Summary
The story "Adventures of Don Quixote" is an adapted excerpt from the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. It tells the tale of a man from the village of La Mancha in Spain who becomes so obsessed with reading books about knights and their adventures that he begins to lose touch with reality. Over time, he starts to imagine himself as a real knight and decides to set out on heroic quests.
Don Quixote convinces a simple peasant named Sancho Panza to become his squire by promising to reward him with an island if he serves faithfully. The two men set out on a journey together, riding Don Quixote's horse Rocinante.
Their first major adventure involves a windmill, which Don Quixote mistakes for a hideous ogre blocking their path. Despite Sancho's repeated warnings that it is just a windmill, Don Quixote charges at it with his spear and collides with it, injuring himself. Even after the crash, he insists the ogre is more wounded than he is.
Later, they encounter a flock of sheep that Don Quixote mistakes for a prodigious army marching toward them. He claims to hear the neighing of steeds, trumpets, and drums, while Sancho only hears the bleating of sheep. Don Quixote charges into the flock, scattering the frightened animals. The shepherds pelt him with stones, and he falls wounded to the ground.