When the dinner was placed before the emperor he found it so nice that he ate much more than was good for him . The next morning , as soon as he woke , he sent for his head cook , and told him to send up the same dishes as before . The cook , seized with fright at this command , which he knew he could not fulfil , fell on his knees , and confessed the truth . The emperor was so astonished that he forgot to scold , and while he was thinking over the matter , some of his pages came in and said that their new companion had been heard to boast that he knew where Iliane was to be found -- the celebrated Iliane of the song which begins : ` Golden Hair The fields are green , ' and that to their certain knowledge he had a curl of her hair in his possession . When he heard that , the emperor desired the page to be brought before him , and , as soon as the princess obeyed his summons , he said to her abruptly : ` Fet-Fruners , you have hidden from me the fact that you knew the golden-haired Iliane ! Why did you do this ? for I have treated you more kindly than all my other pages . ' Then , after making the princess show him the golden curl which she wore round her neck , he added : ` Listen to me ; unless by some means or other you bring me the owner of this lock , I will have your head cut off in the place where you stand . Now go ! ' In vain the poor girl tried to explain how the lock of hair came into her possession ; the emperor would listen to nothing , and , bowing low , she left his presence and went to consult Sunlight what she was to do . At his first words she brightened up . ` Do not be afraid , mistress ; only last night my brother appeared to me in a dream and told me that a genius had carried off Iliane , whose hair you picked up on the road . But Iliane declares that , before she marries her captor , he must bring her , as a present , the whole stud of mares which belong to her . The genius , half crazy with love , thinks of nothing night and day but how this can be done , and meanwhile she is quite safe in the island swamps of the sea . Go back to the emperor and ask him for twenty ships filled with precious merchandise . The rest you shall know by-and-by . ' On hearing this advice , the princess went at once into the emperor 's presence . ` May a long life be yours , O Sovereign all mighty ! ' said she . ' I have come to tell you that I can do as you command if you will give me twenty ships , and load them with the most precious wares in your kingdom . '
` You shall have all that I possess XXXXX you will bring me the golden-haired Iliane , ' said the emperor .
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