Book Two also introduces the character of Samson Carrasco, a young man from Don Quixote's village. A recent graduate of Salamanca University, Carrasco takes on the earlier roles of the priest and the barber in attempting to rescue and keep Don Quixote away from danger, but Don Quixote is not interested in being "rescued." He is determined to go to Tobosa to pay his respects to Dulcinea. They encounter three peasant girls and by some deception, Sancho hopes that his master will accept one of these as being Dulcinea. When events or appearances run counter to his expectations, Don Quixote tends to believe that enchanters have worked their mischief. In this instance, he believes enchanters have made Dulcinea look like an ugly peasant girl.
Don Quixote unexpectedly wins a battle with a knight (The Knight of the Mirrors), who turns out to be none other than Samson Carrasco in disguise. Samson had hoped to get the Don back home to safety by disguising himself as a rival knight. The plan backfires. Shortly afterwards, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza meet the "Knight in the Green Topcoat," which includes the episode of the lion with whom the Don wants to do battle.
The major portion of this section is devoted to an unnamed duke and duchess who, with their retainers, play a series of pranks — in the form of burlesque pageants — on Quixote. They also cause injury to both the knight and his squire. Another vital element is the appointment of Sancho Panza as governor of an island — another elaborate prank that ends with Panza renouncing the life of a feudal governor and showing a deep layer of loyalty to Quixote.
