Many years ago there was an emperor who was very fond of wearing nice new clothes. He spent all his money on clothes in order to be well dressed, and he did not care at all about his army, nor did he like to go to the theater. He didn't like to go to the park in a carriage either, unless it was to show off his new clothes. He had to change into a new set of clothes every hour of the day. When people referred to the emperor they always said, "The emperor is in the boardroom." But when people referred to him, they always said, "The emperor is in the dressing room."

In the big city where he lived, life was easy and pleasant. Many foreigners arrived every day. One day there came two crooks. They said they were weavers. They said that they could weave the most beautiful cloth that anyone could imagine. The color* and pattern of this cloth was not only very beautiful, but the clothes sewn out of it had the strange effect that no one who was incompetent or foolish could see the clothes.

"That is exactly my favorite clothes!" The emperor thought to himself. "When I wear such clothes, I can see which people in my kingdom are incompetent; I can tell which people are wise and which are fools. Yes, I will tell them to weave such cloth at once!" He paid a lot of cash to the two crooks and told them to start working at once.

They set out two looms and pretended to be working, but there was nothing on their looms. One after another they asked the emperor to send them some of the best raw silk and gold. They put all these things into their own pockets, but pretended to work busily on those two empty looms until late at night.

"I wonder how well they wove the cloth," thought the emperor. However, he immediately remembered that the stupid or incompetent people can not see the cloth. He did feel a little uncomfortable in his heart. He believed that he had nothing to fear from himself. Nevertheless, he thought it would be better to send one of his men to check it out first. Everyone in the city had heard that the cloth had a strange power, so everyone was eager to take the opportunity to test it and see how stupid and foolish their neighbors really were.

"I'll send the honest old minister to the weaver to see," thought the emperor. "He alone can see what the fabric is like, for he is a man of great brains, and who is not as competent as he is."

So the kind old minister went to the place where the two crooks were working. They were working busily on their empty looms.

"What is this all about?" the old minister thought, opening his eyes as wide as the mouth of a bowl.

"I don't see anything!" But he didn't dare to say the words out loud.

The two crooks begged him to come closer, asking him at the same time if the pattern of the cloth was beautiful, if the color* was beautiful. They pointed to the two empty looms.

The poor old minister's eyes opened wider and wider, but he still could not see anything, for indeed there was nothing to see.

"My goodness!" he thought. "Am I a foolish man? I have never doubted myself. I must not let anyone know about this. Am I incompetent? --No; I must not let it be known that I cannot see the fabric."

"Ay, have you no opinion at all?" said one of the weavers who was weaving.

"Ah, it's beautiful! It is wonderful!" The old minister said. He put on his glasses and looked carefully. "What a beautiful pattern! What a beautiful color! Yes, I will report to His Majesty that I am very pleased with the cloth."

"Well, we are so glad to hear your words," said the two weavers together. They described the rare colors and patterns, and added some nouns. The old minister listened carefully so that when he returned to the emperor, he could recite the same. In fact, he did just that.

The two crooks asked for a lot of money, more silk and gold, which they said was needed for weaving. They put it all into their fanny packs and did not even put a single thread on the loom. But they continued to work on the empty frame.

After a short time, the emperor sent another honest official to see if the cloth would soon be ready for weaving. His luck was no better than the first minister's: he looked and looked, but there was nothing on those two empty looms, and he could see nothing.

"Do you see the beauty of this piece of cloth?" The two crooks asked. They pointed to some beautiful patterns and gave some explanations. In fact there were no patterns at all.

"I'm not stupid!" The official thought, "I guess it's because I don't deserve to be in such a good position, right? That's funny too, but I mustn't let anyone see it!" So he praised the cloth he had not seen at all, while telling them how much he liked the beautiful colors* and the clever patterns. "Yes, that was really beautiful," he went back to the emperor and said.

All the people in the city were talking about this beautiful fabric.

While the cloth was still being woven, the emperor was eager to go and see it once for himself. He chose a specially circled group of attendants - including the two honest ministers who had already been there to see it. In this way, he went to the place where the two cunning liars lived. These two guys were weaving with full spirit, but there was not a thread in sight. "Don't you see how beautiful it is?" The two honest officials said. "Look, Your Majesty, what a beautiful pattern! What a beautiful color*!" They pointed to the empty loom, for they thought that others must be able to see the fabric.

"What is this all about?" The emperor thought to himself, "I don't see anything! This is absurd! Am I a stupid person? Am I not worthy to be an emperor? This is the most terrible thing I have never seen."

"Ah, it is so beautiful!" The emperor said, "I express my twelvefold satisfaction!"

So he nodded his head to express his satisfaction. He pretended to look at the loom very carefully, because he did not want to say that he saw nothing. All the attendants who came with him also looked carefully and repeatedly, but they did not see anything more. However, they also said, as the emperor said, "Ah, how beautiful!" They suggested that the emperor should make a dress out of this new and beautiful fabric and put it on himself for the upcoming parade. "How beautiful! How exquisite! How wonderful!" Everyone echoed the words. Everyone had indescribable joy. The emperor gave each of the crooks a knighthood and a medal to hang on their buttonholes; he also made them "royal weavers".

The next morning the parade was to take place. On the first night, the two crooks stayed up all night, lighting 16 candles. You can see that they were working at night to finish the emperor's new clothes. They pretended to take the fabric off the loom. They used two large scissors to cut it in the air for a while while they sewed it with an unthreaded needle. Finally, they said in unison, "Behold! The new clothes are sewn!"

The emperor himself arrived with a group of his most noble knights. The two liars each held up a hand as if they were holding something. They said, "Behold, these are the pants, and this is the robe! This is the outer garment!" And so on. "This garment is as light and soft as a cobweb: the person wearing it will feel as if there is nothing on him - and that is the beauty of this garment."

"Not bad at all," said all the knights. But they saw nothing, for in fact there was nothing.

"Now ask the emperor to take off his clothes," said the two liars, "and we will change his majesty into new clothes in front of this big mirror.

The emperor took off all the clothes on his body. The two liars pretended to hand him the new clothes they had just sewn, one by one. They worked on his waistline for a while, as if to tie something: this is the back train ①. The emperor turned around in front of the mirror and twisted a waist.

①Slaebet is a long piece of cloth trailing behind the dress; it is a feudal era European nobleman's attire.

"God, how well this dress fits! How beautifully the pattern is cut!" Everyone said. "What a beautiful pattern! What a beautiful color! This is a precious suit!"

"Everyone has already prepared the wreath outside, just waiting for His Majesty to hold it up for the procession as soon as he goes out!" The ceremony officer said.

"Yes, I'm already dressed," the emperor said, "Does this suit fit me?" Then he turned his body again in front of the mirror, for he wanted everyone to see that he was seriously admiring his beautiful costume. The ministers, who were to hold the back train, touched their hands on the ground as if they were really picking it up. They walked away with the air in their hands - they dared not let it be seen that they had not seen anything.

And so the emperor paraded up under that rich and splendid cover. And those who stood in the streets and in the windows said, "My, what a beautiful new costume the emperor has! How beautiful is the back train under his upper garment! How well the clothes fit!" No one wanted to let it be known that he could not see something, for that would reveal himself to be incompetent or too stupid. All the emperor's clothes had never received such universal praise.

"But he's not wearing any clothes!" A small child finally shouted out.

"God, listen to this innocent voice!" Dad said. So everyone whispered what the child had said in private and spread the word.

"He wasn't wearing any clothes! A little child said he wasn't wearing any clothes!"

"He really wasn't wearing any clothes!" Finally all the people said. The emperor trembled a little, because he seemed to think that what the people said was right. But he thought to himself, "I must finish this parade." So he put on a more proud look, and his ministers walked behind him, holding a non-existent back train in their hands.