Vocabulary
- Emperor - a king
- swindler - a criminal who tricks people and takes their money
- weaver - someone who makes cloth
- loom - a machine for making cloth
- fabric - cloth
- invisible - if something is invisible, you can't see it
This is a fairy story written about 200 years ago by the famous author Hans Christian Anderson. Anderson was from Denmark. His most well-known story is the Little Mermaid, which has been made into a movie.
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| Most of the pictures are by Monica Auriemma |
Many years ago, there was an Emperor who loved new clothes so much that he spent all his money on being well dressed. He didn't care about ordering his soldiers to get into lines so that he could walk around and look at them, or going to the theatre, or going for a ride in his carriage, except to show off his new clothes.
He had a coat for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as people might, about any other emperor, "The Emperor is having a meeting about important matters," here they always said, "The Emperor's in his dressing room, looking at himself in the mirror."
In the great city where he lived, life was always bright and happy. Every day many strangers came to town, and among them one day came two swindlers, criminals who liked to trick people into giving them money. They lied to get money.
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| The swindlers laughing about fooling the Emperor |
These swindlers told people that they were weavers, makers of beautiful clothes, and they said they could weave the best fabrics imaginable. They told the Emperor that not only were their colors and patterns very nice, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who could not do his job, or who was unusually stupid. These people would not be able to see the weavers' cloth.
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| A loom used to make cloth |
They set up two looms and pretended to weave, though there was nothing on the looms. All the finest silk and the purest gold thread which they demanded from the Emperor they kept for themselves. They put the silk and gold thread into their traveling bags so that they could make money with it later, while they worked the empty looms far into the night.
"I'd like to know what those weavers are doing with the cloth," the Emperor thought, but he felt slightly uncomfortable when he remembered that those who were not good enough to do their jobs would not be able to see the cloth. It couldn't have been that he doubted himself, but he thought he'd rather send someone else to see how things were going. The whole town believed that the cloth had a strange power, and everybody wanted to find out how stupid their neighbors were.
"I'll send my honest old minister to the weavers," the Emperor decided. "He'll be the best one to tell me if the cloth is good, for he's a smart man who is the best at his job." So the honest old minister went to the room where the two swindlers sat working away at their empty looms.
"Oh no!" he thought as his eyes opened very wide, "I can't see anything at all". But he did not say so.
Both the swindlers asked him to come near to approve the excellent pattern and the beautiful colors. They pointed to the empty looms, and the poor old minister stared as hard as he could. He couldn't see anything, because there was nothing to see. H thought, "Can it be that I'm a fool? I'd have never guessed it, and nobody must know. If I can't see the cloth, does that mean that I am no good at my government job? It would be bad to say that I can't see the cloth."
"Please tell us what you think of the cloth," said one of the swindlers.
"We're pleased to hear that," the swindlers said. They proceeded to name all the colors and to explain the pattern. The old minister paid the closest attention, so that he could tell it all to the Emperor. And so he did.
The swindlers at once asked for more money, more silk and gold thread, to continue with the weaving. But they kept it all for themselves and did not make any cloth. Not a thread went into the looms, though they worked at their weaving as hard as ever.
The Emperor soon sent another trustworthy official to see how the work was going and how soon it would be ready. The same thing happened to him that had happened to the minister. He looked and he looked, but as there was no cloth to see in the looms, he couldn't see anything.
"Isn't it a beautiful piece of cloth?" the swindlers asked him, as they displayed and described their imaginary pattern.
"I know I'm not stupid," the man thought, "so it must be that I'm unworthy of my good office. That's strange. I mustn't let anyone find it out, though." So he praised the material he did not see. He declared he was delighted (very happy) with the beautiful colors and the lovely pattern. To the Emperor he said, "I liked the cloth so much, I looked at it a long time."
All the town was talking of this really nice cloth, and the Emperor wanted to see it for himself while it was still in the looms. Attended by a group of his men, among whom were his two old trusted officials -- the ones who had been to the weavers --he set out to see the two swindlers. He found them busy weaving, but without a thread in their looms.
"Great!" said the two officials. "Just look, Your Majesty, what colors! What a design!", they said to the Emperor. They pointed to the empty looms, each thinking that the others could see the stuff.
"What's this?" thought the Emperor. "I can't see anything. This is terrible! Am I a fool? Am I not good enough to be the Emperor? What a thing to happen to me!"
"Oh! It's very pretty," he said. "It has my highest approval." And he nodded approval at the empty loom. Nothing could make him say that he couldn't see anything.
His officials stared and stared. None of them saw any cloth, but they all joined the Emperor in loudly saying, "Oh! It's very pretty," and they advised him to wear clothes made of this wonderful cloth especially for the great parade he was soon to lead. "Magnificent! Excellent! Unsurpassed!" all the people said, and everyone did their best to seem well pleased. The Emperor gave each of the swindlers an award.
"Exactly," all the noblemen agreed, though they could see nothing, for there was nothing to see.
"If Your Imperial Majesty will be nice enough to take your clothes off," said the swindlers, "we will help you on with your new ones here in front of the long mirror."
The Emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put his new clothes on him, one garment after another. They took him around the waist and seemed to be fastening something as the Emperor turned round and round before the looking glass.
"How well Your Majesty's new clothes look." He heard all the people saying, "That pattern, so perfect! Those colors, so suitable! It is a magnificent outfit."
Then the minister of parades announced: "Your Majesty's canopy is waiting outside."
"Well, I'm supposed to be ready," the Emperor said, and turned again for one last look in the mirror. "It is a remarkable fit, isn't it?" He seemed to look at his costume with the greatest interest.
The noblemen bent low and reached for the floor as if they were picking up his long cape. Then they pretended to lift and hold it high. They didn't dare admit they had nothing to hold.
So off went the Emperor in procession under his splendid canopy. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, "Oh, how fine are the Emperor's new clothes! Don't they fit him to perfection? And see his long cape!"
Nobody would confess that he couldn't see any clothes on the Emperor, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success.
"But he hasn't got anything on," a little child said.
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And one person whispered to another what the child had said, "The Emperor isn't wearing clothes. A child says he hasn't anything on."
"But he isn't wearing anything!" all the people town said loudly at last.
The Emperor shook, for he thought they were right. But he thought, "This parade has got to go on." So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the long cape that wasn't there at all.
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