Once upon a time, there lived an Emperor who spent all his time trying out new clothes.
Tailors from all around the world came to prepare new dresses to fill his cupboards.
Two travelers who were passing through the land heard about the Emperor and his love for
clothes. They decided to fool the King and make some money. The travelers went to the Emperor
and said, “Your Highness, we are two famous tailors from a faraway land. We will make the best
clothes for you from a special material that fools cannot see!” the Emperor readily agreed. Two
men received a large sum of money from the Emperor and began to work. However the cunning
travelers were only pretending to measure cut and sew the amazing clothes.
One day, one of the Emperor’s ministers went to them. Looking around, he saw no sign of any
dresses anywhere, but the tailors seemed to be busy. “I cannot see any dress. Am I a fool? The
minister thought. So when the tailors asked him how the dress was, he lied and said, “That is
indeed a lovely suit!”

Similarly, many curious ministers came to see the special cloth. Nine of them saw
anything, but they thought, “if I don’t see it, I’ll be called a fool.” So they all praised it. “What
pretty colors!” said one. “Magnificent!” said another. Soon the two men went before the Emperor
with their creation. “isn’t it the most wonderful thing you’ve ever seen?” they asked. Like the
others, the Emperor too saw nothing. But, he didn’t want to admit that he was a fool, so he cried,
“Marvelous! Wonderful! Splendid! I will wear it for the parade today!” The entire town had
gathered on the roads to watch their Emperor and his fine clothes. The Emperor, with his crown
on his head, and proud of his clothes, marched along the streets. All his subjects cheered loudly.
“The Emperor’s clothes are beautiful,” they all cried, even though none of them actually saw any
clothes. Finally, a little voice cried, “But Mummy, why isn’t the Emperor wearing any clothes?”

There was pin drop silence. Slowly the people started whispering. They realized that they
had all been fooled. “The Emperor is not wearing any clothes!” they laughed.
The Emperor too understood his mistake. He turned red with shame and wanted to punish the
cunning travelers. But the two men had taken the money and had already run away.


---Take the Quiz---



key: exercise, reading, learning English