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The Emperor's New Clothes is a story by Hans Christian Andersen. It was written in 1837 and contains lots of words you wouldn't find in children's stories today. Read through the story carefully and then have a go at the questions.
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The Emperor's New Clothes
Many years ago there lived an Emperor, who was so fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on them in order to be beautifully dressed. He did not care about his soldiers, he did not care about the theatre; he only liked to go out walking around, showing off his new clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day; and he spent all of his time in his wardrobe.
In the great city in which he lived, there was always something going on. One day, two swindlers arrived, pretending to be weavers, and said that they knew how to weave the most beautiful cloth imaginable. Not only were the texture and pattern uncommonly beautiful, but the clothes which were made of the magical stuff were invisible to anyone who was not rich enough, or was very stupid.
"Those must indeed be splendid clothes," thought the Emperor. "If I had them on I could find out which men in my kingdom are unfit for the offices they hold; I could distinguish the wise from the stupid! Yes, this cloth must be woven for me at once," and he gave both the swindlers a lot of money, so that they could begin their work.
They bought two weaving-looms and began to work, but they had nothing on the looms. They also demanded the finest silk and the best gold, which they put in their pockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into the night.
"I should like very much to know how far they have got on with the cloth," thought the Emperor, but he remembered, when he thought about it, that whoever was stupid or not fit for his office would not be able to see it. Now he certainly believed that he had nothing to fear for himself, but he wanted first to send somebody else in order to see how he stood with regard to his office. Everybody in the whole town knew what a wonderful power the cloth had, and they were all curious to see how bad or how stupid their neighbour was.
"I will send my old and honoured minister to the weavers," thought the Emperor. "He can judge best what the cloth is like, for he has intellect, and no one understands his office better than he."
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