Les Habits neufs de l’empereur et autres contes

Many years ago there was an Emperor. He loved new clothes more than anything. He spent all his money on them. He did not care about his soldiers, and he did not go to the theatre. He only wanted to show his new clothes. He had a different coat for every hour of the day.

In his big city, life was happy, and many visitors came every day. One day two cheats came. They said, "We are weavers. We can make the most beautiful cloth in the world. The colours and the pictures on it are wonderful. But this cloth is special. People who are stupid, or who are not good at their work, cannot see it."

"What wonderful cloth!" thought the Emperor. "With clothes like that, I can find out who is not good at his work. I can see who is clever and who is stupid. They must make some for me at once!" And he gave the two cheats a lot of money.