Editing Don Quixote (section)

====The first sally====
Cervantes, in a [[metafictional]] narrative, writes that the first few chapters were taken from "the archives of La Mancha", and the rest were translated from an Arabic text by the [[Moors|Moorish]] historian [[Cide Hamete Benengeli]].

[[Alonso Quixano]] is a [[Hidalgo (nobility)|hidalgo]] nearing 50 years of age who lives in a deliberately unspecified region of [[La Mancha]] with his niece and housekeeper. While he lives a frugal life, he is full of fantasies about chivalry stemming from his obsession with chivalric romance books. Eventually, his obsession becomes madness when he decides to become a [[knight errant]], donning an old suit of armor. He renames himself "Don Quixote", names his old workhorse "[[Rocinante]]", and designates Aldonza Lorenzo (a slaughterhouse worker with a famed hand for salting pork) his [[Courtly love|lady love]], renaming her [[Dulcinea|Dulcinea del Toboso]].

As he travels in search of adventure, he arrives at an inn that he believes to be a castle, calls the prostitutes he meets there "ladies", and demands that the innkeeper, whom he takes to be the lord of the castle, dub him a knight. The innkeeper agrees. Quixote starts the night holding [[vigil]] at the inn's horse trough, which Quixote imagines to be a chapel. He then becomes involved in a fight with [[Arriero|muleteers]] who try to remove his armor from the horse trough to water their mules. In a pretend ceremony, the innkeeper dubs him a knight to be rid of him and sends him on his way.

Quixote next encounters a servant named Andres who is tied to a tree and being beaten by his master over disputed wages. Quixote orders the master to stop the beating, untie Andres and swear to treat his servant fairly. However, the beating is resumed, and redoubled, as soon as Quixote leaves.

Quixote then chances upon traders from [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]. He demands that they agree that Dulcinea del Toboso is the most beautiful woman in the world. One of them demands to see her picture so that he can decide for himself. Enraged, Quixote charges at them but his horse stumbles, causing him to fall. One of the traders beats up Quixote, who is left at the side of the road until a neighboring peasant brings him back home.

While Quixote lies unconscious in his bed, his niece, the housekeeper, the parish [[curate]], and the local barber burn most of his chivalric and other books, seeing them as the root of his madness. They seal up the library room, later telling Quixote that it was done by a wizard.