Emperors New Clothes

Emperors New Clothes

Many years ago there was an Emperor who was so extremely fond of beautiful new clothes that he spent all his money on being superbly dressed. He took no interest in his army and it was only to show off his new clothes that he went to the theatre or for a drive in the country. He had a garment for every hour of the day, and just as you may say of a king, "He s in his council." it was always said of this Emperor, "He s in his wardrobe". !he big city, where he lived, was full of life and activity, and strangers were continually arriving. "ne day two swindlers turned up# they pretended to be weavers and claimed that they knew how to weave the most beautiful materials imaginable. $ot only were shades and patterns of a rare beauty, but the clothes made from this fabric had the strange %uality of being invisible to any person who wasn t fit for his position or else was stupid beyond excuse. "&hy' !hey must be wonderful clothes," said the Emperor to himself, "wearing them ( could find out if any of the men ( employ are unfit for their post, and ( can distinguish between the clever and the stupid. )es, they must weave that cloth for me at once." !hen he gave them a lot of money in advance so that they could begin to work. *t once they put up two looms and pretended to be working, though in fact the loom was %uite empty. !hey had the cheek to demand the purest silk and the costliest gold thread, which they tucked away in their own bags, and then set to work on the empty looms and that until the small hours of the night. "$ow ( should like to know how they are getting on with the cloth," thought the Emperor, but he did feel rather ill at ease knowing that those who were stupid or unfit for their post wouldn t be able to see it. +till, for his own part he was confident that he didn t need to worry, but all the same he would rather send someone else first to see how things were. *ll over the town people knew about the magic power of this cloth, and they were all keen on seeing how incapable or stupid their neighbours were. "( ll send my honest old premier to the weavers," thought the Emperor, "he s the best one to see what the material looks like, for he s clever, and nobody could be better suited to his post than he is." $ow the kind old premier entered the hall where the two swindlers sat working the empty looms. ",ood gracious me'- thought the old premier opening his eyes wide, "( can t see anything." .ut of course he didn t say so. !he two swindlers invited him to inspect the loom and asked if he didn t find the colours and the design %uite perfect/ !hey pointed to the empty loom, and the poor old premier opened his eyes even wider than before, but he couldn t see anything 0 for there wasn t anything to be seen. "1ear me," he thought, "2ould ( really be stupid/ ( never thought so, no one must get to know' 2ould it be that ( am not fit for my post/ $o, it never does to tell them that ( can t see the cloth."

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Emperors New Clothes

"&ell, what is your opinion/" asked the one who was pretending to weave. ""h, it s so pretty, %uite ravishing," said the old premier looking through his glasses, "what a design and what colours' (ndeed, ( ll tell the Emperor that ( m very satisfied." "*h, we re pleased to hear that," said the two weavers, and now they named the colours and explained the unusual design. !he old premier listened carefully that he might be able to repeat everything to the Emperor, and so he did. $ow the swindlers demanded more money, and more silk, and more gold thread# they needed it for the weaving. Every thing went straight into their own pockets, not a thread was placed in the loom, but still they continued as before, working the empty loom. +oon after the Emperor sent another honest official to see how the weaving was getting on, and whether the cloth would be ready soon. He had the very same experience as the premier, he looked and looked, but as there was nothing but the empty looms, he saw nothing. 0 "3ook, isn4t it an attractive piece of cloth/" asked the two swindlers, and they carefully explained the magnificent design which wasn t there at all. "( know ( m not stupid," thought the man, "so it must be my good position ( m unfit for. !hat s very strange, but ( mustn t let anyone know." +o he praised the cloth that he didn t see, and he expressed his delight in the beautiful colours and the wonderful design. ")es, it is unbelievably lovely," he told the Emperor. !he whole town was now discussing this splendid material. $ow the Emperor decided to see it himself, while it was still in the loom. !ogether with several select people 0 among them the two honest, old officials who had been there before 0 he went to see the cunning swindlers who were now weaving with all their might, but still without thread. "3ook, isn t it magnificent/" said the two honest officials. "Has )our Majesty seen the pattern, the colouring/" !hen they pointed to the empty loom, because they thought that all the other people could see the material. 5&hat ever is this/" thought the Emperor, "( can t see a thing' !his is terrible, am ( really stupid/ *m ( not fit to be Emperor/ !his is the most frightful thing that could happen to me'" 0 "&hy yes, it is very beautiful," the Emperor said, "it has my imperial approval." *nd he gave a benevolent nod as he looked at the empty loom# he wouldn t admit that he couldn t see anything. His entire escort ga6ed and ga6ed, but they made no more of it than all the others, but like the Emperor they all exclaimed, "How very beautiful'" $ow they advised him to have a garment cut from this wonderful material and wear it for the first time in the grand procession that was to take place very soon. "(t s magnificent, superb, outstanding'- they all said to one another, and they were all incredibly pleased with it. !he Emperor conferred a knighthood on each of the swindlers and gave them a cross to wear in their button holes as well as title of (mperial &eavers. !he entire night preceding the procession the swindlers sat working with more than sixteen candles lit. 7eople could see they were busy getting the Emperor s new clothes ready. !hey pretended to take the material off the loom, they cut away all the air with big scissors, and they sews with needles without thread, and at last they declared, "3ook' !he clothes are all ready now." !he Emperor went personally to the weavers escorted by the most distinguished courtiers, and the two swindlers each held out their arm as if they were holding something and said, "3ook, here are the breeches0here is the robe0here is the

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Emperors New Clothes

mantle." *nd so on. "!hey are all as light as gossamer, you can hardly feel that you are wearing anything, but that s just the fine thing about them. "!o be sure", said all the courtiers, but they couldn t see a thing, for there wasn t a thing to be seen. "(f now )our (mperial Majesty most graciously will take off your clothes," the swindlers said, "then we ll fit you with the new ones in front of the big looking8glass." !he Emperor took off his clothes, and the swindlers pretended to hand him one by one the new garments they were supposed to have made, and they pretended to be fastening something at his waist0it was the train, and the Emperor turned and twisted in front of the glass. "Heavens, how well they suit )our Majesty, and what a perfect cut'" they all said. "&hat a design' &hat colours' &hat a precious garment'" 0 !hey are waiting outside with the canopy that is to be carried above )our Majesty in the pro cession," announced the Master of 2eremonies. ",ood", said the Emperor, "( m %uite ready." "(sn t it a perfect cut/" *nd he turned round once more in front of the glass to give them the impression that he really was admiring his fine garment. !he chamberlains who were to carry the train fumbled about on the floor as if they were picking up the train. !hey walked along with outstretched hands in order to hide the fact that they couldn t see anything. $ow the Emperor was walking in the procession under the beautiful canopy, and all the people in the street and at the windows cried, ",oodness, how the Emperor s new clothes look marvellous' &hat a splendid train on his mantle' &hat a perfect fit'" $obody would admit that he didn t see anything, because that was as good as saying that he wasn t fit for his job or else that he was stupid. $ever before had the Emperor s clothes been such a success. ".ut he don t got anything on'" cried a little child. ",racious me, did you hear what this innocent child said/" exclaimed the father, and they whispered from one to the other what the child had said. "He hasn4t got anything on' * little child is saying that he hasn t got anything on'" "&hy' He hasn t got anything on'" everybody shouted at last. !he Emperor felt terribly embarrassed, for it seemed to him that people were right, but he thought to himself, "( ve got to go through with the procession." *nd he carried himself even more proudly, and his chamberlains walked behind him carrying the train that wasn t there.

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