By-and-by, after they had between them carefully thought over what they should do to carry out their object, the curate hit upon an idea very well adapted to humour Don Quixote, and effect their purpose; and his notion, which he explained to the barber, was that he himself should assume the disguise of a wandering damsel, while the other should try as best he could to pass for a squire, and that they should thus proceed to where Don Quixote was, and he, pretending to be an aggrieved and distressed damsel, should ask a favour of him, which as a valiant knight-errant he could not refuse to grant; and the favour he meant to ask him was that he should accompany her whither she would conduct him, in order to redress a wrong which a wicked knight had done her, while at the same time she should entreat him not to require her to remove her mask, nor ask her any question touching her circumstances until he had righted her with the wicked knight. And he had no doubt that Don Quixote would comply with any request made in these terms, and that in this way they might remove him and take him to his own village, where they would endeavour to find out if his extraordinary madness admitted of any kind of remedy.
Y fue que dijo al barbero que lo que había pensado era que él se vestiría en hábito de doncella andante, y que él procurase ponerse lo mejor que pudiese como escudero, y que así irían adonde don Quijote estaba, fingiendo ser ella una doncella afligida y menesterosa, y le pediría un don, el cual él no podría dejársele de otorgar, como valeroso caballero andante. Y que el don que le pensaba pedir era que se viniese con ella donde ella le llevase, a desfacelle un agravio que un mal caballero le tenía fecho; y que le suplicaba, ansimesmo, que no la mandase quitar su antifaz, ni la demandase cosa de su facienda, fasta que la hubiese fecho derecho de aquel mal caballero; y que creyese, sin duda, que don Quijote vendría en todo cuanto le pidiese por este término; y que desta manera le sacarían de allí y le llevarían a su lugar, donde procurarían ver si tenía algún remedio su estraña locura.