The Emperor's New Clothes

Once there was an emperor who loved clothes.

He didn't care about his army.

He didn't care about the theater.

He only cared about showing off new clothes!

He had a different outfit for every hour of the day!

He spent all his money on clothes!

His closets were full of fancy outfits!

Whenever anyone looked for him, they would say,

"The emperor is in his dressing room!"

That's where he always was!

One day, two tricksters came to the city.

They said they were weavers.

But they were really con men!

They had a clever plan!

They wanted to trick the emperor!

They spread a rumor:

"We can weave the most beautiful cloth!

It has magical properties!

It's invisible to anyone who is stupid!

Or anyone who is unfit for their job!"

The emperor heard about this!

"Perfect!" he thought.

"I can wear these clothes!

Then I'll know who in my kingdom is stupid!

I'll know who is unfit for their job!"

He gave them lots of money!

He told them to start weaving!

The tricksters set up two looms.

They pretended to weave.

But there was nothing on the looms!

They were weaving air!

They asked for the finest silk and gold thread!

The emperor gave them everything!

But the tricksters didn't use it!

They hid it all in their bags!

They kept pretending to weave!

Their fingers moved over empty looms!

The emperor was curious!

He wanted to see the cloth!

But then he thought...

"What if I can't see it?

That would mean I'm stupid!"

He decided to send his old minister first!

"You are wise," he told the minister.

"Go see the cloth!

Tell me what it looks like!"

The minister agreed!

The minister went to the weaving room!

The tricksters were pretending to work!

"Come closer!" they said.

"See the beautiful patterns!

See the lovely colors!"

The minister looked at the looms!

He saw nothing!

The looms were empty!

"Oh my!" he thought in panic.

"I can't see anything!

Am I stupid?

Am I unfit for my job?"

"Well?" asked the tricksters.

"Don't you think it's magnificent?"

The minister was too afraid to tell the truth!

"Oh yes!" he lied.

"It's the most beautiful cloth I've ever seen!"

He told the emperor the cloth was wonderful!

He described colors and patterns he hadn't seen!

The emperor was pleased!

He sent more silk and gold!

The tricksters kept it all!

Soon the emperor sent another official!

He was supposed to see if the cloth was almost done!

The same thing happened to him!

He looked at the empty looms!

He saw nothing!

"I must not be stupid!" he thought.

"I must not admit I can't see it!"

So he also lied!

"The cloth is magnificent!" he reported.

"The patterns are exquisite!"

Everyone in the city talked about the wonderful cloth!

The emperor decided he must see it himself!

He took his best advisors!

They all went to the weaving room!

The tricksters pretended to be very busy!

"Isn't it beautiful, Your Majesty?" asked the advisors.

They were all lying!

They couldn't see anything either!

But they didn't want to admit it!

They pointed at the empty looms!

The emperor looked!

He saw nothing!

Absolutely nothing!

"Oh no!" he thought in horror.

"I can't see the cloth!

Am I stupid?

Am I unfit to be emperor?"

He couldn't admit the truth!

"Oh, it's magnificent!" he lied.

"The most beautiful cloth ever!"

All his advisors agreed!

They all pretended to see it!

"You should wear it in the great parade!" they suggested.

"Everyone should see your wonderful new clothes!"

The emperor agreed!

The tricksters smiled secretly!

Their plan was working perfectly!

The night before the parade, the tricksters worked late!

They burned sixteen candles!

Everyone could see them through the windows!

They were "finishing" the emperor's new clothes!

They cut the air with big scissors!

They sewed with needles that had no thread!

"The clothes are ready!" they announced in the morning!

The emperor came with his advisors!

The tricksters held up their hands!

As if they were holding something!

"Here is the shirt! Here are the trousers!

Here is the robe!"

"The fabric is so light," they said,

"you'll feel like you're wearing nothing at all!"

The emperor pretended to feel the cloth!

All the advisors did too!

"So light! So beautiful!" they lied!

"Take off your clothes, Your Majesty!" said the tricksters.

"We'll dress you in front of the big mirror!"

The emperor took off all his clothes!

The tricksters pretended to dress him!

They acted like they were putting clothes on him!

"Here's the shirt!"

They pretended to put it on!

"Here are the trousers!"

They acted like they were pulling them up!

"Here's the magnificent robe!"

They pretended to tie it!

The emperor turned in front of the mirror!

He saw himself with no clothes on!

But he couldn't admit it!

"How well they fit!" he said.

"What beautiful colors!"

All the advisors agreed!

They all lied together!

It was time for the parade!

The emperor walked out of the palace!

He was completely naked!

But everyone pretended to see his new clothes!

They were all afraid to tell the truth!

The whole city had heard about the magical clothes!

Everyone lined the streets!

They all wanted to see!

The emperor walked proudly!

His servants pretended to hold his invisible train!

"Oh, what beautiful clothes!" the people cried.

"What a magnificent train!"

"How perfectly they fit!"

Nobody wanted to admit they couldn't see the clothes!

Nobody wanted to seem stupid!

Everyone lied!

Then a small child spoke!

Children always tell the truth!

"But he has nothing on!" said the child.

"The emperor is naked!"

His father tried to shush him!

But it was too late!

"He's right!" whispered someone.

"The emperor has no clothes!"

The whisper spread through the crowd!

"The emperor has no clothes!"

"He's naked!"

The emperor heard the people!

He realized they were right!

He knew he had been tricked!

He felt very embarrassed!

But the parade had started!

"I must finish the parade!" he thought.

So he held his head high!

He walked even more proudly!

He pretended nothing was wrong!

His servants kept pretending to hold the train!

After the parade, the emperor went back to his palace!

The tricksters were gone!

They had taken all the silk and gold!

They had run away with all the money!

The emperor had been completely fooled!

Everyone in the kingdom laughed!

But they also felt ashamed!

They had all lied too!

They had all been too afraid to tell the truth!

Only the child had been honest!

The emperor learned an important lesson!

He learned not to be so vain!

He learned that honesty is better than pride!

He learned to listen to truth, even from children!

From that day on, he cared less about clothes!

From this story, we learn important lessons!

Don't be afraid to tell the truth!

Don't pretend to see things that aren't there!

Don't let pride stop you from being honest!

Sometimes the simplest truth is the most important!

And always remember:

The truth is more valuable than pride!

Honesty is better than pretending!

Even a child can be wiser than a king!