Although Cervantes certainly had no thought of writing a story for children, there are many passages in Don Quixote which appeal particularly to young readers and it is hoped that this adaptation of such passages will serve a useful purpose in awakening a desire to become further acquainted with that great world's classic.For six days Don Quixote lay in bed, sullen and sorrowful because of his overthrow. While very much of the work has necessarily been omitted, the various adventures are so related as to form a continuous narrative and in every way an effort is made to give a clear idea of the manner and content of the original. It is not so much an ab-ridgment of the great book by Cervantes as it is a rewriting of some of its most interesting parts. These considerations have led to the preparation of the present small volume. And yet no scholar can afford to be ignorant of a work so famous and so enjoyable. In these days of many books and hasty reading, it is scarcely possible that any person should read the whole of Don Quixote in its original form. The person who would get at the kernel of this famous book and know something of its plan and its literary worth, must either struggle through many pages of tiresome details and unnecessary digressions, or he must resort to much ingenious skipping. For it fills more than a thousand closely printed pages, and the story itself is interrupted and encumbered by episodes and tedious passages which are no longer interesting and which we have no time to read. In its original form, however, it is a bulky work, dismaying the present-day reader by its vastness. And herein lies its chief claim to greatness, that it seems to have been written not for one country nor for one age alone, but to give delight to all mankind.
It moves to pity rather than ridicule, and to tears as well as laughter. It touches the sen-se of humor in every heart. The story is so simple that every one can understand it, and yet it has in it so much wisdom that the wisest may derive pleasure from it. It has been read and enjoyed by men of the most diverse tastes and conditions. It has been published in numberless editions. It has been translated into every language of Europe, even Turkish and Slavonic. Among the great books of the world it holds a permanent place. It was published in two parts, the first in 1605 and the second in 1615-now just about three hundred years ago. THE romance entitled "The Achievements of the Ingenious Gentleman, Don Quixote de la Mancha," was originally written in Spanish by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
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