The Emperor's New Clothes
About 2 min read aloud
The whole story, told short. Ages 4-9.
0% · About 2 min left
There was once an emperor who spent all his money on clothes. Of other rulers it was said they were in council. Of this one, that he was in the wardrobe.
Two men arrived and said they were weavers. They could make a cloth, they said, invisible to anybody stupid or unfit for his job. The emperor thought this sounded useful and paid a great deal of money.
They set up two looms and worked at nothing.
The emperor sent his old minister to look. He had excellent eyes. He saw the grain in the wood, the dust on the floor, and two men moving their hands over an empty frame. Then he went back and described the pattern, because the alternative was admitting he was unfit for his post.
A second official went and said the same. So did the emperor. Everybody in that room saw the same nothing, and each believed he was the only one.
On the morning of the procession they dressed him in the air. Two chamberlains picked up a train that was not there and held it at the correct height. Nobody had asked them to.
The streets were full, and everybody admired the suit, until a small child said, "But he hasn't got anything on." Her father repeated it. So did the man beside him. Within a minute the whole street was saying it.
The emperor heard, and thought they were probably right. Then he lifted his chin and finished the procession, and the chamberlains held on tighter than ever.