Directly after being made a knight by the innkeeper, Don Quixote sets out and encounters his first adventure. A young lad is crying out. He has been tied to a tree and a farmer is beating him.

"I thank Heaven for this lucky moment," he said to himself. "I shall now have an adventure. [45] No doubt I shall rescue some one who is in peril, or I shall correct some grievous wrong."

He put spurs to Rozinante and rode as fast as he could to the spot from which the cries seemed to issue.

At the edge of the woody thicket he saw a horse tied to a small oak tree. Not far away, a [46] lad of about fifteen years was tied to another oak. The lad's shoulders and back were bare, and it was he who was making the doleful outcry. For a stout country fellow was standing over him and beating him unmercifully with a horsewhip.

"Hold! hold!" cried Don Quixote, rushing up. "It is an unmanly act to strike a person who cannot strike back."

The farmer was frightened at the sudden appearance of a knight on horseback. He dropped his whip. He stood with open mouth and trembling hands, not knowing what to expect.

Don Quixote demands that he stop beating the boy. The farmer claims that the boy is lazy and neglectful while watching his sheep. The issue of not paying the young lad his wages for nine months comes up. Don Quixote commands the farmer to pay the boy for his labor.

Of course, the farmer assures Quixote that he will return home for his money and pay the lad.

Don Quixote is satisfied that the farmer will do what he has been commanded to do. Quixote rides away feeling that his first adventure is a success. However, no sooner has Quixote left the scene until the farmer begins beating the lad again. The boys' cries are not heard for Quixote is too far away by this point.