The Emperor's New Clothes

Many years ago, there was an Emperor. The Emperor loved new clothes very much. He spent all his money on clothes. He had a new suit for every hour of the day. People often asked, "Where is the Emperor?" The answer was always, "The Emperor is with his clothes."

The Emperor lived in a big city. Many people came to the city every day. One day, two bad men came to the city. They said, "We make cloth." But this was not true. They said, "Our cloth is very beautiful. It has beautiful colors. But some people cannot see it. Stupid people cannot see it. And bad workers cannot see it."

The Emperor heard about the cloth. He thought, "These are wonderful clothes! I want clothes from this cloth. Then I can find the stupid people and the bad workers." The Emperor gave the two men a lot of money. "Start the work now," he said.

The two men sat down to work. They asked the Emperor for gold. They put the gold in their own bags. Then they sat down again. But there was no cloth in front of them. They did not really work. They only moved their hands, late into the night.

The Emperor wanted to see the cloth. But he was a little afraid. "Maybe I can't see it," he thought. All the people in the city knew about the cloth.

The Emperor had a good old helper. "My old helper is a clever man," said the Emperor. "I will send him to the two men." The old man went to the two men. He looked at their work. He opened his eyes very wide. He saw nothing at all.

"Am I stupid?" thought the old man. "Am I bad at my job? Nobody can know this!" The two men pointed to the empty place. "Do you like the colors?" they asked. "Oh, it is beautiful!" said the old man. "I will tell the Emperor."