Summary Chapter 52

The canon enjoyed the tale. Don Quixote assures the goatherd if he were not enchanted, he would rescue Leandra from the convent and restore her to Eugenio.

When the goatherd hears that he claims to be a knight, he remarks that Quixote must either be joking or be lacking brains. Quixote, angry, throws a loaf of bread at him. They get into a scuffle.

Sancho alone is distraught and wants to stop the fight. The others are amused and enjoying it. Quixote calls a halt to fight when he hears a trumpet.

It is bunch of penitents in a procession with a holy shrine, begging Heaven to send rain and end the year-long drought. Quixote believes it is a bunch of ruffians carrying away a great lady. Sancho, the curate, and the barber try to stop Quixote as he charges the people.

Quixote orders the people to release the lady. The people laugh at him, provoking his anger. He attacks the litter. One of the people carrying it defends himself and knocks Quixote off his horse. When the peasant sees Quixote is not moving, he runs away, believing he has killed him. Quixote asks Sancho to carry him back to the cart, for his shoulder is broken. Sancho agrees, suggesting they return to their village and make new plans. The procession goes on their way. The troopers accompanying the curate refuse to go further, so he pays them.

They enter their village a week later. The townspeople are amazed at the sight. A boy goes ahead to inform the housekeeper and niece. Sancho’s wife is more concerned about the donkey than about Sancho. She then asks how he has bnefited from being Quixote’s squire. Sancho tells her he will show her the spoils when they return home, and he is to be a governor of an island. The curate tells the housekeeper and niece to keep a sharp eye on Quixote to make sure he doesn’t escape.

The author states that on Quixote's third sally, he went to Sargossa and won many tournaments. The circumstances of his death are a mystery. A leaden box was found by an old physician that contained many epitaphs to Quixote, Sancho, Rocinante, and Dulcinea.