Here the author's outburst came to an end, and he proceeded totake up the thread of his story, saying that the keeper, seeing thatDon Quixote had taken up his position, and that it was impossiblefor him to avoid letting out the male without incurring the enmityof the fiery and daring knight, flung open the doors of the firstcage, containing, as has been said, the lion, which was now seen to beof enormous size, and grim and hideous mien. The first thing he didwas to turn round in the cage in which he lay, and protrude his claws,and stretch himself thoroughly; he next opened his mouth, and yawnedvery leisurely, and with near two palms' length of tongue that hehad thrust forth, he licked the dust out of his eyes and washed hisface; having done this, he put his head out of the cage and looked allround with eyes like glowing coals, a spectacle and demeanour tostrike terror into temerity itself. Don Quixote merely observed himsteadily, longing for him to leap from the cart and come to closequarters with him, when he hoped to hew him in pieces.
So far did his unparalleled madness go; but the noble lion, morecourteous than arrogant, not troubling himself about silly bravado,after having looked all round, as has been said, turned about andpresented his hind-quarters to Don Quixote, and very coolly andtranquilly lay down again in the cage. Seeing this, Don Quixoteordered the keeper to take a stick to him and provoke him to makehim come out.
"That I won't," said the keeper; "for if I anger him, the firsthe'll tear in pieces will be myself. Be satisfied, sir knight, withwhat you have done, which leaves nothing more to be said on thescore of courage, and do not seek to tempt fortune a second time.The lion has the door open; he is free to come out or not to come out;but as he has not come out so far, he will not come out to-day. Yourworship's great courage has been fully manifested already; no bravechampion, so it strikes me, is bound to do more than challenge hisenemy and wait for him on the field; if his adversary does not come,on him lies the disgrace, and he who waits for him carries off thecrown of victory."
"That is true," said Don Quixote; "close the door, my friend, andlet me have, in the best form thou canst, what thou hast seen me do,by way of certificate; to wit, that thou didst open for the lion, thatI waited for him, that he did not come out, that I still waited forhim, and that still he did not come out, and lay down again. I amnot bound to do more; enchantments avaunt, and God uphold the right,the truth, and true chivalry! Close the door as I bade thee, while Imake signals to the fugitives that have left us, that they may learnthis exploit from thy lips."
The keeper obeyed, and Don Quixote, fixing on the point of his lancethe cloth he had wiped his face with after the deluge of curds,proceeded to recall the others, who still continued to fly, lookingback at every step, all in a body, the gentleman bringing up the rear.Sancho, however, happening to observe the signal of the white cloth,exclaimed, "May I die, if my master has not overcome the wildbeasts, for he is calling to us."
They all stopped, and perceived that it was Don Quixote who wasmaking signals, and shaking off their fears to some extent, theyapproached slowly until they were near enough to hear distinctly DonQuixote's voice calling to them. They returned at length to thecart, and as they came up, Don Quixote said to the carter, "Put yourmules to once more, brother, and continue your journey; and do thou,Sancho, give him two gold crowns for himself and the keeper, tocompensate for the delay they have incurred through me."
"That will I give with all my heart," said Sancho; "but what hasbecome of the lions? Are they dead or alive?"
The keeper, then, in full detail, and bit by bit, described theend of the contest, exalting to the best of his power and abilitythe valour of Don Quixote, at the sight of whom the lion quailed,and would not and dared not come out of the cage, although he had heldthe door open ever so long; and showing how, in consequence of hishaving represented to the knight that it was tempting God to provokethe lion in order to force him out, which he wished to have done, hevery reluctantly, and altogether against his will, had allowed thedoor to be closed.
"What dost thou think of this, Sancho?" said Don Quixote. "Are thereany enchantments that can prevail against true valour? Theenchanters may be able to rob me of good fortune, but of fortitude andcourage they cannot."
Sancho paid the crowns, the carter put to, the keeper kissed DonQuixote's hands for the bounty bestowed upon him, and promised to givean account of the valiant exploit to the King himself, as soon as hesaw him at court.
"Then," said Don Quixote, "if his Majesty should happen to ask whoperformed it, you must say THE KNIGHT OF THE LIONS; for it is mydesire that into this the name I have hitherto borne of Knight ofthe Rueful Countenance be from this time forward changed, altered,transformed, and turned; and in this I follow the ancient usage ofknights-errant, who changed their names when they pleased, or whenit suited their purpose."
The cart went its way, and Don Quixote, Sancho, and he of thegreen gaban went theirs. All this time, Don Diego de Miranda had notspoken a word, being entirely taken up with observing and noting allthat Don Quixote did and said, and the opinion he formed was that hewas a man of brains gone mad, and a madman on the verge ofrationality. The first part of his history had not yet reached him,for, had he read it, the amazement with which his words and deedsfilled him would have vanished, as he would then have understood thenature of his madness; but knowing nothing of it, he took him to berational one moment, and crazy the next, for what he said wassensible, elegant, and well expressed, and what he did, absurd,rash, and foolish; and said he to himself, "What could be madderthan putting on a helmet full of curds, and then persuading oneselfthat enchanters are softening one's skull; or what could be greaterrashness and folly than wanting to fight lions tooth and nail?"
Don Quixote roused him from these reflections and this soliloquyby saying, "No doubt, Senor Don Diego de Miranda, you set me down inyour mind as a fool and a madman, and it would be no wonder if youdid, for my deeds do not argue anything else. But for all that, Iwould have you take notice that I am neither so mad nor so foolishas I must have seemed to you. A gallant knight shows to advantagebringing his lance to bear adroitly upon a fierce bull under theeyes of his sovereign, in the midst of a spacious plaza; a knightshows to advantage arrayed in glittering armour, pacing the listsbefore the ladies in some joyous tournament, and all those knightsshow to advantage that entertain, divert, and, if we may say so,honour the courts of their princes by warlike exercises, or whatresemble them; but to greater advantage than all these does aknight-errant show when he traverses deserts, solitudes,cross-roads, forests, and mountains, in quest of perilousadventures, bent on bringing them to a happy and successful issue, allto win a glorious and lasting renown. To greater advantage, Imaintain, does the knight-errant show bringing aid to some widow insome lonely waste, than the court knight dallying with some citydamsel. All knights have their own special parts to play; let thecourtier devote himself to the ladies, let him add lustre to hissovereign's court by his liveries, let him entertain poor gentlemenwith the sumptuous fare of his table, let him arrange joustings,marshal tournaments, and prove himself noble, generous, andmagnificent, and above all a good Christian, and so doing he willfulfil the duties that are especially his; but let the knight-errantexplore the corners of the earth and penetrate the most intricatelabyrinths, at each step let him attempt impossibilities, ondesolate heaths let him endure the burning rays of the midsummersun, and the bitter inclemency of the winter winds and frosts; letno lions daunt him, no monsters terrify him, no dragons make himquail; for to seek these, to attack those, and to vanquish all, are intruth his main duties. I, then, as it has fallen to my lot to be amember of knight-errantry, cannot avoid attempting all that to meseems to come within the sphere of my duties; thus it was my boundenduty to attack those lions that I just now attacked, although I knewit to be the height of rashness; for I know well what valour is,that it is a virtue that occupies a place between two viciousextremes, cowardice and temerity; but it will be a lesser evil for himwho is valiant to rise till he reaches the point of rashness, thanto sink until he reaches the point of cowardice; for, as it iseasier for the prodigal than for the miser to become generous, so itis easier for a rash man to prove truly valiant than for a coward torise to true valour; and believe me, Senor Don Diego, in attemptingadventures it is better to lose by a card too many than by a cardtoo few; for to hear it said, 'such a knight is rash and daring,'sounds better than 'such a knight is timid and cowardly.'"
"I protest, Senor Don Quixote," said Don Diego, "everything you havesaid and done is proved correct by the test of reason itself; and Ibelieve, if the laws and ordinances of knight-errantry should be lost,they might be found in your worship's breast as in their own properdepository and muniment-house; but let us make haste, and reach myvillage, where you shall take rest after your late exertions; for ifthey have not been of the body they have been of the spirit, and thesesometimes tend to produce bodily fatigue."