Don Quixote vs. the “Ogres”
Long long ago, in the age before television, lived a man named Alonso Quijano. Alonso lived in part of Spain called La Mancha. He was a noble and a gentleman, well educated and well read. Alonso was not particularly rich compared to other spanish nobles but was well off compared to the peasants around him. Alonso had a strong fondness of books and especially loved to read stories about knights and the quests and adventures they went on. He was an elderly gentleman and had read of these adventures all his life. One day while reading his books he had a strange illness come upon him that affected his mind. No one is certain exactly what it was but it created in him a very strange form of madness. As from that time afterwards he believed that all the books he had read about knights, chivalry, wizards, and dragons were all true. He came to believe that he himself was a knight. He called himself Don Quixote (pronounced like Kee-yo-tee) and would not respond to any other name. He began wearing an old suit of armor his family had that was so rusty and dented that it could not protect anyone from anything. His friends and family became concerned about his behavior and hid his books away hoping that Don Quixote’s madness would pass and he would become Alonso again. Instead Don Quixote imagined that an evil wizard had used magic to hide the books and he declared he would go on a quest to vanquish the evil wizard. Before anyone could stop him he got on an old horse and ran away on his quest. He wandered into a nearby village and convinced a poor peasant into being his squire. So together Don Quixote and Sancho Panza journeyed out. It did not take long before they spotted some windmills in the distance.
“Sancho! Our adventure against the evil wizard is just beginning and already his forces stand to oppose us!” declared Don Quixote.
“What? Where?” Sancho said looking around.
“Ahead of us is a vast army of ogres blocking our way” Don Quixote said pointing towards the windmills.
“Where? I don’t see anything, are they behind the windmills?”
“What windmills? And how could they hide behind them anyway? Do you even know what an ogre is?”
“No, not really” Sancho admitted.
“Ogres are giant beasts, bigger then a house with multiple arms” Don Quixote said. “Look, you can see them there on the horizon waving their arms at us to intimidate us.”
Now Sancho was a very simple but honest man who did not realize that the person he knew as Don Quixote was mad. So his response was a natural one.
“But, my lord there is nothing but windmills in front of us” he said.
“Ah my dear Sancho, you are new to the world of knights and quests” Don Quixote said. “Whenever a valiant knight such as myself partakes on a quest against evil such as we are doing then almost immediately a force of ogres, dragons, and other monsters will attempt to impede us.”
“If you say so m’lord but those windmills have been there since...”
“No more time for talk Sancho!” Don Quixote interrupted. “The battle is on!”
With that Don Quixote lowered his lance and spurred his horse as fast as it would go.
“But my lord!” Sancho called out after Don Quixote.
In his madness Don Quixote could not see any windmills and only saw a group of ogres with arms outstretched. He lowered his lance and aimed for the nearest one. One of the arms of the windmill came down and Don Quixote ran right into it. Don Quixote was knocked off his horse, his lance shattered. Sancho soon came up on his mule.
“I told you m’lord” Sancho cried. “Those were windmills!”
Don Quixote sat up, a little bruised, but otherwise unhurt. He looked up and saw the windmill slowly turning above him.
“The enchanter has robbed me of my victory!” He cried. “Just as I was to defeat that army of ogres all on my own he transformed them into windmills!”
“What enchanter are you talking about my lord?” Sancho asked.
“The evil wizard who is my arch-nemesis!” Don Quixote declared “He has powerful magic to make things not appear not as they really are. He hid my books from me and now he has transformed that army of ogres into windmills right before I could defeat them!”
“But, they looked like windmills the whole time.”
“That is because the evil wizards magic made them look like windmills to you. As a brave and adventurous knight I am immune to such charms. You must be careful as we continue our journey Sancho. The evil wizard will attempt to make you see things but not as they truly are, but if you listen to me you will one day become the most famous squire in the land.”
Don Quixote and Sancho traveled for some time together and had many adventures. Don Quixote would see castles, princesses and bandits where Sancho saw inns, washerwomen and barbers. Sancho never realizing he was following a madman.