"Friend Sancho," said he to himself, "what's this you are doing?"

"Why, hunting for a Princess, who, my master says, is the Sun of
Beauty, and all sorts of other fine things, and who lives in a King's
palace, or great castle, somewhere or other."

"And how are you going to find her?"

"Why, it's like looking for a needle in a bundle of hay, to look for
Dulcinea all over Toboso. My master's mad, there's no doubt of that;
and perhaps I'm not very much better, for they say birds of a feather
flock together. But if he's so mad as to mistake windmills for giants,
and flocks of sheep for armies, why, it shouldn't be so very hard to
make him believe that the first country lass I meet is the Lady
Dulcinea. If he won't believe, I'll swear it, and stand to it, so that
he'll think some of those wicked wizards of his have played another
trick on him, and have changed her into some other shape just to spite
him."

Having thus settled his plans, Sancho lay there till the evening, so
that his master might think that all the day had been spent in going
to and from Toboso, and in looking for Dulcinea.

As luck would have it, just as he mounted his ass to ride back to Don
Quixote, he spied coming that way three country lasses mounted on
asses. As soon as Sancho saw the girls, he made haste to get to his
master.

"What news, Sancho?" asked the Knight. "Has your fortune been good?"