Don Quixote

Returning with the boat, Ruy lies to gain entry to the merchant’s home beside the sea. He sees Zoraida for the first time and immediately falls in love. When he tries to help her escape several days later, her father overhears Ruy and his men. The men take the merchant as a prisoner to stop him raising the alarm. When he hears that his daughter plans to become a Christian, however, he insults her and throws himself into the sea. Before Ruy, Zoraida, and the other men can return to Christian lands, however, they are captured by French pirates. The pirates steal everything valuable, though Zoraida is lucky enough not to be sexually assaulted. Given a small boat to return to shore, the group is met by a Spanish shepherd boy, who mistakes them for an invading army. He fetches the cavalry, though the men are lucky that one of their number is the nephew of one of the calvary officers. They are taken to a city and Zoraida is able to visit a church for the first time. 

Another group of travelers arrives at the inn. The group includes Ruy‘s brother Juan, who has now become a judge and has been offered a job in America. The brothers are delighted that they have briefly been reunited, and Quixote loudly declares that everything has been made possible by knight-errantry. Eventually, the guests at the inn retire to bed. Quixote insists on standing guard outside. The guests are eventually awoken by a mysterious but beautiful singing voice. 

Juan is traveling with his daughter, Dona Clara. The sound of the man singing wakes the guests in the morning, and Clara immediately recognizes the voice as that of Don Luis, an aristocratic young man whom she loves very much. Though she has never spoken personally to Luis, they are aware of one another. Luis has followed Clara and her father to the inn so he can speak to her before she departs to America. He has been following her coach while disguised as a footman. Without a mother or another confidant, Clara has no one to speak to about her feelings for Luis. She tells Dorotea she loves Luis and wants to marry him but worries that her father will disapprove; Dorotea promises to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, Quixote patrols the grounds outside the inn.

Maritornes and the innkeeper’s daughter decide to play a prank on Quixote. While he is in the barn thinking about Dulcinea, they beckon him toward the hayloft. They ensnare his hand in a rope and tie him to the hayloft door. Quixote, still riding on Rocinante, realizes he will be in trouble as soon as his horse moves. He blames the magicians for this latest incident. When Rocinante spots a female horse and decides to investigate, Quixote is left hanging from the hayloft by his arm. He yells out in pain. 

The innkeeper hears Quixote’s cries of pain. Maritornes quickly unties Quixote before anyone discovers the prank. Quixote angrily remounts his horse, grumbling about the magicians and their tricks. A group of men arrives at the inn and reveal they are searching for a young man disguised as a footman. One of the men finds Luis sleeping outside the inn. Luis wakes and realizes the men are employed by his father. He refuses to go home with them until he has declared his love for Clara. The other guests gather to watch him argue with his father’s men. Juan overhears the argument and leads Luis aside to discuss the matter in private. At the same time, two guests try to leave without paying. When the innkeeper demands money, they attack the innkeeper. The innkeeper’s daughter runs to Quixote for help. However, he refuses to fight low born people. He insists he can only fight knights. The innkeeper’s family angrily accuses him of being a coward. Eventually, however, Quixote convinces the guests to pay up. Juan and Luis discuss his disguise and his behavior. Luis begs Juan for permission to marry Clara, but Juan asks for time to think about the matter. As they talk, another guest arrives at the inn. This guest is the same barber from whom Quixote stole a basin he believed to be a helmet. The barber accuses Panza and Quixote of theft. Panza explains that the stolen items were simply the spoils of war. Quixote blames magicians if the stolen items are not quite what they appear to be. 

The guests at the inn entertain Quixote’s delusions. They agree the barber’s basin is actually a helmet, angering the barber and the new arrivals at the inn. The guests take a vote and decide the basin is actually a helmet, causing the barber to begin to doubt himself. A group of police officers from the Holy Brotherhood join the barber in questioning Quixote, so he attacks one officer and causes a big brawl. The fight only ends when Quixote decides he is in one of his favorite books, and he insists that everyone calm down. One of the police officers realizes Quixote matches the description on an arrest warrant for the man who freed the prisoners. He confronts Quixote, who erupts in a rage and tries to choke the officer. As the men are separated, Quixote rants about the importance of knights and insists they should be exempt from the law. 

Pero Perez reasons with the police officers. He convinces them that any judge would recognize that Quixote is not a well man, so they would immediately release him. The police settle the issue between the barber and Panza, though Perez secretly purchases the brass basin from the barber as a gift for Quixote. As Quixote prepares to resume his battle against the imaginary giant, Panza notices Dorotea and Fernando are enjoying a private moment. He tells Quixote, who becomes angry at Panza’s suggestion that the supposed princess is anything less than virtuous. Dorotea returns to calm the situation, blaming magicians for Panza’s mistake.

Meanwhile, Perez organizes the other guests to help escort Quixote home. While Master Nicholas tells a story about Quixote’s future with Dulcinea, the guests guide Quixote toward a wooden crate. When Quixote is inside, the crate is placed on the back of a cart. Quixote contents himself with the suggestion that magicians have tricked him once again, and he believes that he is being returned to Dulcinea. 

Panza realizes Quixote is trapped in a crate. He tries to reason with his master, but Quixote insists he wants to be inside the crate, blaming the magicians once again. Panza is forced to watch while the other guests depart. On the road, a group of priests catches up with the party and they are intrigued by the man in the crate. Quixote explains to the newcomers that some kind of magician has locked him in a crate while Panza shares his suspicion that they are being tricked. Unfortunately for Quixote, the priests from Toledo share Pero Perez’s dislike for tales of chivalry. One of them derides the stories of knights as a danger to the society. 

The priests from Toledo and Pero Perez discuss literature. Panza takes the opportunity to talk to Quixote, who is still trapped in the crate. He tries to convince Quixote that magicians are not to blame; he reveals the magicians are just Perez and Nicholas in disguise. To convince him there is nothing magical about the situation, Panza questions whether Quixote needs to urinate. Realizing he does, Quixote asks to be saved. 

Quixote insists that magic can work in mysterious ways. Though he may be caught under a spell, he explains to Panza, he still feels basic human urges. When the traveling party pauses their journey to eat, Panza convinces the others to briefly allow Quixote out of the crate. The priest from Toledo continues his lecture about the dangers of literature and tells Quixote to spend more time learning about history. Quixote responds by saying many of the heroes in his books are based on historical figures. The priest accepts this reasoning but insists the stories are very exaggerated.