Here they got into a little boat in which the poor old boatman was sleeping , and when he woke up and saw the lovely Princess , with all her diamonds and her spiders ' -- web scarf , he did not know what to think , and obeyed her instantly when she commanded him to set out . They could see neither moon nor stars , but in the Queen 's neck-handkerchief there was a carbuncle which glowed like fifty torches . Fanfaronade asked the Princess where she would like to go , but she only answered that she did not care where she went as long as he was with her . ` But , Princess , ' said he , ' I dare not take you back to King Merlin 's court . He would think hanging too good for me . ' ` Oh , in that case , ' she answered , ` we had better go to Squirrel Island ; it is lonely enough , and too far off for anyone to follow us there . ' So she ordered the old boatman to steer for Squirrel Island . Meanwhile the day was breaking , and the King and Queen and all the courtiers began to wake up and rub their eyes , and think it was time to finish the preparations for the wedding . And the Queen asked for her neck-handkerchief , that she might look smart . Then there was a scurrying hither and thither , and a hunting everywhere : they looked into every place , from the wardrobes to the stoves , and the Queen herself ran about from the garret to the cellar , but the handkerchief was nowhere to be found . By this time the King had missed his dagger , and the search began all over again . They opened boxes and chests of which the keys had been lost for a hundred years , and found numbers of curious things , but not the dagger , and the King tore his beard , and the Queen tore her hair , for the handkerchief and the dagger were the most valuable things in the kingdom . When the King saw that the search was hopeless he said : ` Never mind , let us make haste and get the wedding over before anything else is lost . ' And then he asked where the Princess was . Upon this her nurse came forward and said : ` Sire , I have been seeking her these two hours , but she is nowhere to be found . ' This was more than the Queen could bear . She gave a shriek of alarm and fainted away , and they had to pour two barrels of eau-de-cologne over her before she recovered . When she came to herself everybody was looking for the Princess in the greatest terror and confusion , but as she did not appear , the King said to his page : ` Go and find the Ambassador Fanfaronade , who is doubtless asleep in some corner , and tell him the sad news . ' So the page hunted hither and thither , but Fanfaronade was no more to be found than the Princess , the dagger , or the neck-handkerchief ! Then the King summoned his counsellors and his guards , and , accompanied by the Queen , went into his great hall .
As he had not had time to prepare his speech beforehand , the King ordered XXXXX silence should be kept for three hours , and at the end of that time he spoke as follows : ` Listen , great and small !
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