THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES By Hans Christian Andersen
Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent
all his money on them. He did not care at all about his army; nor was he interested in going
to the theatre or hunting in the woods, except for the sake of showing off his new clothes.
He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and rather than spending time in his meeting room,
like any other king or emperor, this Emperor was almost always to be found in his dressing room.
Time passed merrily in the large town where the Emperor lived and new people arrived every day..
One day, two rascals, calling themselves weavers,
made their appearance. They claimed that they knew how to weave the most beautiful cloth imaginable.
The colours and patterns were extremely beautiful and the clothes made out of
this clothl would be invisible to all those who were too stupid to see it.
“These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!” thought the Emperor. “If I wore such a suit,
I would at once be able to distinguish the wise from the stupid! This stuff must be woven for me
immediately.” And he paid the weavers a large sum of money to begin their work immediately.
So the two rascals set up two looms, and pretended to work busily,
though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the most delicate silk
and the purest gold thread, all of which went directly into their own bags,
and then continued their pretend work at the empty looms until late at night.
“I wonder how the weavers are getting on with my cloth,” said the Emperor to himself,
after a little time had passed.; He felt a little embarrassed, however, when he remembered
that those who were stupid, or unfit to do their jobs, would be unable to see the cloth. He
believed that he himself would be clever enough to see it, but, to be sure, he thought he would
send somebody else to see how the weavers were getting along.. All the people throughout the
city had heard of the peculiar cloth that could only be seen by those who were clever enough,
and all were anxious to learn how wise, or how ignorant, their neighbors might prove to be.
“I will send my faithful old minister to the weavers,”
thought the Emperor. “He will be best able to see how the cloth looks;
for he is a man of sense, and no one can be more suitable for his job than he is.”
So the faithful old minister went into the hall, where the two rascals were working with all their
might, at their empty looms. “What can be the meaning of this?” thought the old man, opening
his eyes very wide. “I cannot see anything! Not even the tiniest bit of thread on the looms!”
However, he was very careful not to say anything out loud.
The two tricksters beckoned the minister to come closer to their looms; and then
asked him what he thought about the pattern, and whether he thought the colours were beautiful,
all whilst pointing to the empty frames. No matter how hard the poor old minister looked,
he could see nothing on the looms, for of course, there was nothing there! “What!”
thought the minister to himself. “Is it possible that I am a fool? I have never thought so myself;
and if I am, then no one must ever find out. Can it be, that I am unfit for my job and position?
No, that must not be said either. I will never admit that I could not see the cloth”
“Well, Sir Minister!” said one of the cheats, still pretending to work.
“You have not said what you think about our work.” “Oh, it is excellent!” replied the old minister,
looking at the loom through his glasses. “This pattern,
and the colors, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful they are.”
“We would be very grateful,” said the rascals, and then they pointed out the different colours
and the patterns on the pretend cloth. The old minister listened closely to their words,
in order to repeat them to the Emperor; and then the rascals asked for more silk and gold,
saying that it was necessary to complete their work. However, they put everything that was
given them into their bags; and continued to pretend to work as hard as ever at their looms.
The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on, and to find
out whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just the same with this gentleman as with
the minister; he studied the looms on all sides, but could see nothing at all but the empty frames.
“Does the cloth appear as beautiful to you, as it did to the minister?”
asked the cheats, at the same time making the same gestures as before, and talking of the design and
colours which were, of course, not there. “I certainly am not stupid!” thought the
messenger. “It must be,that I am not fit for my job! That is very odd; however, no one shall
know anything about it.” And accordingly he praised the cloth he could not see, and
declared that he was delighted with both colors and patterns. “Indeed,” he said to the Emperor
when he returned, “the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent.”
The whole city was talking of the splendid cloth. And now the Emperor himself wished to see it,
while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court,
among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went to visit
the clever rascals, who, as soon as they were aware that the Emperor was on his way, went on
working harder than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.
“Isn’t it just magnificent?” said the two men who had already visited the looms,. “See,
Your Majesty, what splendid colours, and what a pattern! !” At the same time they pointed to the
empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.
“How can it be?” thought the Emperor to himself. “I can’t see a thing! This is terrible! ! Am
I a stupid, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen—Oh!
the cloth is charming,”he said, aloud. “I most certainly approve.” And he smiled most graciously,
and looked closely at the empty looms; for he most certainly would not admit
that he could not see the cloth that the other two men had praised so much.Everyone
in the group now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms,
but they could see no more than the others; nevertheless, they all exclaimed, “Oh,
how beautiful!” and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material,
for the parade that was soon approaching. “Magnificent! Charming! Excellent!”
they all said. The Emperor joined in with the merriness; and presented the rascals with a
ribbon, to be worn in their button-holes, and the title of “Gentlemen Weavers.”
The rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day of the parade, and had sixteen candles
burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the Emperor's new clothes.
They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors;
and sewed with needles without any thread in them. “See!” cried they, at
last. “The Emperor's new clothes are ready!” And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of
his court, came to the weavers; and the rascals raised their arms, as if in the act of holding
something up, saying, “Here are your Majesty's trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the cloak!
The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; you may feel as though you have nothing on at all
when dressed in these fine clothes, however that is the beauty of this delicate cloth.”
“Yes indeed!” said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see any cloth at all.
“If your Imperial Majesty will pleasant take off your clothes, we will fit on
the new suit, in front of the mirror.” The Emperor undressed, and the rascals pretended
to dress him in his new suit; the Emperor turning round, from side to side,in front of the mirror.
“How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes, and how well they
fit!” everyone cried out. “What a design! What colors! These are indeed royal robes!”
“The canopy that is to be carried over your Majesty, in the parade,
is waiting outside,” announced the chief master of the ceremonies.
“I am quite ready,” answered the Emperor. “Do my new clothes fit well?”
he asked, turning himself round again before the mirror, as if he were admiring his new clothes.
The chamberlains, who were to carry the train of the Emperor’s cloak, felt about on the ground,
as if they were lifting up the ends of the cloak; and pretended to be carrying something;
for they would by no means let it be noticed that they could neither see nor feel anything.
So the Emperor went along in the parade, walking under his high canopy in the midst
of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by,
and those at the windows, cried out, “Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes!
What a magnificent long cloak; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!”
Nobody would admit that they could not see a thing, as they would not risk being called stupid
or foolish. Certainly, none of the Emperor's clothes had ever been such a success before.
“But the Emperor has nothing at all on!” said a little child.
“Listen to the voice of innocence!”
exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.
“But he has nothing at all on!” at last cried out all the people.
The Emperor was startled by this, for he knew that the people were right. But he thought “I
must carry this out now to the end of the parade!” So he held himself more stiffly than ever,
and the chamberlains held on to the train of the cloak that was not there at all.