Don Quixote is a novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The book, published in two parts (1605 & 1615), is considered to be the first modern novel. It was first written in Spanish, and soon afterwards was translated to English. The main character, Don Quixote, is a paragon of chivalry, but in a deeply flawed and impractical way. Don Quixote is so influential as a character that the description of his behavior has entered the comman vernacular as "quixotic."

As a brief synopsis, the story is about Alonso Quixano, a rich middle-aged man. Quixano, having read many tales about chivalry and knights, goes crazy and believes he is a knight named Don Quixote. He rides around the country with his squire, Sancho, having adventures. He believes his adventures are real, but everyone else laughs at him.

One of the most famous stories in the book is Don Quixote's fight with the windmills. He sees some windmills and thinks they are giants. When he rides to fight with them, he is knocked off his horse. Sancho tells him that are only windmills, but Don Quixote does not believe him. He is sure a magician changed windmills into the giants to hurt him.