The
Emperor's New Clothes" (Danish: Kejserens nye Klæder) is a short tale by Hans
Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes
that is invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When
the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But
he isn't wearing anything at all!" The tale has been translated into over a
hundred languages.
Plot:
A
vain Emperor who cares about nothing except wearing and displaying clothes hires
two swindlers who promise him the finest, best suit of clothes from a fabric invisible
to anyone who is unfit for his position or "hopelessly stupid". The Emperor's
ministers cannot see the clothing themselves, but pretend that they can for fear
of appearing unfit for their positions and the Emperor does the same. Finally the
swindlers report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him and the Emperor
marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk play along with the pretense
not wanting to appear unfit for their positions or stupid. Then a child in the crowd,
too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out
that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up by others. The
Emperor cringes, suspecting the assertion is true, but continues the procession.Source: Wikipedia
