{"id":269,"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-xxxiii-2\/"},"modified":"2020-03-28T10:13:11","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T10:13:11","slug":"second-part-chapter-xxxiii","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-xxxiii\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Part. Chapter XXXIII"},"content":{"raw":"CHAPTER XXXIII<\/a>\r\n
\r\n

Regarding the delightful conversation that the duchess and her ladies had with Sancho Panza, one that is worthy of being read and remembered<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

Well, the history recounts that Sancho did not sleep that day\u2019s siesta but kept his word and came as requested to see the duchess, who derived so much pleasure from listening to him that she had him sit next to her on a low seat, although Sancho, being well-bred, did not wish to sit, but the duchess told him to sit as a governor and speak as a squire, since for both he deserved the ivory seat of El Cid Ruy D\u00edaz Campeador.454<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n

Sancho shrugged, obeyed, and sat down, and all the maidens and duennas of the duchess gathered round attentively, in great silence, to hear what he would say; but the duchess was the one who spoke first, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow that we are alone, where no one can hear us, I should like you, Se\u00f1or Governor, to resolve certain doubts I have, which have their origin in the history of the great Don Quixote that has already been published; one of these doubts is that, since our good Sancho never saw Dulcinea, I mean Se\u00f1ora Dulcinea of Toboso, and did not bring her the letter from Se\u00f1or Don Quixote because it was left in the notebook in the Sierra Morena, how did he dare invent her response and say that he <\/a>found her winnowing grain? This was nothing but a deception and a lie, so harmful to the good name of the peerless Dulcinea, and so inappropriate to the character and fidelity of good squires.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

At these words, without saying a single one in response, Sancho got up from the seat, and with silent steps, his body bent, his finger to his lips, he walked around the room lifting all the hangings, and then, when he had done this, he sat down again and said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNow that I have seen, Se\u00f1ora, that nobody is hiding and listening to us, except for those present, without fear or sudden fright I\u2019ll answer what you have asked me, and anything else you may ask me, and the first thing I\u2019ll say is that I believe my master, Don Quixote, is completely crazy, even though sometimes he says things that in my opinion, and in the opinion of everybody who hears him, are so intelligent and well-reasoned that Satan himself couldn\u2019t say them better; but even so, truly and without any scruples, it\u2019s clear to me that he\u2019s a fool. And because I have this idea in mind, I can dare to make him believe anything, even if it makes no sense, like that reply to his letter, or something that happened six or eight days ago that isn\u2019t in the history yet, I mean the enchantment of Se\u00f1ora Do\u00f1a Dulcinea, because I\u2019ve made him think she\u2019s enchanted, and that\u2019s as true as a fairy tale.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The duchess asked him to tell her about the enchantment, or deception, and Sancho recounted everything just as it had occurred, from which his listeners derived no small pleasure; and continuing their conversation, the duchess said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cFrom what our good Sancho has told me, a certain scruple has leaped into my soul, and a certain whisper reaches my ears, saying:<\/p>\r\n

\u2018Since Don Quixote of La Mancha is a madman, a fool, and a simpleton, and Sancho Panza his squire knows this and still serves him, and follows him, and believes his hollow promises, there can be no doubt that he is more of a madman and a dimwit than his master; and this being the case, and it is, it will not be to your credit, Se\u00f1ora Duchess, if you give this Sancho Panza an \u00ednsula to govern, because if a man cannot govern himself, how will he govern others?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBy God, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cthat scruple of yours is just what I expected; but your grace should tell it to speak clearly, or however it wants to, because I know it\u2019s telling the truth; if I were a clever man, I would have left my master days ago. But this is my fate and this is my misfortune; I can\u2019t help it; I have to follow him: we\u2019re from the same village, I\u2019ve eaten his bread, I love him dearly, he\u2019s a grateful man, he gave me his donkeys, and more than anything else, I\u2019m faithful; and so it\u2019s im<\/a>possible for anything to separate us except the man with the pick and shovel.455<\/a><\/span><\/sup>And if your highness doesn\u2019t want me to have the governorship I\u2019ve been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be for the good of my conscience; I may be a fool, but I understand the proverb that says, \u2018It did him harm when the ant grew wings,\u2019 and it might even be that Sancho the squire will enter heaven more easily than Sancho the governor. The bread they bake here is as good as in France, and at night every cat is gray, and the person who hasn\u2019t eaten by two in the afternoon has more than enough misfortune, and no stomach\u2019s so much bigger than any other that it can\u2019t be filled, as they say, with straw and hay,456<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the little birds of the field have God to protect and provide for them, and four varas<\/span> of flannel from Cuenca will warm you more than four of limiste<\/span> 457<\/a><\/span><\/sup> from Segovia, and when we leave this world and go into the ground, the path of the prince is as narrow as the laborer\u2019s, and the pope\u2019s body doesn\u2019t need more room underground than the sacristan\u2019s, even if one is higher than the other, because when we\u2019re in the grave we all have to adjust and shrink or they make us adjust and shrink, whether we want to or not, and that\u2019s the end of it. And I say again that if your ladyship doesn\u2019t want to give me the \u00ednsula because I\u2019m a fool, I\u2019ll be smart enough not to care at all; I\u2019ve heard that the devil hides behind the cross, and that all that glitters isn\u2019t gold, and that from his oxen, plows, and yokes they took the peasant Wamba to be king of Spain,458<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and from his brocades, entertainments, and riches they took Rodrigo to be eaten by snakes, if the lines from the old ballads don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOf course they don\u2019t lie!\u201d said Do\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez the duenna, who was among those listening. \u201cThere\u2019s a ballad that says they put King Rodrigo alive and kicking into a tomb filled with toads and snakes and lizards, and two days later, from inside the tomb, the king said in a low and mournful voice:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

They\u2019re eating me, they\u2019re eating<\/p>\r\n

me in the place where I sinned most;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

and so this gentleman is very correct when he says he\u2019d rather be a peasant than a king if vermin are going to eat him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The duchess could not control her laughter when she heard her duenna\u2019s simplemindedness, nor could she help but marvel at Sancho\u2019s words and proverbs, and she said to him:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOur good Sancho already knows that what a knight has promised he attempts to fulfill, even if it costs him his life. The duke, my lord and husband, though not a knight errant, is still a knight, and so he will keep his word regarding the promised \u00ednsula, despite the world\u2019s envy and malice. Sancho should be of good heart, for when he least expects it he will find himself seated on the throne of his \u00ednsula and of his estate, and he will hold his governorship in his hand and not trade it for another of three-pile brocade.459<\/a><\/span><\/sup> My charge to him is that he attend to how he governs his vassals, knowing that all of them are loyal and wellborn.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAs for governing them well,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cthere\u2019s no need to charge me with it, because I\u2019m charitable by nature and have compassion for the poor; and if he kneads and bakes, you can\u2019t steal his cakes; by my faith, they won\u2019t throw me any crooked dice; I\u2019m an old dog and understand every here, boy,460<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and I know how to wake up at the right time, and I don\u2019t allow cobwebs in front of my eyes, because I know if the shoe fits: I say this because with me good men will have my hand and a place in my house,461<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and bad men won\u2019t get a foot or permission to enter. And it seems to me that in this business of governorships it\u2019s all a matter of starting, and it may be that after two weeks of being a governor I\u2019ll be licking my lips over the work and know more about it than working in the fields, which is what I\u2019ve grown up doing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right, Sancho,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cbecause nobody is born knowing, and bishops are made from men, not stones. But returning to the conversation we had a little while ago about the enchantment of Se\u00f1ora Dulcinea, I consider it true and verified beyond any doubt that the idea Sancho had of tricking his master and leading him to believe that the peasant was Dulcinea, and if his master did not know her, it had to be because she was enchanted, was all an invention of one of the enchanters who pursue Se\u00f1or Don Quixote, because really and truly, I know from a reliable source that the peasant girl who leaped onto the donkey was and is Dulcinea of Toboso, and that our good Sancho, think-<\/a>ing he was the deceiver, is the deceived; there is no reason to doubt this truth any more than we doubt other things we have never seen, and Se\u00f1or Sancho Panza should know that we too have enchanters here, and they love us dearly, and tell us what is going on in the world, purely and simply and without plots or complications; let Sancho believe me when I say that the leaping peasant girl was and is Dulcinea of Toboso, who is as enchanted as the mother who bore her; and when we least expect it we shall see her in her true form, and then Sancho will be free of the self-deception in which he lives.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat may be true,\u201d said Sancho Panza, \u201cand now I want to believe what my master says he saw in the Cave of Montesinos, where he says he saw Se\u00f1ora Dulcinea of Toboso in the same dress and garb that I said I had seen her wearing when I enchanted her for my own pleasure; it must all be the reverse, Se\u00f1ora, just like your grace says, because one can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t think that in only an instant my poor wits could make up so clever a lie, and I don\u2019t believe either that my master is so crazy that with powers of persuasion as weak and thin as mine he would believe something so unbelievable. But, Se\u00f1ora, it wouldn\u2019t be right for your highness to consider me a villain because of it, for a dolt like me isn\u2019t obliged to fathom the thoughts and evil intentions of wicked enchanters: I made it up to avoid a scolding from my master, Don Quixote, not to offend him, and if it\u2019s turned out wrong, God\u2019s in heaven and judges men\u2019s hearts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cbut now tell me, Sancho, what you were saying about the Cave of Montesinos; I\u2019d like to know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Then Sancho Panza recounted point by point what has already been said about that adventure, and when the duchess heard it, she said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cFrom this incident we can infer that since the great Don Quixote says he saw there the same peasant girl Sancho saw on the way out of Toboso, she no doubt is Dulcinea, and very clever and meddlesome enchanters are wandering around here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I say,\u201d said Sancho Panza. \u201cIf my lady Dulcinea of Toboso is enchanted, so much the worse for her, but I, I don\u2019t have to take on my master\u2019s enemies, and there must be a lot, all of them very wicked. It may be true that the woman I saw was a peasant, and I thought she was a peasant, and judged her to be a peasant; if that was Dulcinea, I\u2019m not to blame, and nobody should hold me responsible; we\u2019ll see about that. Picking fights with me all the time: \u2018Sancho said this, Sancho did that, Sancho turned around, and Sancho went back,\u2019 as if Sancho Panza were just anybody and not the same Sancho Panza who\u2019s wandering the world now in books, which is what Sans\u00f3n Carrasco told <\/a>me, and he\u2019s nothing less than a bachelor from Salamanca, and people like him can\u2019t lie except if they feel like it or it\u2019s very convenient; and so nobody should blame me, and since I have a good reputation, and I\u2019ve heard my master say that a good name\u2019s worth more than great wealth, just let them pass this governorship on to me and they\u2019ll see marvels, because whoever\u2019s been a good squire will be a good governor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cEverything said here by our good Sancho,\u201d said the duchess, \u201care Catonian sentences, or, at least, taken from the very heart of Micael Verino himself, florentibus occidit annis.<\/span> 462<\/a><\/span><\/sup> Well, well, to say it in his fashion, under a poor cloak you can find a good drinker.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe truth is, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cthat I never abused drink, though I might have been thirsty, because I\u2019m no hypocrite; I drink when I want to, and when I don\u2019t want to, and when somebody offers me a drink so as not to seem finicky or impolite; to toast a friend, whose heart is so like marble that he won\u2019t lift a glass? But even if I do, I never dirty it, since the squires of knights errant almost always drink water, because they\u2019re always traveling through woods, forests, and meadows, mountains and cliffs, without finding a charitable drop of wine even if they\u2019d give an eye for it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI believe that,\u201d responded the duchess. \u201cAnd for now, Sancho should go and rest, and we will speak at length later, and give the order to quickly pass this governorship, as he says, on to him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Sancho again kissed the hands of the duchess and implored her to be so kind as to take good care of his gray, because he was the light of his eyes.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhat gray is that?\u201d asked the duchess.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cMy jackass,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cand so as not to call him by that name, I usually call him the gray, and when I entered this castle I asked this Se\u00f1ora Duenna to take care of him, and she got as angry as if I had called her ugly or old, since it must be more fitting and natural for duennas to give a thought to donkeys than to claim authority in castle halls. Oh, and Lord save me, what a dislike a nobleman from my village had for these ladies!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cHe must have been some peasant,\u201d said Do\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez the duenna, \u201cbecause if he were noble and wellborn, he would have praised them to the skies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell now,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cthat\u2019s enough: Do\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez, be <\/a>still, and Se\u00f1or Panza, calm down, and let me take care of looking after this gray, for if he is Sancho\u2019s jewel, I shall value him more highly than the apple of my eye.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt\u2019s enough if he\u2019s in the stable,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cAs for being valued more highly than the apple of your highness\u2019s eye, he and I aren\u2019t worthy of that even for an instant, and I would no more agree to it than to being stabbed; though my master says that in courtesies it\u2019s better to lose by a card too many than a card too few, as far as donkeys and apples are concerned, you have to go with your compass in hand, and at a measured pace.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLet Sancho take him to his governorship,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cand there he can treat him as nicely as he wants, and even keep him from hard labor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYour grace should not think, Se\u00f1ora Duchess, that you have said anything remarkable,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cfor I have seen more than two jackasses go into governorships, and if I take mine with me, it won\u2019t be anything new.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Sancho\u2019s words renewed the duchess\u2019s laughter and delight, and after sending him to rest, she went to recount to the duke her conversation with Sancho; and between the two of them, they arranged and planned to play tricks on Don Quixote that would be remarkable and consonant with the chivalric style; and they devised so many, and ones so appropriate and clever, that they are some of the best adventures contained in this great history.<\/p>\r\n","rendered":"

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

\n

Regarding the delightful conversation that the duchess and her ladies had with Sancho Panza, one that is worthy of being read and remembered<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

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

Well, the history recounts that Sancho did not sleep that day\u2019s siesta but kept his word and came as requested to see the duchess, who derived so much pleasure from listening to him that she had him sit next to her on a low seat, although Sancho, being well-bred, did not wish to sit, but the duchess told him to sit as a governor and speak as a squire, since for both he deserved the ivory seat of El Cid Ruy D\u00edaz Campeador.454<\/a><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

Sancho shrugged, obeyed, and sat down, and all the maidens and duennas of the duchess gathered round attentively, in great silence, to hear what he would say; but the duchess was the one who spoke first, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we are alone, where no one can hear us, I should like you, Se\u00f1or Governor, to resolve certain doubts I have, which have their origin in the history of the great Don Quixote that has already been published; one of these doubts is that, since our good Sancho never saw Dulcinea, I mean Se\u00f1ora Dulcinea of Toboso, and did not bring her the letter from Se\u00f1or Don Quixote because it was left in the notebook in the Sierra Morena, how did he dare invent her response and say that he <\/a>found her winnowing grain? This was nothing but a deception and a lie, so harmful to the good name of the peerless Dulcinea, and so inappropriate to the character and fidelity of good squires.\u201d<\/p>\n

At these words, without saying a single one in response, Sancho got up from the seat, and with silent steps, his body bent, his finger to his lips, he walked around the room lifting all the hangings, and then, when he had done this, he sat down again and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I have seen, Se\u00f1ora, that nobody is hiding and listening to us, except for those present, without fear or sudden fright I\u2019ll answer what you have asked me, and anything else you may ask me, and the first thing I\u2019ll say is that I believe my master, Don Quixote, is completely crazy, even though sometimes he says things that in my opinion, and in the opinion of everybody who hears him, are so intelligent and well-reasoned that Satan himself couldn\u2019t say them better; but even so, truly and without any scruples, it\u2019s clear to me that he\u2019s a fool. And because I have this idea in mind, I can dare to make him believe anything, even if it makes no sense, like that reply to his letter, or something that happened six or eight days ago that isn\u2019t in the history yet, I mean the enchantment of Se\u00f1ora Do\u00f1a Dulcinea, because I\u2019ve made him think she\u2019s enchanted, and that\u2019s as true as a fairy tale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duchess asked him to tell her about the enchantment, or deception, and Sancho recounted everything just as it had occurred, from which his listeners derived no small pleasure; and continuing their conversation, the duchess said:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what our good Sancho has told me, a certain scruple has leaped into my soul, and a certain whisper reaches my ears, saying:<\/p>\n

\u2018Since Don Quixote of La Mancha is a madman, a fool, and a simpleton, and Sancho Panza his squire knows this and still serves him, and follows him, and believes his hollow promises, there can be no doubt that he is more of a madman and a dimwit than his master; and this being the case, and it is, it will not be to your credit, Se\u00f1ora Duchess, if you give this Sancho Panza an \u00ednsula to govern, because if a man cannot govern himself, how will he govern others?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy God, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cthat scruple of yours is just what I expected; but your grace should tell it to speak clearly, or however it wants to, because I know it\u2019s telling the truth; if I were a clever man, I would have left my master days ago. But this is my fate and this is my misfortune; I can\u2019t help it; I have to follow him: we\u2019re from the same village, I\u2019ve eaten his bread, I love him dearly, he\u2019s a grateful man, he gave me his donkeys, and more than anything else, I\u2019m faithful; and so it\u2019s im<\/a>possible for anything to separate us except the man with the pick and shovel.455<\/a><\/span><\/sup>And if your highness doesn\u2019t want me to have the governorship I\u2019ve been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be for the good of my conscience; I may be a fool, but I understand the proverb that says, \u2018It did him harm when the ant grew wings,\u2019 and it might even be that Sancho the squire will enter heaven more easily than Sancho the governor. The bread they bake here is as good as in France, and at night every cat is gray, and the person who hasn\u2019t eaten by two in the afternoon has more than enough misfortune, and no stomach\u2019s so much bigger than any other that it can\u2019t be filled, as they say, with straw and hay,456<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and the little birds of the field have God to protect and provide for them, and four varas<\/span> of flannel from Cuenca will warm you more than four of limiste<\/span> 457<\/a><\/span><\/sup> from Segovia, and when we leave this world and go into the ground, the path of the prince is as narrow as the laborer\u2019s, and the pope\u2019s body doesn\u2019t need more room underground than the sacristan\u2019s, even if one is higher than the other, because when we\u2019re in the grave we all have to adjust and shrink or they make us adjust and shrink, whether we want to or not, and that\u2019s the end of it. And I say again that if your ladyship doesn\u2019t want to give me the \u00ednsula because I\u2019m a fool, I\u2019ll be smart enough not to care at all; I\u2019ve heard that the devil hides behind the cross, and that all that glitters isn\u2019t gold, and that from his oxen, plows, and yokes they took the peasant Wamba to be king of Spain,458<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and from his brocades, entertainments, and riches they took Rodrigo to be eaten by snakes, if the lines from the old ballads don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course they don\u2019t lie!\u201d said Do\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez the duenna, who was among those listening. \u201cThere\u2019s a ballad that says they put King Rodrigo alive and kicking into a tomb filled with toads and snakes and lizards, and two days later, from inside the tomb, the king said in a low and mournful voice:<\/p>\n

\n

They\u2019re eating me, they\u2019re eating<\/p>\n

me in the place where I sinned most;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

and so this gentleman is very correct when he says he\u2019d rather be a peasant than a king if vermin are going to eat him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duchess could not control her laughter when she heard her duenna\u2019s simplemindedness, nor could she help but marvel at Sancho\u2019s words and proverbs, and she said to him:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur good Sancho already knows that what a knight has promised he attempts to fulfill, even if it costs him his life. The duke, my lord and husband, though not a knight errant, is still a knight, and so he will keep his word regarding the promised \u00ednsula, despite the world\u2019s envy and malice. Sancho should be of good heart, for when he least expects it he will find himself seated on the throne of his \u00ednsula and of his estate, and he will hold his governorship in his hand and not trade it for another of three-pile brocade.459<\/a><\/span><\/sup> My charge to him is that he attend to how he governs his vassals, knowing that all of them are loyal and wellborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for governing them well,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cthere\u2019s no need to charge me with it, because I\u2019m charitable by nature and have compassion for the poor; and if he kneads and bakes, you can\u2019t steal his cakes; by my faith, they won\u2019t throw me any crooked dice; I\u2019m an old dog and understand every here, boy,460<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and I know how to wake up at the right time, and I don\u2019t allow cobwebs in front of my eyes, because I know if the shoe fits: I say this because with me good men will have my hand and a place in my house,461<\/a><\/span><\/sup> and bad men won\u2019t get a foot or permission to enter. And it seems to me that in this business of governorships it\u2019s all a matter of starting, and it may be that after two weeks of being a governor I\u2019ll be licking my lips over the work and know more about it than working in the fields, which is what I\u2019ve grown up doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right, Sancho,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cbecause nobody is born knowing, and bishops are made from men, not stones. But returning to the conversation we had a little while ago about the enchantment of Se\u00f1ora Dulcinea, I consider it true and verified beyond any doubt that the idea Sancho had of tricking his master and leading him to believe that the peasant was Dulcinea, and if his master did not know her, it had to be because she was enchanted, was all an invention of one of the enchanters who pursue Se\u00f1or Don Quixote, because really and truly, I know from a reliable source that the peasant girl who leaped onto the donkey was and is Dulcinea of Toboso, and that our good Sancho, think-<\/a>ing he was the deceiver, is the deceived; there is no reason to doubt this truth any more than we doubt other things we have never seen, and Se\u00f1or Sancho Panza should know that we too have enchanters here, and they love us dearly, and tell us what is going on in the world, purely and simply and without plots or complications; let Sancho believe me when I say that the leaping peasant girl was and is Dulcinea of Toboso, who is as enchanted as the mother who bore her; and when we least expect it we shall see her in her true form, and then Sancho will be free of the self-deception in which he lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be true,\u201d said Sancho Panza, \u201cand now I want to believe what my master says he saw in the Cave of Montesinos, where he says he saw Se\u00f1ora Dulcinea of Toboso in the same dress and garb that I said I had seen her wearing when I enchanted her for my own pleasure; it must all be the reverse, Se\u00f1ora, just like your grace says, because one can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t think that in only an instant my poor wits could make up so clever a lie, and I don\u2019t believe either that my master is so crazy that with powers of persuasion as weak and thin as mine he would believe something so unbelievable. But, Se\u00f1ora, it wouldn\u2019t be right for your highness to consider me a villain because of it, for a dolt like me isn\u2019t obliged to fathom the thoughts and evil intentions of wicked enchanters: I made it up to avoid a scolding from my master, Don Quixote, not to offend him, and if it\u2019s turned out wrong, God\u2019s in heaven and judges men\u2019s hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cbut now tell me, Sancho, what you were saying about the Cave of Montesinos; I\u2019d like to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Sancho Panza recounted point by point what has already been said about that adventure, and when the duchess heard it, she said:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom this incident we can infer that since the great Don Quixote says he saw there the same peasant girl Sancho saw on the way out of Toboso, she no doubt is Dulcinea, and very clever and meddlesome enchanters are wandering around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I say,\u201d said Sancho Panza. \u201cIf my lady Dulcinea of Toboso is enchanted, so much the worse for her, but I, I don\u2019t have to take on my master\u2019s enemies, and there must be a lot, all of them very wicked. It may be true that the woman I saw was a peasant, and I thought she was a peasant, and judged her to be a peasant; if that was Dulcinea, I\u2019m not to blame, and nobody should hold me responsible; we\u2019ll see about that. Picking fights with me all the time: \u2018Sancho said this, Sancho did that, Sancho turned around, and Sancho went back,\u2019 as if Sancho Panza were just anybody and not the same Sancho Panza who\u2019s wandering the world now in books, which is what Sans\u00f3n Carrasco told <\/a>me, and he\u2019s nothing less than a bachelor from Salamanca, and people like him can\u2019t lie except if they feel like it or it\u2019s very convenient; and so nobody should blame me, and since I have a good reputation, and I\u2019ve heard my master say that a good name\u2019s worth more than great wealth, just let them pass this governorship on to me and they\u2019ll see marvels, because whoever\u2019s been a good squire will be a good governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything said here by our good Sancho,\u201d said the duchess, \u201care Catonian sentences, or, at least, taken from the very heart of Micael Verino himself, florentibus occidit annis.<\/span> 462<\/a><\/span><\/sup> Well, well, to say it in his fashion, under a poor cloak you can find a good drinker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is, Se\u00f1ora,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cthat I never abused drink, though I might have been thirsty, because I\u2019m no hypocrite; I drink when I want to, and when I don\u2019t want to, and when somebody offers me a drink so as not to seem finicky or impolite; to toast a friend, whose heart is so like marble that he won\u2019t lift a glass? But even if I do, I never dirty it, since the squires of knights errant almost always drink water, because they\u2019re always traveling through woods, forests, and meadows, mountains and cliffs, without finding a charitable drop of wine even if they\u2019d give an eye for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that,\u201d responded the duchess. \u201cAnd for now, Sancho should go and rest, and we will speak at length later, and give the order to quickly pass this governorship, as he says, on to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sancho again kissed the hands of the duchess and implored her to be so kind as to take good care of his gray, because he was the light of his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat gray is that?\u201d asked the duchess.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy jackass,\u201d responded Sancho, \u201cand so as not to call him by that name, I usually call him the gray, and when I entered this castle I asked this Se\u00f1ora Duenna to take care of him, and she got as angry as if I had called her ugly or old, since it must be more fitting and natural for duennas to give a thought to donkeys than to claim authority in castle halls. Oh, and Lord save me, what a dislike a nobleman from my village had for these ladies!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe must have been some peasant,\u201d said Do\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez the duenna, \u201cbecause if he were noble and wellborn, he would have praised them to the skies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell now,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cthat\u2019s enough: Do\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez, be <\/a>still, and Se\u00f1or Panza, calm down, and let me take care of looking after this gray, for if he is Sancho\u2019s jewel, I shall value him more highly than the apple of my eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s enough if he\u2019s in the stable,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cAs for being valued more highly than the apple of your highness\u2019s eye, he and I aren\u2019t worthy of that even for an instant, and I would no more agree to it than to being stabbed; though my master says that in courtesies it\u2019s better to lose by a card too many than a card too few, as far as donkeys and apples are concerned, you have to go with your compass in hand, and at a measured pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet Sancho take him to his governorship,\u201d said the duchess, \u201cand there he can treat him as nicely as he wants, and even keep him from hard labor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grace should not think, Se\u00f1ora Duchess, that you have said anything remarkable,\u201d said Sancho, \u201cfor I have seen more than two jackasses go into governorships, and if I take mine with me, it won\u2019t be anything new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sancho\u2019s words renewed the duchess\u2019s laughter and delight, and after sending him to rest, she went to recount to the duke her conversation with Sancho; and between the two of them, they arranged and planned to play tricks on Don Quixote that would be remarkable and consonant with the chivalric style; and they devised so many, and ones so appropriate and clever, that they are some of the best adventures contained in this great history.<\/p>\n

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