ONCE UPON A TIME, there was an emperor so fond of new clothes that he spent vast amounts of money on them. He only went out when he had the chance to show off his new clothes. Other emperors could be found sitting in council. However, it was said of this Emperor that “He is sitting in his wardrobe.”

One day, two weavers arrived saying they knew how to weave cloth of the most exquisite colors and patterns. However, the cloth would be invisible to everyone who was unfit for the jobs they held, or who was simple.

The Emperor thought, “If I had such a suit, I would be able to tell my wise advisors from my incompetent ones. A suit must be woven for me immediately.” He gave buckets of government money to the weavers so they could begin at once. The weavers asked for the finest silk and the purest gold thread, which they put into their knapsacks. Then they pretended to work at empty looms until late every night.

“I want to know how the weavers are progressing with my cloth,” Emperor said to himself one day. Then he remembered that a simpleton, or one unfit for his job, would be unable to see the cloth. He began to worry that he might be one or both. So he said “I will send my most trusted advisor, instead, to bring me news of the weavers’ work. He will be best able to see how the cloth looks. No one can be better for his job than he is.”

When the advisor arrived he said to himself, “I cannot see anything on the looms.” The weavers asked if the cloth pleased him, if the colors were beautiful. The advisor looked again. He still saw nothing and thought, “Is it possible I am a simpleton, that I am unfit for my job? No one must know if I am, especially the Emperor. However, if I tell him what he wants to hear, I will probably keep my job.” So he told the emperor, “The cloth is extraordinarily magnificent.”

Now the emperor wanted to see for himself. He took several of his close advisors, including the first one who had already admired the cloth. “I see nothing,” the Emperor said to himself. “Am I a simpleton, am I unfit to be Emperor?” But he could never admit that to himself, so he said “The cloth is great, I approve it.” Each advisor thought, “I must agree to keep my job,” so they all said, “How beautiful!” They advised the emperor to have some new clothes made immediately for the parade he had planned for himself.

After the weavers fitted the invisible suit, the Emperor looked into a mirror to admire himself. Although all his advisors saw he was naked, they were afraid to tell him that. Instead, they told him what he wanted to hear: “How splendid you look in your new clothes, and how well they fit!” The Emperor was so pleased with their reaction, he gave the weavers a medal.

The Emperor wore his new clothes in his parade through the streets of his capital. His followers had heard of the wonderful cloth and, because they believed everything that their Emperor told them, when they saw him, they cheered “Our Emperor’s new clothes are beautiful!”

Then an innocent child blurted out, “But the Emperor has no clothes!” When adults nearby heard the kid, their eyes and minds were opened and they yelled, “He has nothing on!” The Emperor was visibly upset. However, he ordered the parade to continue rather than admit to himself, and his followers, that in truth, he had no clothes.

Any resemblance of the emperor in this fairy tale to any living person is a coincidence. (This Hans Christian Anderson version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” has been edited and adapted for space requirements.)