Many years ago, there lived an emperor who cared too much about his appearance. He liked to wear the most luxurious suits and parade around his kingdom. He had a new coat for every hour of the day and often liked to show off his clothes.
He did not care much about his kingdom, and the people were not happy with their emperor. One day, two swindlers came to town and lied that they were weavers. They told the people that they could make the finest fabric anyone could ever imagine.
They said that the fabric was magical and that only clever people and those who were fit for their positions could see it. The clothes were so special that no ordinary person could see them. The people of the city were amazed and astonished by the weavers’ words.
Soon the emperor heard about the weavers and invited them to his castle.
“If I were dressed in this special suit, I would know which people in my empire are not suited to their positions, and I could tell the smart from the stupid. I must have this fabric woven for myself immediately,” said the emperor.
The weavers demanded gold and the finest silk and the rarest gold fabric. The emperor gave them everything they asked for and told them to start weaving the clothes immediately.
The emperor wanted to wear the new suit at the annual grand parade, when everyone in the city gathered to watch the emperor pass by.
The swindlers pretended to work hard and bought several candles that burned all night so that everyone would think they were working tirelessly on the emperor’s new suit.
People fell for their trick and praised the weavers. The swindlers did nothing all day but laugh at the emperor’s stupidity.
Before long, the emperor wanted to see his new suit, but the weavers told him it wasn’t ready to be seen yet. The emperor lost his patience and decided to send his old minister to spy on the weavers.
The old minister was surprised to find that the weavers weren’t weaving any clothes at all! The weavers showed him the empty looms and told him what colors and patterns the clothes would have, but he could not see anything.
The old minister was afraid that he was not fit for his position and did not want the emperor to find out. He returned to the emperor and told him that his new suit was very beautiful and colorful.
The emperor was pleased and appointed the swindlers as the new imperial court weavers. The swindlers laughed at the emperor’s stupidity because he did not realize that they had deceived him.
The day of the parade arrived, and the weavers brought the emperor an invisible suit. The emperor was concerned because he could not see anything at all.
The weavers dressed him in an invisible cloak and trousers. The emperor did not want them to know that he was not fit for his position. He was afraid of what people would say.
He pretended to put on this invisible suit and told the weavers that the new suit was very beautiful and colorful, but in reality he had no coat or trousers.
The emperor’s chamberlains, who were supposed to carry the train, stretched their arms toward the ground and pretended to lift the train and hold it in their hands. They didn’t want people to know that they couldn’t see anything.
The emperor walked in the procession under a beautiful canopy, and everyone began to laugh at him. “The emperor is wearing nothing at all,” the people shouted.
The emperor regretted being fooled. The people were right, but there was nothing he could do. He continued marching, and the chamberlains continued walking, carrying the train that did not exist.
