Lesson 19 The Emperor's New Clothes

Lesson 19 The Emperor's New Clothes

Andersen

Many years ago, there was an emperor who was very fond of beautiful new clothes. In order to dress beautifully, he did not hesitate to spend all his money. He didn't care about his army, he didn't like going to the theater, or riding in a carriage to the park—unless it was to show off his new clothes. He had to change his clothes every o'clock every day. When people mentioned him, they always said, "The emperor is in the dressing room." ”

In the big city where he lives, life is relaxed and pleasant, and many foreigners arrive every day. One day came two scammers. They claimed to be weavers and said they were able to weave the most beautiful cloth that man could think of. Not only is the cloth beautiful in color and pattern, but the clothes sewn out also have a strange characteristic: no one who is incompetent or hopelessly stupid can see the garment.

"That's the ideal outfit!" The emperor thought to himself, "If I wear such clothes, I can see which people in my kingdom are incompetent; I can tell which ones are smart and which are fools. Yes, I'm going to tell them to weave this cloth for me right away! So he paid a lot of cash to the two scammers so that they could start working right away.

They put on two looms and pretended to be working, but there was not even a shadow of anything on their looms. They eagerly asked to be given some of the finest raw silk and the finest gold. They packed them all into their pockets and worked on the two empty looms until late at night.

"I'd love to know how their clothes are weaved." The emperor thought. However, when he remembered that all stupid or incompetent people could not see this cloth, he did feel a little unnatural in his heart. He believed that he had nothing to fear. Nevertheless, he still felt that it would be appropriate to send someone else to see how the work was going. The whole city had heard about the amazing power of this fabric, so everyone was eager to take the opportunity to test how stupid or stupid their neighbors were.

"I'm going to send my honest old minister to the weaver." The emperor thought, "He can best see what this cloth looks like, because he is a very sensible man, and no one is as good as him in terms of competence." ”

The good old minister therefore went to the house of the two crooks and saw them busy working on empty looms.

"May God have mercy on me!" The old minister thought, his eyes widened, "I don't see anything!" But did he dare to say it.

The two crooks asked him to come closer, and at the same time pointed to the two empty looms, asking him if the patterns were beautiful and the colors were beautiful. The poor old minister's eyes widened, but he still couldn't see anything, because there really was nothing to see.

"My God!" He thought, "Am I stupid? I never doubted that. This must not be known to anyone. Am I incompetent? - No, I must not let people know that I can't see the fabric. ”

"Hey, don't you have any opinions?" A liar who was weaving cloth said.

"Oops, it's beautiful! It's beautiful! The old minister said as he looked carefully through his glasses, "What a beautiful pattern! What a beautiful color! Yes, I will present it to the Emperor, and I am very satisfied with this fabric. ”

"Well, we're very happy to hear it." The two weavers said in unison. So they described these colors and rare patterns, and added some nouns. The old minister listened attentively, so that when he returned to the emperor, he could recite it as well. In fact, he did.

The two crooks asked for more money, more silk and gold, which they said was for the need to weave cloth. They packed all these things into their fanny packs, and did not put not even a single thread on the loom. However, they continued to work on empty racks as usual.

Soon after, the emperor sent another honest official to see how the work was going on and how long it would take for the cloth to be woven. The official had no better luck than the first Chincha minister: he looked and looked, but there was nothing on the two empty looms, and he could not see anything.

"Do you think this cloth is beautiful?" Two scammers asked. They point and describe beautiful patterns – they don't actually exist.

"I'm not stupid!" The official thought, "This is probably because I don't deserve the good official position I have now, right?" It's funny enough, but I can't let people see it! So he praised the cloth that he had completely seen, and assured them that he was pleased with the beautiful colors and ingenious patterns. "Yes, that's beautiful!" He said to the emperor.

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

While the fabric was still on the loom, the emperor was tempted to see it in person. He chose a specially circled group of attachés—including the two honest ministers who had already gone to see them. Then he went to where the two cunning liars were. The two guys were weaving cloth with full spirit, but the shadow of a thread was also missing.

"Do you think this cloth is gorgeous or not?" The two honest officials said, "Your Majesty, please see: what a beautiful pattern! What a beautiful color! They pointed to the empty loom because they believed that others would be able to see the fabric.

"What's going on?" The emperor thought to himself, "I don't see anything! This is appalling. Am I a stupid person? Am I not qualified to be an emperor? It was one of the scariest things I've ever had. ”

"Oops, it's beautiful!" The emperor said, "I am satisfied!" ”

So he nodded to show his satisfaction. He looked at the loom carefully, for he was reluctant to say that he saw nothing. All the attachés who followed him also looked and looked carefully, but they did not see more than others. But, like the emperor, they also said, "Oh, it's beautiful!" "They suggested to the emperor to make clothes out of this new and beautiful cloth and wear them to the upcoming parade." This cloth is gorgeous! Exquisite! Matchless! Everyone chimed in. Everyone has indescribable joy. The emperor gave each of the crooks a knighthood and a medal that could be hung on a buttonhole, and also named them "imperial weavers".

The next morning, the parade was about to take place. The first night, the two crooks stayed up all night and lit more than sixteen candles. One could see that they were rushing night workers to finish the emperor's new clothes. They pretended to be removing the fabric from the loom and cut it in the air for a while with two large pairs of scissors, while sewing it with a needle without threading. Finally, they said in unison: "Look! The new clothes are sewn! ”

The emperor himself came with his group of the most noble knights. The two crooks each raised a hand, as if holding something. They said, "Look, these are pants!" This is a robe! This is the coat! ...... These clothes are as soft as a spider's web, and the person wearing them will feel as if there is nothing on them - which is the advantage of these clothes. ”

"Not bad at all." All the knights said. But they couldn't see anything, because there was nothing.

"Now ask the Emperor to take off his clothes," said the two liars, "so that we may change into new clothes for you in front of this big mirror." ”

The emperor took off all his clothes. The two crooks pretended to hand him the new clothes they had just sewn up one by one. They flickered around his waist for a while, as if they were tying something to him - this was the back skirt. The emperor turned around in front of the mirror and twisted his waist.

"God, how fitting this dress is! How nicely cut! Everyone said, "What a beautiful pattern!" What a beautiful color! This is really a set of expensive clothes! ”

"Everyone is waiting outside, and the canopy is prepared so that it can be held up on His Majesty's head to participate in the parade ceremony." The ceremonial officer said.

"Yes, I am already dressed," said the emperor, "does this dress fit my body?" So he turned his body in front of the mirror again, because he wanted to make everyone think that he was seriously watching his beautiful new clothes.

The courtiers who held the back skirt all touched their hands on the ground, as if they were picking up the dress. They walked with air in their hands—they didn't dare to let people see that they really didn't see anything.

In this way, the emperor marched under that rich canopy. People standing in the street and in the windows said, "Obedient! The emperor's new outfit is really beautiful! How beautiful is the back skirt under his blouse! This dress really fits his figure! "No one wants to let people know they can't see anything, because that would show them incompetent or too stupid." All the emperor's clothes have never received such praise.

"But he didn't wear anything!" A little kid called out at last.

"God, listen to this innocent voice!" Dad said. So everyone whispered what the child was saying in private.

"He's not wearing any clothes! One kid said he wasn't wearing any clothes! ”

"He's really not wearing any clothes!" In the end, all the common people said. The emperor trembled a little, because he seemed to feel that what the common people said was true. But he thought to himself, "I have to finish this parade." So he put on an even more proud look. His courtiers followed him, holding a non-existent back skirt.