I started reading Don Quixote and it struck me that he was riding a wooden horse that he believed could fly long distances. I knew I had read about such a "magic horse" before but I could not remember where. I had a feeling that I encountered it in an Arab story, but I still could not remember the book. I kept on wondering myself and then, suddenly, I remember! It was in "One Hundred and One Nights"! A book with Arab stories translated by Claudia Ott. One of the stories talks about a wooden horse that had a winding mechanism which, when operated, allowed the horse to fly high up in the sky and very fast. At that time, I found the story fascinating (and I still do). The manuscript that Claudia translated dates from 1234/5, Can you imagine how old this story might be if the manuscript dates from back then? And still, the story is so futuristic! Fascinating! Given that One Hundred and One Nights precedes Don Quixote by almost 400 years, do you think that Cervantes might have know about the Arab story and might have been inspired by it? In fact the Moors were in parts of Spain (including the Andalusia where Cervantes lived) until 1490. It could be a possibility, an interesting one I'd say. Imagine! I am reading a book written 400 years ago, that might have been inspired by a story 400 years older than it! Fascinating. :)