Don Quixote earnestly solicited one of his neighbours， a country labourer and a good honest fellow， Sancho Panza by name， poor in purse， and poor in his brains； and， in short， the knight talked so long to him， plied him with so many arguments， and made him so many fair promises that at last the poor clown consented to go along with him and become his squire. Among other inducements Don Quixote forgot not to tell him that it was likely such an adventure would present itself as might secure him the conquest of some island in the time that he might be picking up a straw or two， and then the squire might promise himself to be made governor of the place. Allured with these large promises and many others， Sancho Panza forsook his wife and children to be his neighbour"s squire.
This done. Don Quixote made it his business to furnish himself with money； to which purpose， selling one house， mortgaging another， and losing by all， he at last got a pretty good sum together. He also borrowed a target of a friend， and， having patched up his headpiece and beaver as well as he could， he gave his squire notice of the day and hour when he intended to set out， that he might furnish himself with what he thought necessary. Above all， he charged him to provide himself with a knapsack. This Sancho promised to do， tellinghim he would also take his ass along with him， which， being a very good one， might be a great ease to him， for he was not used to travel much afoot.
The mentioning of the ass made the noble knight pause awhile； he mused and pondered whether he had ever read of any knight-errant whose squire used to ride upon an ass， but he could not remember any precedent for it； however， he gave him leave at last to bring his ass， hoping to mount him more honourably， with the first opportunity， by unhorsing the next discourteous knight he should meet.
He also furnished himself with shirts and as many other necessaries as he could conveniently carry. This being done， Sancho Panza， without bidding either his wife or his children good-bye， and Don Quixote， without taking any more notice of his housekeeper or of his niece， stole out of the village one night， not so much as suspected by anybody， and made such haste that by break of day they thought themselves out of reach， should they happen to be pursued.
As for Sancho Panza， he rode like a patriarch， with his canvas knapsack and his leathern bottle， having a huge desire to see himself governor of the island which his master had promised him. As they jogged on， "I beseech your worship， Sir Knight-errant， " quoth he， " be sure you don"t forget what you promised me about the island； for I dare say I shall make shift to govern it， let it be never so big. ""You must know， friend Sancho， " replied Don Quixote， "that it has been the custom of knights- errant in former agesto make their squires governors of the islands or kingdoms they have conquered. Now， I am resolved not only to keep up that laudable custom， but even to improve it. If thou and I do but live， it may happen that before we have passed six days together I may conquer some kingdom having many other kingdoms annexed to its imperial crown； and this would fall out most luckily for thee； for then would I presently crown thee king of one of them. Nor do thou imagine this to be a mighty matter； for so strange accidents and revolutions， so sudden and so unforeseen， attend the profession of chivalry that I might easily give thee a great deal more than I have promised. "" Why， should this come to pass， " quoth Sancho Panza， "and I be made a king by some such miracle， as your worship says， then my wife would be at least a queen， and my children princesses. "" Who doubts of that ？ "As they were thus talking， they discovered some thirty or forty windmills that are in that plain； and， as soon as the knight had spied them， " Fortune， " cried he， " directs our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Look yonder， friend Sancho， there are at least thirty outrageous giants whom I intend to encounter； and， having deprived them of life， we shall begin to enrich ourselves with their spoils； for they are lawful prize， and the destruction of that cursed brood will be an acceptable service to Heaven. "" What giants ？ " quoth Sancho Panza.
"Those whom thou seest yonder， " answered Don Quixote，" with their long-extended arms； some of that detested race have arms so immense in size that sometimes they reach two leagues in length. "" Pray， look better， sir， " quoth Sancho； " those things yonder are no giants， but windmills； and what you fancy are arms are their sails， which， being whirled about by the wind， make the mill go. """Tis a sign， " cried Don Quixote， "thou art but little acquainted with adventures！ I tell thee， they are giants； and， therefore， if thou art afraid， go aside and say thy prayers， for I am resolved to engage in a dreadful unequal combat against them all. "This said， he clapped spurs to his horse Rosinante， without giving ear to his squire Sancho， who bawled out to him， and assured him that they were windmills， and no giants. But he was so fully possessed with a strong opinion to the contrary that he did not so much as hear his squire"s outcry， nor was he sensible of what they were， although he was already very near them； far from that. " Stand， cowards， " cried he， as loud as he could； "stand your ground， ignoble creatures， and fly not basely from a single knight， who dares encounter you all！ "At the same time， the wind rising， the mill sails began to move， which when Don Quixote spied， " Base miscreants，" cried he， " though you move more arms than the giant Briareus， you shall pay for your arrogance."He most devoutly recommended himself to his Lady Dulcinea， imploring her assistance in this perilous adventure； and so， covering himself with his shield and couching hislance， he rushed with Rosinante"s utmost speed upon the first windmill he could come at， and ran his lance into the sail. The wind whirled it about with such swiftness that the rapidity of the motion presently broke the lance into shivers， and hurled away both knight and horse along with it， till down he fell， rolling a good way off in the field.
Sancho Panza ran as fast as his ass could drive to help his master， whom he found lying and not able to stir， such a blow had he and Rosinante received.
"Mercy o" me！ " cried Sancho， "did not I give your worship fair warning ？ Did I not tell you they were windmills， and that nobody could think otherwise， unless he had also windmills in his head ？ ""Peace， friend Sancho， " replied Don Quixote， "there is nothing so subject to the inconstancy of fortune as war. I am verily persuaded that the enchanter， who carried off my study and my books， has transformed these giants into windmills to deprive me of the honour of victory； such is his hatred of me； but， in the end， all his wiles and stratagems shall prove ineffectual against the prevailing edge of my sword. ""Amen， say I， " replied Sancho.
And so， heaving himself up again upon his legs， once more the knight mounted poor Rosinante， that was half shoulder- slipped with his fall.
From Don Quixote， by Cervantes.
Author.-Miguel (me-gèl") de Cernantes Saavedra. (1547-1616)，generally known as Cervantes， was a Spanish novelist， dramatist， and poet. He had an adventurous career as soldier and sailor， and was once captured by Moorish pirates and sold as a slave. His Don Quixote was intended as a satire on the ridiculous romances of chivalry then being written by Spanish writers. It has been translated into many languages.
General Notes.-What a glorious madman was Don Quixote， full ofcourage and courtesy！ What a sensible fool was Sancho Panza！ Read the whole book if you can. Briar？us was a hundred-handed giant of Greek mythology. The lady Dulcinea del Toboso was a fresh-coloured country wench whom Don Quixote chose as the queen of his knight-errantry. Heine， a German wit， said ： " I am an inverted Don Quixote. He took windmills for giants， wine-skins for knights， and country wenches for fine ladies. Alas， I have found that many of our giants are but whirling windmills， our knights more wine-skins， and our fine ladies but country wenches. " Sometimes we say that So-and-so is tilting at windmills. What does this mean？