The music heralds the arrival of a wagon. On a platform in the rear sits a lovely young girl with a veil over her face, while a black-gowned figure who says he is Merlin stands next to her. If Sancho Panza would voluntarily bestow three thousand three hundred lashes upon his "bare brawny buttocks," the enchantment would be broken. Sancho starts violently at these words of Merlin and with a hundred objections refuses to work this task. Threatened by Don Quixote, begged by Dulcinea, Sancho finally gives in after the duke promises to bestow his government on a more compassionate ruler. The squire makes some conditions, however, on his task of self-lashing, to which Merlin agrees. Don Quixote hugs his squire now, kissing him again and again in gratitude. The duke and duchess are also pleased and resolve to continue with other such pleasant diversions.
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