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.
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