Physical Comedy At Its Best

The Scenario:   

Don Quixote, on one of his fantastical romps through La Mancha mistakes a herd of sheep for a great army. After wildly slaying a bunch of them, the sheep herders decide to get serious shepherd-style. Anyway, Sancho and Don Quixote get worked like marionettes and are left badly beaten. Don Quixote drinks a magical medicinal "balsam", read: some vinegar and random gross things, then asks Sancho to check if he lost many teeth in the scuffle. Sancho looks into his mouth only to get a face-first sampling of Quixote's stomach contents. Upon smelling the balsam that Quixote had ingested and remembering a previous event where he got very ill from it, Sancho proceeded to vomit all over Don Quixote. There they sat badly-beaten and vomiting on each other. Now that's comedy, seventeenth century-style!  

The Original: 

But go not just yet, for I want thy help and assistance; come hither, and see how many of my teeth and grinders are missing, for I feel as if there was not one left in my mouth." Sancho came so close that he almost put his eyes into his mouth; now just at that moment the balsam had acted on the stomach of Don Quixote, so, at the very instant when Sancho came to examine his mouth, he discharged all its contents with more force than a musket, and full into the beard of the compassionate squire. "Holy Mary!" cried Sancho, "what is this that has happened me? Clearly this sinner is mortally wounded, as he vomits blood from the mouth;" but considering the matter a little more closely he perceived by the colour, taste, and smell, that it was not blood but the balsam from the flask which he had seen him drink; and he was taken with such a loathing that his stomach turned, and he vomited up his inside over his very master, and both were left in a precious state. 

-Cervantes, 1605 (Vol 1. Chap. 18)

Why You Should Laugh: 

Rarely will you imagine you'll find a situation in classic literature where people are beaten and then vomit on each other. Not since Bob Saget's role in the documentary "The Aristocrats" has humanity been witness to such base yet outright funny vomit-humour.

Don Quixote

The version of Don Quixote that I bought is a formidable Harvard Classics edition which is more than 600 pages of compact writing. I took it on my recent trip to France and Germany and amazingly almost finished it. It turns out that there is good reason why this is such an influential piece of writing. Apparently it's one of the first popular novels out there. I have to admit that it was in fact an enjoyable read and Miguel de Cervantes has very imaginative and timeless observations. I think I'll gradually phase in some good quotes from the book, starting with this one- 

For he that can have good and evil doth choose,

For Ill that betides him, must not patience lose.

-Cervantes

Quite right really. How much more can one read into that than just "if it's your fault, i don't pity you". It's kind of like how Ice Cube could have just been happy with his music career but instead has chosen to put out a new "didn't make it to theatres" comedy-movie every three weeks. It was his choice so I won't lose sleep over that poor, decision! (though he's probably getting paid enough to not care)