Lesson 5 Don Quixote and the Lion
Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote was always ready for an adventure; in fact, he saw adventure in commonplace things and became involved in ridiculous encounters because he was not able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. This hilarious episode shows his bravery in attempting to fight a dangerous, yet entirely disinterested, pair of lions.
1、Absorbed in his thoughts, Don Quixote had not proceeded more than half a mile from the river when, raising his head, he perceived a cart covered with royal flags coming along the road they were traveling. Persuaded that this must be some new adventure,he called aloud to Sancho to bring him his helmet.
2、As Sancho approached, Don Quixote exclaimed to him, “Give me that helmet,friend, for either I know little of adventures or what I observe over there is one that will, and does, call on me to arm myself.”
3、Sancho, on hearing this, looked in all directions, but could perceive nothing except a cart coming toward them with two or three small flags, which led him to conclude it must be carrying treasure of the king’s, and he said so to Don Quixote.
4、He, however, would not believe Sancho, being always persuaded and convinced that all that happened to himself must be adventures and still more adventures. Thus he replied, “He who is prepared has his battle half fought; nothing is lost by my preparing myself, for I know by experience that I have enemies, visible and invisible, and I know not when, or where, or at what moment, or in what shapes, they will attack me.”
5、Don Quixote put on his helmet, and settling himself firmly in his stirrups ① , easing his sword in the scabbard, and grasping his lance ② , cried out, “Now, come who will,here am I, ready to try conclusions with anyone.”
6、By this time the cart with the flags had come up, unattended by anyone except the carter on a mule, and a man sitting at the door of the cart. Don Quixote planted himself before it and asked, “Where are you going, brothers? What cart is this? What have you got in it? What flags are those?”
7、To this the carter replied, “The cart is mine; what is in it is a pair of fine caged lions,which the governor of Oran is sending to court as a present to his majesty, and the flags are our lord the king’s, to show that this is his property.”
8、“Are the lions large?” asked Don Quixote.
9、“So large,” replied the man who sat at the door of the cart, “that larger have never crossed from Africa to Spain. I am the keeper and I have brought over others, but never any like these. They are hungry now, for they have eaten nothing today; so let your worship stand aside, for we must make haste to the place where we are to feed them.”
10、Hereon, smiling slightly, Don Quixote commanded, “Get down, my good fellow,and as you are the keeper, open the cages and turn me out those beasts, and in the midst of this plain I will let them know who Don Quixote of La Mancha is, in spite and in the teeth of the enchanters who sent them to me.”
11、At this instant Sancho came up, saying to the keeper of the lions, “Sir, do something to keep my master, Don Quixote, from tackling those lions; for if he does, they’ll tear us all to pieces.”
12、“Sancho,” said Don Quixote, “you leave this business to me,” and then turning to the keeper he exclaimed: “By all that’s good, Mr. Keeper, if you don’t open the cages this very instant. I’ll pin you to the cart with my lance!”
13、The carter, seeing the determination of this apparition ③ in armor, said to him,“Please, your worship, let me unyoke ④ the mules, and place myself in safety along with them before the lions are turned out, for if they kill the mules, I am ruined for life.All I possess is this cart and mules.”
14、“O man of little faith,” replied Don Quixote, “get down and unyoke; you will soon see that you are exerting yourself for nothing, and that you might have spared yourself the trouble.”
15、The carter got down and with all speed unyoked the mules, and the keeper called out at the top of his voice, “I call all here to witness that against my will and under compulsion I open the cages and let the lions loose, and that I warn this gentleman that he will be accountable for all the harm and mischief which these beasts may do, and for my salary and dues as well.” Then speaking to the carter and Sancho, he said, “You, gentlemen,place yourselves in safety before I open, for I know they will do me no harm.”
16、Sancho, with tears in his eyes, entreated his master to give up an enterprise compared with which all the feats he had attempted in the whole course of his life were cakes and fancy bread. “Look, Sir,” said Sancho, ‘‘there’s no enchantment here, notanything of the sort, for between the bars and chinks of the cage I have seen the paw of a real lion, and judging by that I reckon that such a paw would belong to a lion much bigger than a mountain.”
17、“Fear, at any rate,” replied Don Quixote, “will make him look bigger to you than half the world. Retire, Sancho, and leave me, and if I die here you know our old compact:you will inform the fair Dulcinea. I say no more.” And renewing his commands to the keeper and repeating his threats, he gave warning to Sancho to spur his Dapple, and the carter to drive his mules; and both strove to get away from the cart before the lions broke loose.
18、Sancho was weeping over his master’s death, for this time he firmly believed it was in store for him from the claws of the lions; but with all his tears and lamentations he did not forget to thrash Dapple so as to put a good space between himself and the cart.
19、The keeper once more entreated and warned Don Quixote as he had entreated and warned him before; but the knight replied that he heard him, and that he need not trouble himself with any further warnings or entreaties as they would be fruitless, and asked him to make haste.
20、During the delay that occurred while the keeper was opening the cage, Don Quixote was considering whether it would not be well to do battle afoot instead of on horseback,and finally resolved to fight on foot, fearing that Rozinante might take fright at the sight of the lions. He therefore sprang off his horse, flung his lance aside, braced his buckler on his arm, and drawing his sword, advanced slowly with marvelous intrepidity ⑤ and resolute courage, to plant himself in front of the cart, commending himself with all his heart, first to God and then to his lady Dulcinea.
21、The keeper, seeing that Don Quixote had taken up his position and that it was impossible for him to avoid letting out the lions without incurring ⑥ the enmity of the fiery and daring knight, flung open the doors of the cage, exposing to view one of the lions,which was now seen to be of enormous size and of grim and hideous look.
22、The first thing the lion did was to turn round in the cage in which he lay, and protrude his claws and stretch himself thoroughly; he next opened his mouth and yawned very leisurely. Having done this, he put his head out of the cage and looked all around with eyes like glowing coals, a spectacle and demeanor to strike terror into courage.Don Quixote merely observed him steadily, longing for him to leap from the cart and come to close quarters with him, when the knight hoped to hew him to pieces.
23、So far did his unequaled madness go; but the noble lion, more courteous than haughty, not troubling himself about silly bravado after having looked all around, as has been said, turned about and very coolly and tranquilly lay down again in the cage.
24、Seeing this, Don Quixote ordered the keeper to take a stick and provoke him, to make him come out.
25、“That I will not,” said the keeper; “for if I anger him, the first man he’ll tear in pieces will be myself. Be satisfied sir knight, with what you have done, which leaves nothing more to be said on the score 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 today. The greatness of your worship’s courage has been fully manifested already; no brave champion, so it strikes me, is bound to do more than challenge his enemy 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 the crown of victory.”
26、“That is true,” said Don Quixote; “close the door, my friend, and let me have, in the best form you can, what you have seen me do, by way of certificate: to wit, that you did open the door of the lion’s cage, that I waited for him, and that he did not come out.I am not bound to do more; enchantments go away, and God uphold the right, the truth,and true chivalry ⑦ ! Close the door, as I asked you to, while I make signals to the fugitives that have left us that they may learn this exploit ⑧ from your lips.”
27、The keeper obeyed, and Don Quixote, fixing his kerchief on the point of his lance,proceeded to recall the others, who still continued to fly, looking back at every step.Sancho, however, happening to observe the signal, exclaimed, “May I die if my master has not overcome the wild beasts, for he is calling us!”
28、They stopped, and perceived that it was Don Quixote who was making signals,and shaking off their fears to some extent, they approached slowly until they were near enough to hear distinctly Don Quixote’s voice calling to them. They returned at length to the cart, and as they came up, Don Quixote said to the carter, “Put your mules to the cart once more, brother, and continue your journey; and do you, Sancho, give him two gold crowns for himself and the keeper, to compensate for the delay they have incurred through me.”
29、“That will I give with all my heart,” said Sancho; “but what has become of the lions? Are they dead or alive?” The keeper then in full detail, and bit by bit, described the end of the contest, exalting ⑨ to the best of his power and ability the valor ⑩ 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 held the door open ever so long. He ended by showing how, in consequence of his having represented to the knight that it was tempting God to provoke the lion in order to force him out, which Don Quixote wished to have done, the knight very reluctantly and altogether against his will, had allowed the door to be closed.
30、“What do you think of this, Sancho?” asked Don Quixote “Are there any enchantments that can prevail against true valor? The enchanters may be able to rob me of good fortune, but of fortitude and courage they cannot.”
31、Sancho paid the crowns, the keeper kissed Don Quixote’s hands for the bounty bestowed on him, and promised to give an account of the brave exploit to the king himself,as soon as he saw him at court. The cart went its way, and Don Quixote and Sancho went theirs.
(1,954 words)
Exercises
Ⅰ. How well did you read?
1. [Note the reason] Why did Don Quixote attempt to fight lions?
2. [Give the reason] Why is it humorous when the lions did not come out of the cage?
3. [Check the details] How did Sancho and the keeper of the lions behave when Don Quixote asked the keeper to open the cage of the lions?
4. [Note the fact] What did Don Quixote think he had proven by his encounter with the lions? What did he actually prove?
5、[Evaluate the information] Do you think Don Quixote was courageous? Explain your answer.
Ⅱ. Read for words and expressions:
1. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined words.
(1) By this time the cart with the flags had come up, unattended by anyone except the carter on a mule, and a man sitting at the door of the cart. (Para. 6, line 1)
A. with its owner not present
B. not given care or attention
C. being given careful thought
(2) “Sir, do something to keep my master, Don Quixote, from tackling those lions;for if he does, they’ll tear us all to pieces.” (Para. 11, line 2)
A. dealing with B. speaking to C. striking on
2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.
(1) “Now, come who will, here am I, ready to try conclusions with anyone.” (Para. 5,line 3)
A. reach an agreement B. reach a conclusion C. compete with
(2) I open the cages and let the lions loose, and that I warn this gentleman that he will be accountable for all the harm and mischief which these beasts may do, and for my salary and dues as well. (Para. 15, line 4)
A. be responsible for
B. benefit from
C. use well and profitably
(3) Sancho, with tears in his eyes, entreated his master to give up an enterprise compared with which all the feats he had attempted in the whole course of his life were cakes and fancy bread. (Para. 16, line 1)
A. begged his master to
B. convinced his master to
C. reminded his master to
(4) … both strove to ① get away from the cart before the lions broke loose②. (Para.17, line 5)
① A. walked with long steps B. tried very hard to C. struggled to
② A. escaped restriction B. became unfastened C. was set free
(5) Are there any enchantments that can prevail against true valor? (Para. 30, line 2)
A. persuade
B. spread
C. defeat