{"id":262,"date":"2019-12-01T16:45:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T16:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-xxvi-2\/"},"modified":"2020-03-27T10:26:25","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T10:26:25","slug":"second-part-chapter-xxvi","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-xxvi\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Part. Chapter XXVI"},"content":{"raw":"CHAPTER XXVI<\/a>\r\n
\r\n

In which the diverting adventure of the puppet master continues, along with other things that are really very worthwhile<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n

All fell silent, both Tyrians and Trojans,424<\/a><\/span><\/sup> I mean to say, all those looking at the stage were waiting to hear the words of the narrator regarding its marvels when the sound of a large number of drums and trumpets was heard, and a good deal of artillery firing, then the sound soon ended and the boy raised his voice and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis true history, presented here for your graces, is taken literally from the French chronicles and Spanish ballads which are in the mouths of everyone, even children, on our streets. It tells of how Se\u00f1or Don Gaiferos freed his wife, Melisendra, who was held captive in Spain by the Moors, in the city of Sansue\u00f1a, which was the name given in those days to the city of Zaragoza;425<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and your graces can see there how Don Gaiferos is playing backgammon, as they sing in the song:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

Don Gaiferos is playing at backgammon,<\/p>\r\n

his lady Melisendra is forgotten.426<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

And the personage who appears now with a crown on his head and a scepter in his hands is the Emperor Charlemagne, the supposed father of Melisendra, and he, angry at seeing the idleness and neglect of his son-in-law, comes to reprimand him; notice how earnestly and heatedly he reprimands him, as if he wanted to hit him half a dozen times on the head with his scepter, and there are even authors who say that he did hit him, and hit him hard; and after saying many things to him about the danger to his honor because he would not obtain the liberty of his wife, they say that he said to him:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\u2018I have said enough: look to it.\u2019427<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

And look, your graces, at how the emperor turns his back and leaves an indignant Don Gaiferos; now see how he, made impatient by anger, tosses away the backgammon board and pieces and quickly asks for his armor, and asks his cousin Don Roland for the loan of his sword, Durindana, and see how Don Roland does not want to lend it to him, offering instead to accompany him in the difficult enterprise he is undertaking; but the angry and valiant knight does not accept, saying that alone he is enough to rescue his wife, even if she is held at the very center of the earth; and now he goes in to put on his armor so that he can set out im<\/a>mediately. Your graces, turn your eyes to the tower that you see there; it is one of the towers of Zaragoza\u2019s castle-fortress now called La Aljafer\u00eda; and that lady you see on the balcony, dressed in the Moorish fashion, is the peerless Melisendra, who would often stand there, and look at the road to France, and turn her thoughts to Paris and her husband, finding consolation in her captivity. Look too at what is happening now, perhaps unlike anything you have ever seen before. Don\u2019t you see that Moor stealing up behind Melisendra on tiptoe, his finger to his lips? Well, look at how he kisses her right on the mouth, and how quickly she spits and wipes her mouth with the white sleeve of her dress, and how she laments, and in her grief tears at her beautiful hair as if it were to blame for the offense. Look too at that somber Moor in the passageway, King Marsilio of Sansue\u00f1a, who saw the insolence of the other Moor, had him arrested, though he was a relative and a great favorite, and ordered him to be given two hundred lashes and to be taken through the usual streets of the city,<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

With town criers walking before<\/p>\r\n

and armed bailiffs coming behind;428<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

and see here where they are coming to carry out the sentence so soon after the crime was committed, because the Moors don\u2019t have the \u2018indictment of the accused\u2019 and \u2018remanded to custody\u2019 that we do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBoy, boy,\u201d said Don Quixote in a loud voice, \u201ctell your story in a straight line and do not become involved in curves or transverse lines, for to get a clear idea of the truth, one must have proofs and more proofs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

And from the interior, Master Pedro also said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBoy, tend to your business and do what that gentleman says, that\u2019s the right thing to do; go on with your plainsong and don\u2019t get involved in counterpoints that usually break because they\u2019re so re-fined.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI will,\u201d responded the boy, and he continued, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis figure who appears here on horseback, wrapped in a Gascony cape, is Don Gaiferos himself, and see his wife, who has been avenged for the insolence of the enamored Moor, looking better and more tranquil as she stands at the window of the tower and talks to her husband, thinking <\/a>he is a passerby, and saying to him all those words and phrases in the ballad that says:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

Se\u00f1or Knight, if you\u2019re bound for France,<\/p>\r\n

then ask after Don Gaiferos;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

I won\u2019t recite them now because going on too long gives rise to boredom; it\u2019s enough to see how Don Gaiferos reveals his identity, and through her joyful gestures Melisendra lets us know that she has recognized him, and now we see her letting herself down from the balcony in order to sit on the hindquarters of her good husband\u2019s horse. But oh! What misfortune! The lace of her skirt has caught on some of the wrought iron at the balcony, and she hangs in midair and cannot reach the ground. But see how merciful heaven sends help at the moment of greatest need, for here comes Don Gaiferos, and not worrying about tearing the rich skirt, he grasps her and simply pulls her down to the ground, and then in a leap he sets her on his horse\u2019s hindquarters, astride like a man, and tells her to hold on tight and places her arms over his shoulders and crosses them on his chest so that she doesn\u2019t fall, since Se\u00f1ora Melisendra was not accustomed to this kind of riding. See too how the neighing of the horse shows that he is content to be carrying the valiant and beautiful burden of his lord and lady. See how they turn their backs and leave the city, and with joy and delight take the road to Paris. Go in peace, O peerless pair of true lovers! May you arrive safely in your own dear country, and may fortune place no obstacle in the way of your happy journey! May the eyes of your friends and relations see you enjoy your days in peace and tranquility, and may those granted you in this life be as many as those of Nestor!\u201d429<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n

At this point Master Pedro once again raised his voice, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSimplicity, boy, don\u2019t be arrogant, all affectation is bad.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The interpreter said nothing in reply but went on, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThere was no lack of curious eyes, the kind that tend to see everything, to see Melisendra descend from the balcony and mount the horse, and they informed King Marsilio, who immediately gave orders to sound the call to arms; and see how soon this is done, and how the city is flooded with the sound of the bells that ring from all the towers of the mosques.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo, that is wrong!\u201d said Don Quixote. \u201cMaster Pedro is incorrect in the matter of the bells, for the Moors do not use bells but drums and a kind of flute that resembles our flageolet, and there is no doubt that ringing bells in Sansue\u00f1a is a great piece of nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

This was heard by Master Pedro, who stopped the ringing and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYour grace should not concern yourself with trifles, Se\u00f1or Don Quixote, or try to carry things so far that you never reach the end of them. Aren\u2019t a thousand plays performed almost every day that are full of a thousand errors and pieces of nonsense, and yet are successful productions that are greeted not only with applause but with admiration? Go on, boy, and let them say what they will, for as long as I fill my purse, there can be more errors than atoms in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d replied Don Quixote.<\/p>\r\n

And the boy said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLook at the number of brilliant horsemen riding out of the city in pursuit of the two Catholic lovers; look at how many trumpets blare, how many flutes play, how many drums and tabors sound. I am afraid they will overtake them and bring them back tied to the tail of their own horse, which would be an awful sight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

And Don Quixote, seeing and hearing so many Moors and so much clamor, thought it would be a good idea to assist those who were fleeing; and rising to his feet, in a loud voice he said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI shall not consent, in my lifetime and in my presence, to any such offense against an enamored knight so famous and bold as Don Gaiferos. Halt, you lowborn rabble; do not follow and do not pursue him unless you wish to do battle with me!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

And speaking and taking action, he unsheathed his sword, leaped next to the stage, and with swift and never before seen fury began to rain down blows on the crowd of Moorish puppets, knocking down some, beheading others, ruining this one, destroying that one, and among many other blows, he delivered so powerful a downstroke that if Master Pedro had not stooped, crouched down, and hunched over, he would have cut off his head more easily than if it had been so much marzipan. Master Pedro cried out, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYour grace must stop, Se\u00f1or Don Quixote, and realize that the ones you are overthrowing, destroying, and killing are not real Moors but only pasteboard figures. Sinner that I am, you are destroying and ruining everything I own!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

But this did not keep Don Quixote from raining down slashes, two-<\/a>handed blows, thrusts, and backstrokes. In short, in less time than it takes to tell about it, he knocked the puppet theater to the floor, all its scenery and figures cut and broken to pieces: King Marsilio was badly wounded, and Emperor Charlemagne\u2019s head and crown were split in two. The audience of spectators was in a tumult, the monkey ran out the window and onto the roof, the cousin was fearful, the page was frightened, and even Sancho Panza was terrified, because, as he swore when the storm was over, he had never seen his master in so wild a fury. When the general destruction of the puppet theater was complete, Don Quixote calmed down somewhat and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAt this moment I should like to have here in front of me all those who do not believe, and do not wish to believe, how much good knights errant do in the world: if I had not been here, just think what would have happened to the worthy Don Gaiferos and the beauteous Melisendra; most certainly, by this time those dogs would have overtaken them and committed some outrage against them. In brief, long live knight errantry, over and above everything in the world today!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLong life and good fortune!\u201d said Master Pedro in a faint voice. \u201cAnd nothing but death for me, for I am so unfortunate that I can say with King Don Rodrigo:<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

Yesterday the lord of all Spain\u2026<\/p>\r\n

today not even a tower<\/p>\r\n

that I can call my own.430<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Not half an hour ago, not even half a moment, I was the master of kings and emperors, my stables and coffers and sacks filled with infinite horses and countless treasures, and now I am desolate and dejected, impoverished and a beggar, and worst of all, without my monkey, and by my faith, it will be like pulling teeth to get him back again, and all because of the ill-considered rage of this knight, who, they say, protects orphans, and rights wrongs, and does other charitable works, and in me alone have his generous intentions come to naught, praise be to blessed heaven, where the seats are sublime. In short, the Knight of the Sorrowful Face has certainly brought sorrow to my figures and puppets.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Sancho Panza was deeply affected by the words of Master Pedro, and he said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cDon\u2019t cry, Master Pedro, and don\u2019t wail, or you\u2019ll break my heart, and let me tell you that my master, Don Quixote, is so Catholic and scrupulous a Christian that if he realizes he\u2019s done you any harm, he\u2019ll tell you so and want to pay and satisfy you, and with interest.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIf Se\u00f1or Don Quixote would pay me even in part for the figures he has destroyed, I would be happy, and his grace would satisfy his conscience, because there is no salvation for the man who holds another\u2019s property against the will of the owner and does not return it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cbut until now I did not know that I had anything of yours, Master Pedro.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d responded Master Pedro. \u201cThese relics lying on the hard and sterile ground, what scattered and annihilated them but the invincible strength of that mighty arm? And whose bodies were they but mine? And how did I earn my living except with them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow I believe,\u201d said Don Quixote at this point, \u201cwhat I have believed on many other occasions: the enchanters who pursue me simply place figures as they really are before my eyes, and then change and alter them into whatever they wish. I tell you really and truly, you gentlemen who can hear me: it seemed to me that everything that happened here was actually happening, that Melisendra was Melisendra, Don Gaiferos Don Gaiferos, Marsilio Marsilio, and Charlemagne Charlemagne; for that reason I was overcome by rage, and to fulfill the obligations of the knight errantry I profess, I wanted to give my help and favor to those who were fleeing, and to this worthy end I did what you have seen; if matters have turned out otherwise, the fault is not mine but lies with the wicked creatures who pursue me; even so, although my error was not the result of malice, I wish to sentence myself to pay the costs: let Master Pedro decide what he wants for the damaged puppets, for I offer to pay him immediately in good, standard Castilian coin.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Master Pedro bowed, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI expected no less from the extraordinary Christianity of the valiant Don Quixote of La Mancha, a true shelter and protection for all needy and impoverished wanderers; in this the noble innkeeper and the great Sancho will be mediators between your grace and me, and assessors of what the demolished figures are worth, or might have been worth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The innkeeper and Sancho agreed, and then Master Pedro picked up from the floor King Marsilio of Zaragoza, who was missing his head, and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou can see how impossible it is to return this king to his original state, and so, it seems to me, unless you think otherwise, that for his death, end, and termination I should be given four and a half reales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cContinue!\u201d said Don Quixote.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell, for this slash that goes from top to bottom,\u201d continued Master Pedro, picking up the two halves of Emperor Charlemagne, \u201cit would not be too much if I asked five and a quarter reales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s no small amount,\u201d said Sancho.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNot a large one, either,\u201d replied the innkeeper. \u201cLet\u2019s settle at five reales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cGive him the entire five and a quarter,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cfor a quarter more or less will not change this notable misfortune in any way; finish quickly, Master Pedro, because it is almost time for supper and I am feeling somewhat hungry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor this figure,\u201d said Master Pedro, \u201cthe beautiful Melisendra, who is missing a nose and one eye, I want, and I think it\u2019s fair, two reales<\/span> and twelve maraved\u00eds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt would certainly be the devil\u2019s work,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cif Melisendra and her husband were not already at the French border, at the very least, because the horse they were riding seemed to me to be flying rather than running; and so there is no reason to try to swindle me, showing me a Melisendra without a nose when the other one is at leisure and making merry in France with her husband. May God help each man with his own affairs, Se\u00f1or Master Pedro, and let all of us proceed in a straightforward way and with honest intentions. Continue.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Master Pedro, who saw that Don Quixote was slipping back into madness and returning to his earlier theme, did not want him to get away, and so he said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis can\u2019t be Melisendra, it must be one of her maids, and so if you give me sixty maraved\u00eds<\/span> for her, I\u2019ll consider myself satisfied and well-paid.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

In this fashion, prices were set for many other destroyed puppets, which were later modified by the two arbitrating judges to the satisfaction of all parties and reached a total of forty and three-quarters reales;<\/span> in addition to this amount, which Sancho immediately took out of the purse and paid to him, Master Pedro requested two reales<\/span> for the effort of catching the monkey.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cGive them to him, Sancho,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cnot for catching the monkey, but for bending his elbow;431<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and I would give two hundred <\/a>more as a reward to the person who could tell me with certainty that Se\u00f1ora Do\u00f1a Melisendra and Se\u00f1or Don Gaiferos were in France now with their people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo one could tell us that better than my monkey,\u201d said Master Pedro, \u201cbut not even the devil can catch him now, though I imagine that affection and hunger will force him to look for me tonight, and God will bring the dawn, and then we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

In short, the storm over the puppet show came to an end, and everyone ate supper in peace and good fellowship, at Don Quixote\u2019s expense, for he was generous in the extreme.<\/p>\r\n

Before daybreak the man carrying the lances and halberds left, and shortly after dawn the cousin and the page came to take their leave of Don Quixote: the one to return home and the other to continue his journey, and to help him on his way, Don Quixote gave the page a dozen reales.<\/span> Master Pedro did not wish to engage in further disputes with Don Quixote, whom he knew very well, and so he arose before the sun, and after gathering up the relics of his puppet theater, and his monkey, he also set out to seek adventures. The innkeeper, who did not know Don Quixote, was as astonished by his madness as by his generosity. To conclude, Sancho paid him very well, by order of his master, and when it was almost eight in the morning they said goodbye, left the inn, and took to the road, where we shall leave them, for that will afford us the opportunity to recount other things that are pertinent to the narration of this famous history.<\/p>\r\n","rendered":"

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

\n

In which the diverting adventure of the puppet master continues, along with other things that are really very worthwhile<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

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

All fell silent, both Tyrians and Trojans,424<\/a><\/span><\/sup> I mean to say, all those looking at the stage were waiting to hear the words of the narrator regarding its marvels when the sound of a large number of drums and trumpets was heard, and a good deal of artillery firing, then the sound soon ended and the boy raised his voice and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis true history, presented here for your graces, is taken literally from the French chronicles and Spanish ballads which are in the mouths of everyone, even children, on our streets. It tells of how Se\u00f1or Don Gaiferos freed his wife, Melisendra, who was held captive in Spain by the Moors, in the city of Sansue\u00f1a, which was the name given in those days to the city of Zaragoza;425<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and your graces can see there how Don Gaiferos is playing backgammon, as they sing in the song:<\/p>\n

\n

Don Gaiferos is playing at backgammon,<\/p>\n

his lady Melisendra is forgotten.426<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And the personage who appears now with a crown on his head and a scepter in his hands is the Emperor Charlemagne, the supposed father of Melisendra, and he, angry at seeing the idleness and neglect of his son-in-law, comes to reprimand him; notice how earnestly and heatedly he reprimands him, as if he wanted to hit him half a dozen times on the head with his scepter, and there are even authors who say that he did hit him, and hit him hard; and after saying many things to him about the danger to his honor because he would not obtain the liberty of his wife, they say that he said to him:<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018I have said enough: look to it.\u2019427<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And look, your graces, at how the emperor turns his back and leaves an indignant Don Gaiferos; now see how he, made impatient by anger, tosses away the backgammon board and pieces and quickly asks for his armor, and asks his cousin Don Roland for the loan of his sword, Durindana, and see how Don Roland does not want to lend it to him, offering instead to accompany him in the difficult enterprise he is undertaking; but the angry and valiant knight does not accept, saying that alone he is enough to rescue his wife, even if she is held at the very center of the earth; and now he goes in to put on his armor so that he can set out im<\/a>mediately. Your graces, turn your eyes to the tower that you see there; it is one of the towers of Zaragoza\u2019s castle-fortress now called La Aljafer\u00eda; and that lady you see on the balcony, dressed in the Moorish fashion, is the peerless Melisendra, who would often stand there, and look at the road to France, and turn her thoughts to Paris and her husband, finding consolation in her captivity. Look too at what is happening now, perhaps unlike anything you have ever seen before. Don\u2019t you see that Moor stealing up behind Melisendra on tiptoe, his finger to his lips? Well, look at how he kisses her right on the mouth, and how quickly she spits and wipes her mouth with the white sleeve of her dress, and how she laments, and in her grief tears at her beautiful hair as if it were to blame for the offense. Look too at that somber Moor in the passageway, King Marsilio of Sansue\u00f1a, who saw the insolence of the other Moor, had him arrested, though he was a relative and a great favorite, and ordered him to be given two hundred lashes and to be taken through the usual streets of the city,<\/p>\n

\n

With town criers walking before<\/p>\n

and armed bailiffs coming behind;428<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

and see here where they are coming to carry out the sentence so soon after the crime was committed, because the Moors don\u2019t have the \u2018indictment of the accused\u2019 and \u2018remanded to custody\u2019 that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy, boy,\u201d said Don Quixote in a loud voice, \u201ctell your story in a straight line and do not become involved in curves or transverse lines, for to get a clear idea of the truth, one must have proofs and more proofs.\u201d<\/p>\n

And from the interior, Master Pedro also said:<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy, tend to your business and do what that gentleman says, that\u2019s the right thing to do; go on with your plainsong and don\u2019t get involved in counterpoints that usually break because they\u2019re so re-fined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will,\u201d responded the boy, and he continued, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis figure who appears here on horseback, wrapped in a Gascony cape, is Don Gaiferos himself, and see his wife, who has been avenged for the insolence of the enamored Moor, looking better and more tranquil as she stands at the window of the tower and talks to her husband, thinking <\/a>he is a passerby, and saying to him all those words and phrases in the ballad that says:<\/p>\n

\n

Se\u00f1or Knight, if you\u2019re bound for France,<\/p>\n

then ask after Don Gaiferos;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I won\u2019t recite them now because going on too long gives rise to boredom; it\u2019s enough to see how Don Gaiferos reveals his identity, and through her joyful gestures Melisendra lets us know that she has recognized him, and now we see her letting herself down from the balcony in order to sit on the hindquarters of her good husband\u2019s horse. But oh! What misfortune! The lace of her skirt has caught on some of the wrought iron at the balcony, and she hangs in midair and cannot reach the ground. But see how merciful heaven sends help at the moment of greatest need, for here comes Don Gaiferos, and not worrying about tearing the rich skirt, he grasps her and simply pulls her down to the ground, and then in a leap he sets her on his horse\u2019s hindquarters, astride like a man, and tells her to hold on tight and places her arms over his shoulders and crosses them on his chest so that she doesn\u2019t fall, since Se\u00f1ora Melisendra was not accustomed to this kind of riding. See too how the neighing of the horse shows that he is content to be carrying the valiant and beautiful burden of his lord and lady. See how they turn their backs and leave the city, and with joy and delight take the road to Paris. Go in peace, O peerless pair of true lovers! May you arrive safely in your own dear country, and may fortune place no obstacle in the way of your happy journey! May the eyes of your friends and relations see you enjoy your days in peace and tranquility, and may those granted you in this life be as many as those of Nestor!\u201d429<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

At this point Master Pedro once again raised his voice, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cSimplicity, boy, don\u2019t be arrogant, all affectation is bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interpreter said nothing in reply but went on, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no lack of curious eyes, the kind that tend to see everything, to see Melisendra descend from the balcony and mount the horse, and they informed King Marsilio, who immediately gave orders to sound the call to arms; and see how soon this is done, and how the city is flooded with the sound of the bells that ring from all the towers of the mosques.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that is wrong!\u201d said Don Quixote. \u201cMaster Pedro is incorrect in the matter of the bells, for the Moors do not use bells but drums and a kind of flute that resembles our flageolet, and there is no doubt that ringing bells in Sansue\u00f1a is a great piece of nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was heard by Master Pedro, who stopped the ringing and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grace should not concern yourself with trifles, Se\u00f1or Don Quixote, or try to carry things so far that you never reach the end of them. Aren\u2019t a thousand plays performed almost every day that are full of a thousand errors and pieces of nonsense, and yet are successful productions that are greeted not only with applause but with admiration? Go on, boy, and let them say what they will, for as long as I fill my purse, there can be more errors than atoms in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d replied Don Quixote.<\/p>\n

And the boy said:<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at the number of brilliant horsemen riding out of the city in pursuit of the two Catholic lovers; look at how many trumpets blare, how many flutes play, how many drums and tabors sound. I am afraid they will overtake them and bring them back tied to the tail of their own horse, which would be an awful sight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

And Don Quixote, seeing and hearing so many Moors and so much clamor, thought it would be a good idea to assist those who were fleeing; and rising to his feet, in a loud voice he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall not consent, in my lifetime and in my presence, to any such offense against an enamored knight so famous and bold as Don Gaiferos. Halt, you lowborn rabble; do not follow and do not pursue him unless you wish to do battle with me!\u201d<\/p>\n

And speaking and taking action, he unsheathed his sword, leaped next to the stage, and with swift and never before seen fury began to rain down blows on the crowd of Moorish puppets, knocking down some, beheading others, ruining this one, destroying that one, and among many other blows, he delivered so powerful a downstroke that if Master Pedro had not stooped, crouched down, and hunched over, he would have cut off his head more easily than if it had been so much marzipan. Master Pedro cried out, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grace must stop, Se\u00f1or Don Quixote, and realize that the ones you are overthrowing, destroying, and killing are not real Moors but only pasteboard figures. Sinner that I am, you are destroying and ruining everything I own!\u201d<\/p>\n

But this did not keep Don Quixote from raining down slashes, two-<\/a>handed blows, thrusts, and backstrokes. In short, in less time than it takes to tell about it, he knocked the puppet theater to the floor, all its scenery and figures cut and broken to pieces: King Marsilio was badly wounded, and Emperor Charlemagne\u2019s head and crown were split in two. The audience of spectators was in a tumult, the monkey ran out the window and onto the roof, the cousin was fearful, the page was frightened, and even Sancho Panza was terrified, because, as he swore when the storm was over, he had never seen his master in so wild a fury. When the general destruction of the puppet theater was complete, Don Quixote calmed down somewhat and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this moment I should like to have here in front of me all those who do not believe, and do not wish to believe, how much good knights errant do in the world: if I had not been here, just think what would have happened to the worthy Don Gaiferos and the beauteous Melisendra; most certainly, by this time those dogs would have overtaken them and committed some outrage against them. In brief, long live knight errantry, over and above everything in the world today!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLong life and good fortune!\u201d said Master Pedro in a faint voice. \u201cAnd nothing but death for me, for I am so unfortunate that I can say with King Don Rodrigo:<\/p>\n

\n

Yesterday the lord of all Spain\u2026<\/p>\n

today not even a tower<\/p>\n

that I can call my own.430<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Not half an hour ago, not even half a moment, I was the master of kings and emperors, my stables and coffers and sacks filled with infinite horses and countless treasures, and now I am desolate and dejected, impoverished and a beggar, and worst of all, without my monkey, and by my faith, it will be like pulling teeth to get him back again, and all because of the ill-considered rage of this knight, who, they say, protects orphans, and rights wrongs, and does other charitable works, and in me alone have his generous intentions come to naught, praise be to blessed heaven, where the seats are sublime. In short, the Knight of the Sorrowful Face has certainly brought sorrow to my figures and puppets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sancho Panza was deeply affected by the words of Master Pedro, and he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t cry, Master Pedro, and don\u2019t wail, or you\u2019ll break my heart, and let me tell you that my master, Don Quixote, is so Catholic and scrupulous a Christian that if he realizes he\u2019s done you any harm, he\u2019ll tell you so and want to pay and satisfy you, and with interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Se\u00f1or Don Quixote would pay me even in part for the figures he has destroyed, I would be happy, and his grace would satisfy his conscience, because there is no salvation for the man who holds another\u2019s property against the will of the owner and does not return it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cbut until now I did not know that I had anything of yours, Master Pedro.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d responded Master Pedro. \u201cThese relics lying on the hard and sterile ground, what scattered and annihilated them but the invincible strength of that mighty arm? And whose bodies were they but mine? And how did I earn my living except with them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I believe,\u201d said Don Quixote at this point, \u201cwhat I have believed on many other occasions: the enchanters who pursue me simply place figures as they really are before my eyes, and then change and alter them into whatever they wish. I tell you really and truly, you gentlemen who can hear me: it seemed to me that everything that happened here was actually happening, that Melisendra was Melisendra, Don Gaiferos Don Gaiferos, Marsilio Marsilio, and Charlemagne Charlemagne; for that reason I was overcome by rage, and to fulfill the obligations of the knight errantry I profess, I wanted to give my help and favor to those who were fleeing, and to this worthy end I did what you have seen; if matters have turned out otherwise, the fault is not mine but lies with the wicked creatures who pursue me; even so, although my error was not the result of malice, I wish to sentence myself to pay the costs: let Master Pedro decide what he wants for the damaged puppets, for I offer to pay him immediately in good, standard Castilian coin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Master Pedro bowed, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cI expected no less from the extraordinary Christianity of the valiant Don Quixote of La Mancha, a true shelter and protection for all needy and impoverished wanderers; in this the noble innkeeper and the great Sancho will be mediators between your grace and me, and assessors of what the demolished figures are worth, or might have been worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The innkeeper and Sancho agreed, and then Master Pedro picked up from the floor King Marsilio of Zaragoza, who was missing his head, and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see how impossible it is to return this king to his original state, and so, it seems to me, unless you think otherwise, that for his death, end, and termination I should be given four and a half reales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cContinue!\u201d said Don Quixote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, for this slash that goes from top to bottom,\u201d continued Master Pedro, picking up the two halves of Emperor Charlemagne, \u201cit would not be too much if I asked five and a quarter reales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s no small amount,\u201d said Sancho.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a large one, either,\u201d replied the innkeeper. \u201cLet\u2019s settle at five reales.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGive him the entire five and a quarter,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cfor a quarter more or less will not change this notable misfortune in any way; finish quickly, Master Pedro, because it is almost time for supper and I am feeling somewhat hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this figure,\u201d said Master Pedro, \u201cthe beautiful Melisendra, who is missing a nose and one eye, I want, and I think it\u2019s fair, two reales<\/span> and twelve maraved\u00eds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would certainly be the devil\u2019s work,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cif Melisendra and her husband were not already at the French border, at the very least, because the horse they were riding seemed to me to be flying rather than running; and so there is no reason to try to swindle me, showing me a Melisendra without a nose when the other one is at leisure and making merry in France with her husband. May God help each man with his own affairs, Se\u00f1or Master Pedro, and let all of us proceed in a straightforward way and with honest intentions. Continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Master Pedro, who saw that Don Quixote was slipping back into madness and returning to his earlier theme, did not want him to get away, and so he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis can\u2019t be Melisendra, it must be one of her maids, and so if you give me sixty maraved\u00eds<\/span> for her, I\u2019ll consider myself satisfied and well-paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this fashion, prices were set for many other destroyed puppets, which were later modified by the two arbitrating judges to the satisfaction of all parties and reached a total of forty and three-quarters reales;<\/span> in addition to this amount, which Sancho immediately took out of the purse and paid to him, Master Pedro requested two reales<\/span> for the effort of catching the monkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive them to him, Sancho,\u201d said Don Quixote, \u201cnot for catching the monkey, but for bending his elbow;431<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and I would give two hundred <\/a>more as a reward to the person who could tell me with certainty that Se\u00f1ora Do\u00f1a Melisendra and Se\u00f1or Don Gaiferos were in France now with their people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one could tell us that better than my monkey,\u201d said Master Pedro, \u201cbut not even the devil can catch him now, though I imagine that affection and hunger will force him to look for me tonight, and God will bring the dawn, and then we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

In short, the storm over the puppet show came to an end, and everyone ate supper in peace and good fellowship, at Don Quixote\u2019s expense, for he was generous in the extreme.<\/p>\n

Before daybreak the man carrying the lances and halberds left, and shortly after dawn the cousin and the page came to take their leave of Don Quixote: the one to return home and the other to continue his journey, and to help him on his way, Don Quixote gave the page a dozen reales.<\/span> Master Pedro did not wish to engage in further disputes with Don Quixote, whom he knew very well, and so he arose before the sun, and after gathering up the relics of his puppet theater, and his monkey, he also set out to seek adventures. The innkeeper, who did not know Don Quixote, was as astonished by his madness as by his generosity. To conclude, Sancho paid him very well, by order of his master, and when it was almost eight in the morning they said goodbye, left the inn, and took to the road, where we shall leave them, for that will afford us the opportunity to recount other things that are pertinent to the narration of this famous history.<\/p>\n

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