
not accustomed to such adventures. But with me it causeth my heart to
almost burst in my bosom with joy to try this peril, however great it
may be. Therefore tighten Rozinante's girths a little, and may all be
well with thee. Wait for me here three days and no more. And if I do
not return in the end of that time, go back to our village, and from
thence, for my sake, to Toboso, where thou shalt say to my incomparable
Lady Dulcinea that her captive Knight died attempting things that might
make him worthy to be called hers.'
When Sancho heard his Master say these things he began to weep
piteously, and said to him: 'Sir, I see no reason why you should
undertake this fearful adventure. It is now night, there is no one
sees us, we can easily turn aside and go away from the danger, and
since no one sees us no one can set us down as cowards. Remember that
I left my country, wife, and children to come and serve you, and to
obtain that unlucky and accursed Island you have promised me so often,
and now you mean to forsake me here in this desert. Put it off at least
until the morning, for it can want but little from this to daybreak.'
'Let it want what it may,' answered Don Quixote, 'it shall never be
said of me that tears or prayers hindered my doing my duty as a Knight.'
Sancho, seeing that his Master's mind was made up, and that his tears,
entreaties, and prayers were of no avail, determined to use his wits,
and see if by trickery he could make him wait until daybreak. And so,
when he was tightening the horse's girths, he softly and without being
felt tied his Ass's halter to both Rozinante's legs, so fast that when
Don Quixote thought to depart he could not, for his horse was not able
to go a step except by little jumps.
Sancho, seeing the success of his trick, exclaimed: 'Behold, Sir, how
Heaven, moved by my tears and prayers, has ruled that Rozinante shall
not be able to go a step; and if you persist in urging, spurring, and
striking him, it will be to anger Fortune, and kick, as the saying is,
against the pricks.'
Don Quixote grew angry at this, and yet the more he spurred Rozinante
the less would he move. But at last he became convinced that it was no
further use attempting to make him go, and resolved to remain quiet
until the morning came, or until Rozinante would please to depart.
And having no idea that Sancho was the cause of this, he said to him:
'Since it is so, Sancho, that Rozinante is not able to move, I am
content to wait here until morning smiles, although I weep to think it
may be so long in coming.'
'You shall have no cause to weep,' replied Sancho; 'for I will tell you
stories from now till daylight, unless you would like to dismount and
snatch a little sleep upon the green grass, after the custom of Knights
Errant, that you may be the fresher the morrow to finish this terrible
adventure.'
'Who talks of sleeping?' said Don Quixote angrily. 'Am I one of those
Knights that repose in time of danger? Sleep thou, who wast born to
sleep, or do what thou please, for I shall do what I think right.'
'Good Sir, be not angry,' said Sancho, 'for I did not mean that'; and
coming as near to his Master as he durst, he placed one hand on the
pommel of his saddle and crept as near as he could, so great was the
fear he had of those blows, which all the while did sound without
ceasing.
After many hours spent in conversation the dawn approached, and Sancho,
seeing this, unloosed Rozinante very carefully. As soon as the horse
felt himself free, though he was never very mettlesome, he began to paw
with his hoofs, and Don Quixote, noticing that he moved, took it for a
good sign, and believed that it was now time to attempt this fearful
adventure.
And now the sun had risen, and everything appeared distinctly, and Don
Quixote saw that he was among some tall chestnut-trees that cast a very
dark shadow. He perceived that the hammering did not cease, but could
not discover what caused it, and so without delay he spurred Rozinante,
and turning back again to Sancho to bid him farewell, commanded him to
stay for him there three days at the longest, and that if he returned
not then, to take it for certain that he had ended his days in that
perilous adventure. He again repeated to him the message which he had
to carry to Lady Dulcinea, and assured him that if he came safe out of
this dreadful peril, the Squire might hold the promised Island as more
than certain.
Here Sancho began to weep afresh at the pitiful words of his good
Master, and determined not to abandon him until the last end of this
adventure. And thereupon Don Quixote rode forward towards the terrible
noises, Sancho following him on foot, leading by the halter his good
Dapple, who was the constant companion of his good or evil fortune.
Having gone a good distance among those chestnuts and shady trees, they
came to a little meadow which lay at the foot of some high rocks, down
which a mighty rush of water descended. At the foot of the rocks were
some houses, so roughly built that they seemed more like ruins than
houses, from whence came the din and clatter of the strokes which still
never ceased.
Rozinante started at the noise of the water and the hammering, and
being made quiet by Don Quixote, drew near little by little to the
houses. Don Quixote murmured devoutly the name of his beloved Lady
Dulcinea, and Sancho, never apart from his Master's side, stretched out
his neck and eyes as far as he could, to see if he could make out what
it was that caused them so much terror and dismay.
And when they had gone about another hundred paces they turned a
corner, and there before their eyes was the cause of that hideous
and terrible noise that had kept them all the night so miserable and
frightened. This was nothing worse than a mill for fulling cloth, whose
six great iron maces or pestles, driven by the water-wheels, kept on
day and night falling and rising from their troughs with successive
hammering blows. And this had caused the terrible noise which had so
terrified the adventurers.
When Don Quixote saw what it was, he stood mute and ashamed. Sancho
beheld him, and saw that he hung his head on his breast. Don Quixote
looked also at his Squire, and saw that his cheeks were swollen with
laughter, with evident signs that he was in danger of bursting. Don
Quixote's melancholy was not so great that he could help smiling a
little at seeing Sancho, and Sancho, when he saw his Master beginning
to laugh, burst out loud and long, with such force that he had to put
his hands to his sides to prevent them splitting.
Four times he ended and four times he started again; but what chiefly
enraged Don Quixote was that he began to repeat in a jesting manner,
imitating his Master: 'Friend Sancho, I am he for whom are reserved
all dangerous, great, and valorous feats.' And he went on repeating the
greater part of what Don Quixote had said when they first heard the
fearsome sounds.
This was more than Don Quixote could bear, and lifting up the end of
his lance, he gave him two such blows on the back, that if he had
caught them on his pate they would have freed his Master from paying
him any more wages.
Sancho, seeing that he had carried the jest too far, said very humbly:
'Please, good Master, I did but jest.'
'But why dost thou jest? I tell thee I do not jest,' replied Don
Quixote. 'Come here, Master Merryman, and tell me, am I, being as I am
a Knight, to distinguish noises, and to know which are those of mills
and which are of Giants? Turn me those six hammers into Giants and cast
them at me, one by one, or all together, and if I do not turn all their
heels up, then mock me as much as thou pleasest.'
'No more, good Sir,' said Sancho, 'for I confess I have been somewhat
too laughsome, but henceforth you may be sure that I will not once
unfold my lips to jest at your doings, but only to honour you as my
Master and Lord.'
'By doing so thou shalt live on the face of the earth, for next to
our parents we are bound to respect our Masters as if they were our
fathers.'