ROZINANTE 173 



what better name can be given him than Ro- 

 zinante, which means common-horse-before? 

 There is nothing in the world so simple or so 

 easily understood." 



And so the troublesome matter was settled, and 

 the steed was called Rozinante. Then his master, 

 having donned some rusty old pieces of armor 

 which had not been worn for a hundred years or 

 more, mounted him and rode out in search of 

 knightly adventures. It was no doubt a funny 

 sight to all who saw them — the lean and sorry 

 horse, ill-fed and ill-kept, and his strangely ac- 

 coutered rider, wandering through the country to 

 protect the innocent, to punish evil-doers, and to 

 perform brave deeds generally. But to Don 

 Quixote it was the most serious thing possible. 

 " When the history of my famous achievements 

 is given to the world," he said to himself, " the 

 learned author will doubtless begin it in this 

 manner : 



" ' Scarce had the ruddy-colored Phoebus be- 

 gun to spread the golden tresses of his hair over 

 the vast surface of the earthly globe, and scarce 

 had those feathered poets of the grove, the pretty 

 painted birds, tuned their little pipes to sing their 

 early welcomes to the beauteous Aurora, when 



