{"id":213,"date":"2019-12-01T16:45:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T16:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/first-part-part-four-chapter-xxxii-2\/"},"modified":"2020-03-18T09:05:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T09:05:05","slug":"first-part-part-four-chapter-xxxii","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/first-part-part-four-chapter-xxxii\/","title":{"rendered":"First Part. Part Four. Chapter XXXII"},"content":{"raw":"CHAPTER XXXII<\/a>\r\n
\r\n

Which recounts what occurred in the inn to the companions of Don Quixote<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

They finished their meal, saddled their mounts, and without anything worth relating happening to them, on the following day they reached the inn that was the terror and fear of Sancho Panza, but although he would have preferred not to go in, he could not avoid it. The innkeeper\u2019s wife, the innkeeper, their daughter, and Maritornes saw Don Quixote and Sancho arriving, and they went out to receive them with displays of great joy; Don Quixote greeted them in a grave and solemn tone and told them to prepare a better bed for him than they had the last time, to which the innkeeper\u2019s wife responded that if he paid better than he had the last time, she would provide him with a bed worthy of a prince. Don Quixote said he would, and therefore they prepared a reasonable one for him in the same attic where he had been previously, and he lay down immediately because he felt weakened and dejected.<\/p>\r\n

No sooner had he closed the door than the innkeeper\u2019s wife rushed at the barber, seized him by the beard, and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cUpon my soul, you can\u2019t go on using my oxtail for a beard, and you have to give the tail back to me; it\u2019s a shame to see that thing of my husband\u2019s on the floor; I mean the comb that I always hung on my nice tail.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The barber refused to give it to her, no matter how hard she pulled, until the licentiate told him to return it, for it was no longer necessary to use the disguise; he could show and reveal himself as he was and tell Don Quixote that when the thieving galley slaves robbed him, he had fled to this inn; if the knight should ask about the princess\u2019s squire, they would say she had sent him ahead to inform the people of her kingdom that she was on her way and was bringing their liberator with her. When he heard this, the barber willingly returned the tail to the innkeeper\u2019s wife, along with all the other articles they had borrowed for their rescue of Don Quixote. Everyone in the inn was astonished at the beauty of Dorotea and at the fine appearance of young Cardenio. The priest had them prepare whatever food was available at the inn, and the innkeeper, hoping for better payment, quickly prepared a reasonable meal; Don Quixote slept all this time, and they agreed not to wake him because, for the moment, he needed sleep more than food.<\/p>\r\n

During the meal, in the presence of the innkeeper, his wife, their daughter, Maritornes, and the other travelers, they spoke of the strange madness of Don Quixote and the manner in which they had found him. The innkeeper\u2019s wife recounted what had happened with him and the muledriver, and after looking around for Sancho, and not seeing him, she told them about his tossing in the blanket, which caused them no small amusement. When the priest said that the books of chivalry that Don Quixote read had made him lose his wits, the innkeeper said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how that can be; the truth is, to my mind, there\u2019s no better reading in the world; I have two or three of them, along with some other papers, and they really have put life into me, and not only me but other people, too. Because during the harvest, many of the harvesters gather here during their time off, and there\u2019s always a few who know how to read, and one of them takes down one of those books, and more than thirty of us sit around him and listen to him read with so much pleasure that it saves us a thousand gray hairs; at least, as far as I\u2019m concerned, I can tell you that when I hear about those furious, terrible blows struck by the knights, it makes me want to do the same, and I\u2019d be happy to keep hearing about them for days and nights on end.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe same goes for me,\u201d said the innkeeper\u2019s wife, \u201cbecause I never have any peace in my house except when you\u2019re listening to somebody read; you get so caught up that you forget about arguing with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said Maritornes, \u201cand by my faith, I really like to hear those things, too, they\u2019re very pretty, especially when they tell about a lady under some orange trees in the arms of her knight, and a duenna\u2019s their lookout, and she\u2019s dying of envy and scared to death. I think all that\u2019s as sweet as honey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAnd you, young lady, what do you think of them?\u201d asked the priest, speaking to the innkeeper\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cUpon my soul, I don\u2019t know, Se\u00f1or,\u201d she responded. \u201cI listen, too, and the truth is that even if I don\u2019t understand them, I like to hear them, but I don\u2019t like all the fighting that my father likes; I like the laments of the knights when they\u2019re absent from their ladies; the truth is that sometimes they make me cry, I feel so sorry for them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThen, young lady, would you offer them relief,\u201d said Dorotea, \u201cif they were weeping on your account?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do,\u201d the girl responded. \u201cAll I know is that some of those ladies are so cruel that their knights call them tigers and lions and a thousand other indecent things. And sweet Jesus, I don\u2019t know what kind of people can be so heartless and unfeeling that they don\u2019t look at an honorable man, and let him die or lose his mind. I don\u2019t know the reason for so much stiffness: if they\u2019re so virtuous, let them marry, which is just what their knights want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBe quiet, girl,\u201d said the innkeeper\u2019s wife. \u201cYou seem to know a lot about these things, and it\u2019s not right for young girls to know or talk so much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSince the gentleman asked me,\u201d she responded, \u201cI had to answer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell, now,\u201d said the priest, \u201cinnkeeper, bring me those books; I\u2019d like to see them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI\u2019d be glad to,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\r\n

He entered his room and brought out an old traveling case, locked with a small chain, and when it was opened, the priest found three large books and some papers written in a very fine hand. He opened the first book and saw that it was Don Cirongilio of Thrace;<\/span> 199<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the second was Felixmarte of Hyrcania;<\/span> 200<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the third, The History of the Great Captain Gonzalo Hern\u00e1ndez de C\u00f3rdoba, and the Life of Diego Garc\u00eda de Paredes.<\/span> 201<\/a><\/span><\/sup> <\/a>As soon as the priest read the first two titles, he turned to the barber and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOur friend\u2019s housekeeper and his niece are the people we need here now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need them,\u201d responded the barber. \u201cI also know how to take them to the corral or the hearth, where there\u2019s a good fire burning.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThen your grace wants to burn my books?\u201d said the innkeeper.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOnly these two,\u201d said the priest: \u201cDon Cirongilio<\/span> and Felixmarte.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell,\u201d said the innkeeper, \u201cby any chance are my books heretical or phlegmatic, is that why you want to burn them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSchismatic<\/span> is what you mean, friend,\u201d said the barber, \u201cnot phlegmatic.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d replied the innkeeper. \u201cBut if you want to burn one, let it be the one about the Great Captain and that Diego Garc\u00eda; I\u2019d rather let a child of mine be burned than either one of the others.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cDear brother,\u201d said the priest, \u201cthese two books are false and full of foolishness and nonsense, but this one about the Great Captain is truthful history and tells the accomplishments of Gonzalo Hern\u00e1ndez de C\u00f3rdoba, who, because of his many great feats, deserved to be called Great Captain<\/span> by everyone, a famous and illustrious name deserved by him alone; Diego Garc\u00eda de Paredes was a distinguished nobleman, a native of the city of Trujillo, in Extremadura, a very courageous soldier, and so strong that with one finger he could stop a millwheel as it turned; standing with a broadsword at the entrance to a bridge, he brought an immense army to a halt and would not permit them to cross; and he did other comparable things, and he recounts them and writes about them himself, with the modesty of a gentleman writing his own chronicle, but if another were to write about those feats freely and dispassionately, they would relegate all the deeds of Hector, Achilles, and Roland to oblivion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cTell those trifles to my old father!\u201d said the innkeeper. \u201cLook at what amazes you: stopping a millwheel! By God, now your grace ought to read what Felixmarte of Hyrcania did, when with one reverse stroke he split five giants down to the waist like the dolls children make out of beans. Another time he attacked a huge, powerful army that had more than a million six hundred thousand soldiers, all of them armed from head to foot, and he routed them like herds of sheep. And what would you say of the good Don Cirongilio of Thrace, who was so valiant and brave, as you can see in the book where it tells us that once when he was sailing down a river a fiery serpent rose up from the water, and as soon as he saw it he <\/a>attacked it and straddled it, right across its scaly shoulders, and with both hands he squeezed its throat so tight that the serpent, seeing that he was being strangled, could only dive down to the bottom of the river, taking with him the knight who wouldn\u2019t let him go. And when they got down there, he found himself in palaces and gardens that were so pretty they were a marvel to see, and then the serpent turned into an old, old man who told him so many things it was really something to hear. Be quiet, Se\u00f1or, because if you heard this, you\u2019d go mad with pleasure. I don\u2019t give two figs for the Great Captain or that Diego Garc\u00eda!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

When Dorotea heard this, she said very quietly to Cardenio:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOur host doesn\u2019t have far to go to be a second Don Quixote.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d responded Cardenio. \u201cAccording to what he says, he believes that everything these books say really happened just as written, and not even discalced friars could make him think otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cListen, my dear brother,\u201d the priest said again, \u201cthere never was a Felixmarte of Hyrcania in this world, or a Don Cirongilio of Thrace, or any other knights like them that the books of chivalry tell about, because it is all fiction made up by idle minds, composed to create the effect you mentioned, to while away the time, just as your harvesters amuse themselves by reading them. Really, I swear to you, there never were knights like these in the world, and their great deeds, and all that other nonsense, never happened.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThrow that bone to another dog!\u201d responded the innkeeper. \u201cAs if I didn\u2019t know how to add two and three or where my shoe pinches! Your grace shouldn\u2019t try to treat me like a child, because, by God, I\u2019m not an idiot. That\u2019s really something: your grace wants me to think that everything these good books say is foolishness and lies, when they\u2019ve been printed with the permission of the gentlemen on the Royal Council, as if they were the kind of people who\u2019d allow the printing of so many lies, and so many battles and so many enchantments it could drive you crazy!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI have already told you, my friend,\u201d replied the priest, \u201cthat these books are intended to amuse our minds in moments of idleness; just as in well-ordered nations games such as chess and ball and billiards are permitted for the entertainment of those who do not have to, or should not, or cannot work, the printing of such books is also permitted, on the assumption, which is true, that no one will be so ignorant as to mistake any of these books for true history. If it were correct for me to do so now, and those present were to request it, I would have something to say about the characteristics that books of chivalry ought to have in order to be good books, and perhaps it would be advantageous and even pleasurable for <\/a>some, but I hope the time will come when I may communicate this to someone who can remedy it; in the meantime, you should believe, Se\u00f1or Innkeeper, what I have told you, and take your books, and decide on their truths or lies, and much good may they do you; God willing you won\u2019t follow in the footsteps of your guest Don Quixote.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d responded the innkeeper, \u201cbecause I wouldn\u2019t be crazy enough to become a knight errant; I see very well that these days are different from the old days, when they say those famous knights wandered through the world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Sancho had returned in the middle of this conversation and was left very confused and bewildered when he heard that nowadays there were no more knights errant and that all the books of chivalry were foolish lies, and he resolved in his heart to wait and see the outcome of the journey his master was about to take; if it did not turn out as well as he hoped, he was determined to leave and go back to his wife and his children and his customary work.<\/p>\r\n

The innkeeper picked up the case and the books, but the priest said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWait, I want to see the papers that are written in such a fine hand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The innkeeper took them out and gave them to him to read, and the priest saw up to eight full sheets of paper written by hand, and at the beginning was the title in large letters: The Novel of the Man Who Was Recklessly Curious.<\/span> The priest read three or four lines to himself and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe title of this novel certainly doesn\u2019t seem bad, and I think I would like to read all of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

To which the innkeeper responded:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell, your reverence can certainly read it, and you should know that some guests who read it here liked it very much and asked to have it over and over again, but I wouldn\u2019t give it to them, because I plan to return it to the man who left this case here by mistake, along with the books and papers; their owner might come back here one day, and though I know I\u2019ll miss the books, by my faith I\u2019m going to give them back; I may be an innkeeper, but I\u2019m still a Christian.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou are absolutely right, my friend,\u201d said the priest, \u201cbut even so, if I like the novel, you must allow me to copy it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be happy to,\u201d responded the innkeeper.<\/p>\r\n

While the two men were conversing, Cardenio had picked up the novel and begun to read it, and being of the same opinion as the priest, he asked him to read it aloud so that all of them could hear it.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI would gladly read it,\u201d said the priest, \u201cbut it might be better to spend this time sleeping rather than reading.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt will be very restful for me,\u201d said Dorotea, \u201cto spend the time listening to a story, for my spirit is not yet calm enough to let me sleep at the customary time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIn that case,\u201d said the priest, \u201cI do want to read it, if only out of curiosity; perhaps it will have something both pleasing and unusual.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Master Nicol\u00e1s made the same request, and so did Sancho; seeing this, and thinking that by reading aloud he would both give and receive pleasure, the priest said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell then, pay careful attention, for this is how the novel begins:\u201d<\/p>\r\n","rendered":"

CHAPTER XXXII<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Which recounts what occurred in the inn to the companions of Don Quixote<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

They finished their meal, saddled their mounts, and without anything worth relating happening to them, on the following day they reached the inn that was the terror and fear of Sancho Panza, but although he would have preferred not to go in, he could not avoid it. The innkeeper\u2019s wife, the innkeeper, their daughter, and Maritornes saw Don Quixote and Sancho arriving, and they went out to receive them with displays of great joy; Don Quixote greeted them in a grave and solemn tone and told them to prepare a better bed for him than they had the last time, to which the innkeeper\u2019s wife responded that if he paid better than he had the last time, she would provide him with a bed worthy of a prince. Don Quixote said he would, and therefore they prepared a reasonable one for him in the same attic where he had been previously, and he lay down immediately because he felt weakened and dejected.<\/p>\n

No sooner had he closed the door than the innkeeper\u2019s wife rushed at the barber, seized him by the beard, and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon my soul, you can\u2019t go on using my oxtail for a beard, and you have to give the tail back to me; it\u2019s a shame to see that thing of my husband\u2019s on the floor; I mean the comb that I always hung on my nice tail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The barber refused to give it to her, no matter how hard she pulled, until the licentiate told him to return it, for it was no longer necessary to use the disguise; he could show and reveal himself as he was and tell Don Quixote that when the thieving galley slaves robbed him, he had fled to this inn; if the knight should ask about the princess\u2019s squire, they would say she had sent him ahead to inform the people of her kingdom that she was on her way and was bringing their liberator with her. When he heard this, the barber willingly returned the tail to the innkeeper\u2019s wife, along with all the other articles they had borrowed for their rescue of Don Quixote. Everyone in the inn was astonished at the beauty of Dorotea and at the fine appearance of young Cardenio. The priest had them prepare whatever food was available at the inn, and the innkeeper, hoping for better payment, quickly prepared a reasonable meal; Don Quixote slept all this time, and they agreed not to wake him because, for the moment, he needed sleep more than food.<\/p>\n

During the meal, in the presence of the innkeeper, his wife, their daughter, Maritornes, and the other travelers, they spoke of the strange madness of Don Quixote and the manner in which they had found him. The innkeeper\u2019s wife recounted what had happened with him and the muledriver, and after looking around for Sancho, and not seeing him, she told them about his tossing in the blanket, which caused them no small amusement. When the priest said that the books of chivalry that Don Quixote read had made him lose his wits, the innkeeper said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how that can be; the truth is, to my mind, there\u2019s no better reading in the world; I have two or three of them, along with some other papers, and they really have put life into me, and not only me but other people, too. Because during the harvest, many of the harvesters gather here during their time off, and there\u2019s always a few who know how to read, and one of them takes down one of those books, and more than thirty of us sit around him and listen to him read with so much pleasure that it saves us a thousand gray hairs; at least, as far as I\u2019m concerned, I can tell you that when I hear about those furious, terrible blows struck by the knights, it makes me want to do the same, and I\u2019d be happy to keep hearing about them for days and nights on end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same goes for me,\u201d said the innkeeper\u2019s wife, \u201cbecause I never have any peace in my house except when you\u2019re listening to somebody read; you get so caught up that you forget about arguing with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said Maritornes, \u201cand by my faith, I really like to hear those things, too, they\u2019re very pretty, especially when they tell about a lady under some orange trees in the arms of her knight, and a duenna\u2019s their lookout, and she\u2019s dying of envy and scared to death. I think all that\u2019s as sweet as honey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you, young lady, what do you think of them?\u201d asked the priest, speaking to the innkeeper\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon my soul, I don\u2019t know, Se\u00f1or,\u201d she responded. \u201cI listen, too, and the truth is that even if I don\u2019t understand them, I like to hear them, but I don\u2019t like all the fighting that my father likes; I like the laments of the knights when they\u2019re absent from their ladies; the truth is that sometimes they make me cry, I feel so sorry for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, young lady, would you offer them relief,\u201d said Dorotea, \u201cif they were weeping on your account?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do,\u201d the girl responded. \u201cAll I know is that some of those ladies are so cruel that their knights call them tigers and lions and a thousand other indecent things. And sweet Jesus, I don\u2019t know what kind of people can be so heartless and unfeeling that they don\u2019t look at an honorable man, and let him die or lose his mind. I don\u2019t know the reason for so much stiffness: if they\u2019re so virtuous, let them marry, which is just what their knights want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe quiet, girl,\u201d said the innkeeper\u2019s wife. \u201cYou seem to know a lot about these things, and it\u2019s not right for young girls to know or talk so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the gentleman asked me,\u201d she responded, \u201cI had to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, now,\u201d said the priest, \u201cinnkeeper, bring me those books; I\u2019d like to see them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be glad to,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n

He entered his room and brought out an old traveling case, locked with a small chain, and when it was opened, the priest found three large books and some papers written in a very fine hand. He opened the first book and saw that it was Don Cirongilio of Thrace;<\/span> 199<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the second was Felixmarte of Hyrcania;<\/span> 200<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the third, The History of the Great Captain Gonzalo Hern\u00e1ndez de C\u00f3rdoba, and the Life of Diego Garc\u00eda de Paredes.<\/span> 201<\/a><\/span><\/sup> <\/a>As soon as the priest read the first two titles, he turned to the barber and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur friend\u2019s housekeeper and his niece are the people we need here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need them,\u201d responded the barber. \u201cI also know how to take them to the corral or the hearth, where there\u2019s a good fire burning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen your grace wants to burn my books?\u201d said the innkeeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly these two,\u201d said the priest: \u201cDon Cirongilio<\/span> and Felixmarte.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d said the innkeeper, \u201cby any chance are my books heretical or phlegmatic, is that why you want to burn them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSchismatic<\/span> is what you mean, friend,\u201d said the barber, \u201cnot phlegmatic.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d replied the innkeeper. \u201cBut if you want to burn one, let it be the one about the Great Captain and that Diego Garc\u00eda; I\u2019d rather let a child of mine be burned than either one of the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDear brother,\u201d said the priest, \u201cthese two books are false and full of foolishness and nonsense, but this one about the Great Captain is truthful history and tells the accomplishments of Gonzalo Hern\u00e1ndez de C\u00f3rdoba, who, because of his many great feats, deserved to be called Great Captain<\/span> by everyone, a famous and illustrious name deserved by him alone; Diego Garc\u00eda de Paredes was a distinguished nobleman, a native of the city of Trujillo, in Extremadura, a very courageous soldier, and so strong that with one finger he could stop a millwheel as it turned; standing with a broadsword at the entrance to a bridge, he brought an immense army to a halt and would not permit them to cross; and he did other comparable things, and he recounts them and writes about them himself, with the modesty of a gentleman writing his own chronicle, but if another were to write about those feats freely and dispassionately, they would relegate all the deeds of Hector, Achilles, and Roland to oblivion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell those trifles to my old father!\u201d said the innkeeper. \u201cLook at what amazes you: stopping a millwheel! By God, now your grace ought to read what Felixmarte of Hyrcania did, when with one reverse stroke he split five giants down to the waist like the dolls children make out of beans. Another time he attacked a huge, powerful army that had more than a million six hundred thousand soldiers, all of them armed from head to foot, and he routed them like herds of sheep. And what would you say of the good Don Cirongilio of Thrace, who was so valiant and brave, as you can see in the book where it tells us that once when he was sailing down a river a fiery serpent rose up from the water, and as soon as he saw it he <\/a>attacked it and straddled it, right across its scaly shoulders, and with both hands he squeezed its throat so tight that the serpent, seeing that he was being strangled, could only dive down to the bottom of the river, taking with him the knight who wouldn\u2019t let him go. And when they got down there, he found himself in palaces and gardens that were so pretty they were a marvel to see, and then the serpent turned into an old, old man who told him so many things it was really something to hear. Be quiet, Se\u00f1or, because if you heard this, you\u2019d go mad with pleasure. I don\u2019t give two figs for the Great Captain or that Diego Garc\u00eda!\u201d<\/p>\n

When Dorotea heard this, she said very quietly to Cardenio:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur host doesn\u2019t have far to go to be a second Don Quixote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d responded Cardenio. \u201cAccording to what he says, he believes that everything these books say really happened just as written, and not even discalced friars could make him think otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, my dear brother,\u201d the priest said again, \u201cthere never was a Felixmarte of Hyrcania in this world, or a Don Cirongilio of Thrace, or any other knights like them that the books of chivalry tell about, because it is all fiction made up by idle minds, composed to create the effect you mentioned, to while away the time, just as your harvesters amuse themselves by reading them. Really, I swear to you, there never were knights like these in the world, and their great deeds, and all that other nonsense, never happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrow that bone to another dog!\u201d responded the innkeeper. \u201cAs if I didn\u2019t know how to add two and three or where my shoe pinches! Your grace shouldn\u2019t try to treat me like a child, because, by God, I\u2019m not an idiot. That\u2019s really something: your grace wants me to think that everything these good books say is foolishness and lies, when they\u2019ve been printed with the permission of the gentlemen on the Royal Council, as if they were the kind of people who\u2019d allow the printing of so many lies, and so many battles and so many enchantments it could drive you crazy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have already told you, my friend,\u201d replied the priest, \u201cthat these books are intended to amuse our minds in moments of idleness; just as in well-ordered nations games such as chess and ball and billiards are permitted for the entertainment of those who do not have to, or should not, or cannot work, the printing of such books is also permitted, on the assumption, which is true, that no one will be so ignorant as to mistake any of these books for true history. If it were correct for me to do so now, and those present were to request it, I would have something to say about the characteristics that books of chivalry ought to have in order to be good books, and perhaps it would be advantageous and even pleasurable for <\/a>some, but I hope the time will come when I may communicate this to someone who can remedy it; in the meantime, you should believe, Se\u00f1or Innkeeper, what I have told you, and take your books, and decide on their truths or lies, and much good may they do you; God willing you won\u2019t follow in the footsteps of your guest Don Quixote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d responded the innkeeper, \u201cbecause I wouldn\u2019t be crazy enough to become a knight errant; I see very well that these days are different from the old days, when they say those famous knights wandered through the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sancho had returned in the middle of this conversation and was left very confused and bewildered when he heard that nowadays there were no more knights errant and that all the books of chivalry were foolish lies, and he resolved in his heart to wait and see the outcome of the journey his master was about to take; if it did not turn out as well as he hoped, he was determined to leave and go back to his wife and his children and his customary work.<\/p>\n

The innkeeper picked up the case and the books, but the priest said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWait, I want to see the papers that are written in such a fine hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The innkeeper took them out and gave them to him to read, and the priest saw up to eight full sheets of paper written by hand, and at the beginning was the title in large letters: The Novel of the Man Who Was Recklessly Curious.<\/span> The priest read three or four lines to himself and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe title of this novel certainly doesn\u2019t seem bad, and I think I would like to read all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To which the innkeeper responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, your reverence can certainly read it, and you should know that some guests who read it here liked it very much and asked to have it over and over again, but I wouldn\u2019t give it to them, because I plan to return it to the man who left this case here by mistake, along with the books and papers; their owner might come back here one day, and though I know I\u2019ll miss the books, by my faith I\u2019m going to give them back; I may be an innkeeper, but I\u2019m still a Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are absolutely right, my friend,\u201d said the priest, \u201cbut even so, if I like the novel, you must allow me to copy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be happy to,\u201d responded the innkeeper.<\/p>\n

While the two men were conversing, Cardenio had picked up the novel and begun to read it, and being of the same opinion as the priest, he asked him to read it aloud so that all of them could hear it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would gladly read it,\u201d said the priest, \u201cbut it might be better to spend this time sleeping rather than reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be very restful for me,\u201d said Dorotea, \u201cto spend the time listening to a story, for my spirit is not yet calm enough to let me sleep at the customary time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that case,\u201d said the priest, \u201cI do want to read it, if only out of curiosity; perhaps it will have something both pleasing and unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Master Nicol\u00e1s made the same request, and so did Sancho; seeing this, and thinking that by reading aloud he would both give and receive pleasure, the priest said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then, pay careful attention, for this is how the novel begins:\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":39,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-213","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":173,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213\/revisions\/758"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/173"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/213\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}