and will follow the honorable profession of knight errantry.” With that, he started off down the road. I was puzzled by what he said about me getting to be a knight some day, but I figured I’d better follow him. I didn’t have many other options at that point. I sure as heck didn’t want to be here by myself.
We rode for about an hour, ’til we got to the top of a hill. We looked around the countryside and tried to figure out where we were. There was a forest off to one side. On the other was an open field, where we saw a huge cloud of dust moving towards us. There wasn’t any wind, so it couldn’t be a dust storm.
Sir Don suddenly perked up. “Ah—an army of soldiers coming our way. I only hope that they are friendly soldiers. Just to be sure, I will get my lance at the ready.” He grabbed his pole and started riding toward the dust cloud. I followed, but a ways behind. After what happened at the inn, I didn’t want to have anything to do with soldiers.
Sir Don rode right into the middle of the dust cloud. When I got close enough to see inside the cloud, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. There wasn’t any army! What was causing the dust was a huge flock of sheep, being driven by some shepherds. In the middle of the flock was Sir Don, still on his horse, but trapped by all the sheep.
“Sir Don!” I called out as loud as I could. “This isn’t an army—it’s a flock of sheep.”
Sir Don turned to one of the shepherds. “Is this true, valiant sir, that this is no army but only sheep?
With a very amused look on his face, the shepherd decided to humor Sir Don and play along. “Oh great knight, it is true that this is no army, but rather a mere flock of sheep. There is no need to do battle, for the sheep mean you no harm. If you will but hold your horse still, I will get the sheep away from you so you can go on your way.” Waving his stick, the shepherd gradually moved the sheep. When Sir Don got back to where I was waiting, he seemed a bit flustered.
“Well, Sandy, now you see what a knight’s life is like. When we see a cloud of dust, as knights we first assume that the dust is caused by an army of soldiers. If it is a good army, it may need our help; if it is a bad army, we must do what we can to defeat it, or at least slow it down before it does harm to others. This time, it wasn’t an army—it was sheep—but if every time we saw a dust cloud we assumed it was made by sheep, we would miss our opportunity to carry out our knightly duty on that occasion when it was truly an army in need of our help.”
Finally this guy was making sense! It was like my mom and me. She thinks that every time there’s a problem, it’s because we forgot to do something or didn’t work hard enough. Lots of times it seems that there’s something going on that isn’t fair, but my friends don’t see it. Like Mr. Priestly, my school teacher. He keeps telling me that if I don’t work harder and pay attention, I’m going to flunk school and have to repeat. But the things he wants us to read are boring, and have nothing to do with real life. The stories in the knight books are what life is all about. There’s something in those stories I need to learn, and once I learn it, I’m sure everything will be OK. All Mr. Priestly can see is sheep.
Sir Don started riding down the road. I caught up with him and rode alongside for a while. I was starting to get hungry, since we hadn’t eaten breakfast. I asked Sir Don if we could stop and eat something.
“Well, my good friend, that is a problem. You see, we have no food to eat. Perhaps you didn’t notice, but all the food we had was in the saddlebags that were on your donkey. While they were bouncing you up and down at the inn, someone took the saddlebags—I guess as payment for our staying there…”
I looked around and saw that what he said was true. No saddlebags! No food! Now what were we going to do?
Chapter 5
In which some traveling monks help Sandy and Sir Don
No food, no water, and no idea where we were. Was this what the life of a knight is like? Maybe I didn’t want to be a knight after all.
“Sandy, my friend, this is what it means to be a knight. Sometimes the life of a knight is dangerous; sometimes things don’t work out as you planned. Other times, though, we are just a step away from becoming as great as kings. I could tell you the story of many knights who have gone through worse than what has happened to us. Perhaps you have heard the story of Amadis of Gaul, one of the greatest knights of all time?”
“Yes—I know all about Amadis of Gaul. That was one of my favorite books…before my mom threw them all away.”
“Well then you know that Amadis had to endure many more hardships than we can imagine. Once, he was captured by an evil wizard, who tied Amadis to a column in a castle and threatened to kill him. Amadis barely got away. Yet you know how famous and how important Amadis later became. So, let us not get discouraged or give up hope. We’ll find food, and we’ll find water. Let’s just ride on until we do.”
Did this guy really know what he was talking about? Where were we going to find food, out here in the countryside? And did he have any idea how to help me get back home?
We kept on going down the road for what seemed like a couple of hours. When we came around a bend in the road, near some trees, we started to hear something coming our way. It sounded like men singing or chanting. Farther down the road was a whole group of men, all wearing robes that looked as though they were made out of brown blankets. Some of them had hoods covering their heads.
“Well, Sandy, now is your chance. It is as if Providence has heard our prayers. Surely these men will share some of their food with two traveling knights, for it is the duty of all citizens to share their provisions, however meager, with knights errant whenever they encounter them. Besides, these men look to be men of the Church. Surely they will give us food. All you need to do is ride in front of them, announce to them that we are knights errant, and ask them for food.”
“Me?” I asked, amazed. I wasn’t a knight; at least I didn’t feel like one. What if they weren’t priests or monks, but instead were robbers?
“Sandy, all knights learn courage by doing things that make them feel afraid. Here, take my lance. I don’t think you’ll need to use it, but having it with you will make it clear to them who they are dealing with.” He handed me his wooden pole, and waved me on towards the men.
I wanted to act the way a knight would when he faced danger. So instead of giving in to my fear, I gave my donkey a gentle tug to get him going. I began to move towards the oncoming group of men. When I got about fifteen feet from them, I stopped the donkey, help up my pole, and said in my best knightly voice, “Hail, fellow travelers! We are two knights in need of help, and were hoping you might give it to us.”
All the men stopped walking. The one in front looked up at me with a puzzled look. “Young man, we’re in a hurry. We have to get to the inn before it gets dark. So tell me quickly, who are you and what type of help do you need? And you don’t have to point that silly stick at me.”
I laid the pole across my saddle. “I am Sandy of Idaho. My companion is the famous knight, Sir Don Quixote of La Mancha. We are traveling in search of adventure, and trying to find the way to Idaho. We have lost all our food, and ask that you share some of yours with us so we won’t go hungry.”
A few of the other men in the crowd began to laugh. The one in front turned and shushed them. “Well, Sandy of Idaho, why should we give you and your sad-looking friend over there food?”
“We are knights errant, and ask your help in giving us some food.”
The man in front just stared at me for a while, without saying anything. Had I said something wrong? What would he do if he found out I wasn’t really a knight, at least not yet? Then I saw him smile, and his face changed completely. He wasn’t mad at me!
“Well, young Sir Sandy, we will gladly share our food with you, for we are monks and priests, on our way to a funeral in Segovia. When we became monks and priests, we promised always to share what we have with those who are in need—and it looks to me as though you and the Knight with the Sad Face over there