As the author points out, there were a lot of things in those days that excited the common folk of rural France. It seemed that the country was in a state of near permanent turmoil, with people regularly rushing home for their swords and muskets at the slightest hint of trouble. Spaniards, Huguenots (French Protestants), and wolves were just some of the many dangers that always seemed to threaten the stability and tranquility of French rural life.

As the story begins, it would appear that the good people of Meung are in the midst of yet another commotion, whose epicenter is an inn called The Jolly Miller. Only this time it's not invading Spaniards or rebellious Protestants who've breached the peace, but a young, would-be cavalryman sitting upon an old yellow horse with no hair on its tail.

The young man is, of course, D'Artagnan, trying hard to look like a dashing warrior but in actual fact resembling nothing so much as Don Quixote, the foolish old man of the famous story who also fancied himself as a knight but who, like D'Artagnan, simply looked rather silly.

It's fair to say that the locals have never seen anything quite like this before. So off they go to The Jolly Miller to get a good look at this strange individual in their midst.