04-THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES

04-THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES

STORY OF THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES[4]



[4] Andersen.



Many years ago there lived an Emperor who was so fond of new

clothes that he spent all his money on them in order to be

beautifully dressed. He did not care about his soldiers, he did

not care about the theatre; he only liked to go out walking to

show off his new clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the

day; and just as they say of a king, 'He is in the

council-chamber,' they always said here, 'The Emperor is in the

wardrobe.'



In the great city in which he lived there was always something

going on; every day many strangers came there. One day two

impostors arrived who gave themselves out as weavers, and said

that they knew how to manufacture the most beautiful cloth

imaginable. Not only were the texture and pattern uncommonly

beautiful, but the clothes which were made of the stuff possessed

this wonderful property that they were invisible to anyone who

was not fit for his office, or who was unpardonably stupid.



'Those must indeed be splendid clothes,' thought the Emperor.

'If I had them on I could find out which men in my kingdom are

unfit for the offices they hold; I could distinguish the wise

from the stupid! Yes, this cloth must be woven for me at once.'

And he gave both the impostors much money, so that they might

begin their work.



They placed two weaving-looms, and began to do as if they were

working, but they had not the least thing on the looms. They

also demanded the finest silk and the best gold, which they put

in their pockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into

the night.



'I should like very much to know how far they have got on with

the cloth,' thought the Emperor. But he remembered when he

thought about it that whoever was stupid or not fit for his

office would not be able to see it. Now he certainly believed

that he had nothing to fear for himself, but he wanted first to

send somebody else in order to see how he stood with regard to

his office. Everybody in the whole town knew what a wonderful

power the cloth had, and they were all curious to see how bad or

how stupid their neighbour was.



'I will send my old and honoured minister to the weavers,'

thought the Emperor. 'He can judge best what the cloth is like,

for he has intellect, and no one understands his office better

than he.'



Now the good old minister went into the hall where the two

impostors sat working at the empty weaving-looms. 'Dear me!'

thought the old minister, opening his eyes wide, 'I can see

nothing!' But he did not say so.



Both the impostors begged him
to be so kind as to step closer,

and asked him if it were not a beautiful texture and lovely

colours. They pointed to the empty loom,

04-THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES

and the poor old

minister went forward rubbing his eyes; but he could see nothing,

for there was nothing there.



'Dear, dear!' thought he, 'can I be stupid? I have never thought

that, and nobody must know it! Can I be not fit for my office?

No, I must certainly not say that I cannot see the cloth!'



'Have you nothing to say about it?' asked one of the men who was

weaving.



'Oh, it is lovely, most lovely!' answered the old minister,

looking through his spectacles. 'What a texture! What colours!

Yes, I will tell the Emperor that it pleases me very much.'



'Now we are delighted at that,' said both the weavers, and

thereupon they named the colours and explained the make of the

texture.



The old minister paid great attention, so that he could tell the

same to the Emperor when he came back to him, which he did.



The impostors now wanted more money, more silk, and more gold to

use in their weaving. They put it all in their own pockets, and

there came no threads on the loom, but they went on as they had

done before, working at the empty loom. The Emperor soon sent

another worthy statesman to see how the weaving was getting on,

and whether the cloth would soon be finished. It was the same

with him as the first one; he looked and looked, but because

there was nothing on the empty loom he could see nothing.



'Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?' asked the two impostors,

and they pointed to and described the splendid material which was

not there.



'Stupid I am not!' thought the man, 'so it must be my good office

for which I am not fitted. It is strange, certainly, but no one

must be allowed to notice it.' And so he praised the cloth which

he did not see, and expressed to them his delight at the

beautiful colours and the splendid texture. 'Yes, it is quite

beautiful,' he said to the Emperor.



Everybody in the town was talking of the magnificent cloth.



Now the Emperor wanted to see it himself while it was still on

the loom. With a great crowd of select followers, amongst whom

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