The Emperor’s New Clothes
Many years ago there was an emperor who loved fine clothes.
He did not care for hunting.
He did not care for plays or opera. He was no lover of gourmet food or wine.
His only ambition was always to be well-dressed.
He had a different coat for every hour of the day.
He loved to walk about and show off his fancy outfits.
One day two strangers arrived in town.
They were swindlers, but they said they were master weavers from a faraway land.
They told the emperor that they could weave the most beautiful cloth in the world.
They said that, not only was their cloth beautiful, but it was also magical.
It was specially woven so that only the most intelligent people could see it.
Those who were ignorant could stare at the cloth all day and not see a thing.
“Astonishing!” thought the emperor.
“I will have these men make a suit for me.
When it is done, I will figure out who can see it.
That way I will be able to tell which of the men who serve me are intelligent and which
are fools.”
The emperor gave the swindlers a purse filled with gold coins and told them to begin weaving
the magic cloth right away.
The swindlers set up two weaving looms and pretended to be weaving their wonderful cloth.
But they had nothing at all on their looms.
After a few days, the emperor grew curious to see the cloth.
At first he thought he might check up on the weavers himself.
But then he remembered what they had said: only intelligent people could see the cloth.
He was confident that he was smart.
There could be little doubt of that.
But . . . what if he was not?
What if he could not see the cloth?
Just to be on the safe side, he decided to send his prime minister to have a look.
“He is very intelligent,” said the king.
“If he can’t see the cloth, I dare say nobody can!”
The emperor called for the prime minister and sent him to check up on the weavers.
The prime minister went to the room and peeked in.
The two swindlers were working away at their looms.
“Prime Minister!” one of the swindlers called out.
“You are welcome here!
Come in!
Come and see the cloth we have produced.”
The man waved his hand at the empty loom and said, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
The prime minister squinted and rubbed his head.
He did not see any cloth at all, but he did not dare to admit it.
That would mean he was a fool.
So he pretended to see the cloth.
“Yes!” said the prime minister.
“It is most beautiful, indeed!
I like it very much!
Keep up the good work!”
The prime minister turned to leave, but the second swindler called out to him, “Wait!
Don’t go.
You must not leave without touching the cloth!
I think you will be impressed.
We were just saying that it is the softest cloth we have ever created.”
The prime minister hesitated for a moment.
Then he said,“Of course!
Of course!” and walked up to one of the looms.
He reached out his hand and rubbed his fingers together in the area where he thought the
cloth must be.
He could not feel anything, but he said, “It is very soft, indeed!
Why, it’s lighter than air!”
“Thank you!” said the first swindler.
“We are pleased with what we have done.
And we are making very good progress, too.
But we need a little more money—for thread and other materials.
Of course, you understand.”
“Of course!
Of course!” said the prime minister.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of coins.
Then he handed the coins to the swindlers.
The prime minister went back to the emperor and told him that the cloth was quite lovely,
and as soft as could be.
He said he was confident that the emperor would like it.
That was what the emperor had hoped to hear.
The next day, he went to have a look for himself.
After all, if his prime minister had seen the cloth, surely he could see it, too.
But when he stepped into the room where the two men had set up their looms, the emperor
saw nothing on the looms.
“This is terrible!” he thought.
“I don’t see anything at all.
What can this mean?
If the prime minister saw the cloth, it must be there.
Then why can’t I see it?
Am I stupid?
Am I unfit tobe emperor?
That would be the most dreadful thing that could happen to me.”
But out loud he said, “It is magnificent!
Truly magnificent!
Why, I have never seen cloth so lovely!”
“Shall we go ahead and make you a suit, then, Your Majesty?”
“Yes, yes.
By all means!” said the emperor.
“You can get my measurements from the royal tailor.”
The two swindlers sat up late into the night pretending to work onthesuit.Theywovemoreinvisiblecloth.19Theycuttheairwith
scissors and stitched the wind with threadless needles.
Other noblemen came to inspect the cloth, and all of them pretended to be able to see
it, for they did not wish to appear stupid.
Soon the whole town was talking about the wonderful cloth and the emperor’s new suit.
At last, the day came when the emperor was to wear his new clothes in public.
The two swindlers presented themselves in the emperor’s dressing room at daybreak.
“Here is the jacket!” said the first swindler, holding up an empty
hanger.
“And here are the pants!” said the other, holding one hand in the air.
“What do you think of them?”
All of the emperor’s men agreed that the new clothes were splendid.
The emperor took off his clothes, and the two swindlers pretended to help him put on
the make-believe garments.
“Slip your right leg in here, your majesty.
That’s it!
Now yourleft leg.
Good.
Now I must tell you: these pants are not like regular pants.
The fabric is so light and airy that it feels like you are wearing nothing at all, but that
is the beauty of them!”
The men helped the emperor put on the imaginary clothes.
looking glass.
“How handsome you look, your majesty!” said one of the swindlers.
All of the courtiers nodded their heads in agreement.
The emperor marched out of the dressing room and made his way out of the palace, followed
by many advisors and servants.
He marched down the main street of town, with soldiers and bodyguards surrounding him on
all sides.
The streets were lined with great crowds.
Everyone had heard about the emperor’s new clothes, made of magic fabric that only the
wise could see.
“How lovely the emperor’s new clothes are!” one man said.
“And how well they fit him!”
added a woman.
None of them would admit that they could not see a thing.
The emperor marched through the street bursting with pride, showing off his brilliant new
suit to everyone in the land.
Much to his surprise, they all seemed to see what he could not—and so he was not going
to be the one to tell them!
Just then, a young child stepped out of the crowd and cried out, “He hasn’t got anything
on!”
A hush fell over the crowd.
For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
Then everyone began to whisper, “The child is right.
The emperor isn’t wearing a thing!”
Then people began to giggle and laugh as they cried out, “He hasn’t got anything on!”
At last the emperor knew he had been tricked.
He tried to march back to the palace as proudly as ever.
But he was blushing from head to toe, as everyone could plainly see.
Moral of the story is…