Altisidora's Bell and Cat Fright — Don Quixote

Sleepless from Altisidora's serenade and burst stockings, Don Quixote dresses for the duke and duchess but meets Altisidora's feigned swoon; he says he knows the cause and asks for a lute tonight, promising early love needs prompt disillusion.

The damsel and duchess plot a harmless trick; after a day of charming talk, at eleven he finds a guitar, tunes it, and sings a ballad praising constancy with Dulcinea painted on his heart.

From the gallery above his window they lower a cord with more than a hundred bells and drop a sack of cats with bells on their tails; candles go out, cats rush his chamber, and he draws his sword shouting against enchanters.

One cat holds his nose tooth and nail until the duke pulls it off; Quixote's face is full of holes as a sieve, Altisidora bandages him and whispers that his obstinacy may keep Dulcinea enchanted, and he spends five days in bed while Hamete returns to Sancho's government.