Don Quijote and his squire, Sancho, rode for many hours all that day. The seering Manchegan sun shone down upon our intrepid pair of adventurers, who pressed on, despite not seeing anything for miles and miles apart from open land and azure skies that only held the melting egg yolk above and not so much as a single cloud.

 

 Sancho panza took from his brown vest pocket a red rag that he used as a handkerchief, and passed it over his sweaty face, and then offered it to Don Quijote, who took it and dabbed at the beads of persperation on his own visage. Sancho Panza snatched at the wineskin hanging off his saddlebag and squirted generous amounts of wine into his dry mouth, and, as wth his handerkerchief, passed it to the knight who rode beside him.

 

 Don Quijote sat hunched in his saddle, showing clear signs of waning from the heat. Sancho Panza was the first to break the silence. I don´t know about you Señor, but I am not seeing anything profittable in riding clear across Castilla La Mancha with not so much as an adventure so far. Your worship had mentioned something about winning an island from some evil giant that is keeping a damsel in distress prisoner in a hidden castle...I have not seen one castle, nor giants, nor princesses or anything that your worship had spoken of...I am beginning to doubt very much that La Mancha has any of this chivalry business, or perhaps I am blind and had no knowledge of it!

 

 Don Quijote silently gave Sancho Panza the evil eye as the good peasant spoke. After Sancho Panza drew a breath, Don Quijote, his countenance focused on the open road ahead, replied to Sancho: Faith, son Sancho, for it is I who know much about these matters of chivalry, whereas you, ignorant peasant that you are, are not versed in the language or ways of knights or their exploits. If you have faith in myself as a knight, as well as our beloved Lady Dulcinea Del Toboso, I assure you, friend Sancho that you will reap the benefit of serving such a worthy knight errant as myself, that is to say you will find yourself in the position of a govenor of an island, and you and your family will want for nothing!

 

Should you come into such a fortune as this, you must, however give thanks to myself as well as Lady Dulcinea, for without the aid of myself, and our Lady Dulcinea, you would never find yourself in such a worthy position. Sancho Panza removed his old straw hat, and scratched his head in amzaement at Don Quijote´s words, and then began to imagine himself as a govenor, sitting at a marvelous table laden with rich foods.

 

Sancho Panza greedily rubbed his hands together, and began to say something else, when Don Quijote raised his hand in a gesture of authority. Quijote and Sancho both stared out at the plain in front of them. There, among the fields of dried out brush, stood thirty or so windmills. Look friend Sancho! I believe that Lady Fortune has blessed us with an opportunity as that we were speaking of before! Sancho Panza, confusedly scratched his head, and as he sat in the saddle on his burro, began looking behind and then in front of him.

 

Forgive me for my ignorance, but I dare say that I see not this opportunity that your worship so speaks of. Don Quijote´s dark eyes shone with anticipation. Then, you have either been enchanted or have lost your eyesight. If you look before you, you will see twenty or thirty giants, and I intend to do battle with them, nay, not just battle, but glorious battle, and in so doing take their kingdom from them, and release whatever damsel they have been keeping prisoner.

 

Sancho Panza´s expression only grew more confused, as he sat in the saddle, looking up at the wide eyed Don Quijote who closed the visor of his helmet over his face, and couched the lance that he had in hand, positioning Rocinante for a gallop. Then, it occured to Sancho Panza, that the giants to which Don Quijote was referring, were the giants that stood before them. Dios en los cielos, it can´t be....Don Quijote, you don´t mean the...But before Sancho could finish his sentence, Don Quijote and Rocinante were already off to a full gallop, charging the windmills ahead of them.