ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel The Fable Cottage The Emperor's New Clothes – UK English accent
Once upon a time, there was an emperor who loved himself very much. He had a big round belly, bushy eyebrows, and a long mustache. He always said, “I am so wonderful! Look at my marvelous eyebrows and mustache!”
The emperor loved wearing fancy clothes. He had hundreds of fancy shirts, pants, and socks. He also liked using big words like “empirical” and “discombobulate,” even though he didn’t know what they meant. He thought it made him sound smart. “I am a genius!” he would say.
One day, a man came to the palace. He said he was a tailor who could make the fanciest clothes ever. But he was actually a trickster who fooled rich people. He brought ten suitcases with him.
“Your majesty,” the tailor said, “I have made clothes that only smart people can see. Foolish people can’t see them at all!”
The emperor was excited. “With these clothes, I can tell who is smart and who is foolish!” he thought. He wanted to try them on right away.
The tailor pretended to take measurements of the emperor’s arms, legs, and belly. He then pretended to pull out a shirt from the suitcase. “What do you think?” he asked.
The emperor couldn’t see anything! “Isn’t it wonderful?” the tailor said. “Only intelligent people can see it!”
The emperor was confused. “Why can’t I see the clothes?” he wondered. But he didn’t want to look foolish, so he said nothing.
The tailor pretended to dress the emperor in invisible clothes. The emperor looked in the mirror and saw only his underpants. “I’m not sure it’s my style…” he said, but he wanted a second opinion.
The emperor called his three smartest friends. “What do you think of my new clothes? Only smart people can see them!” he said. His friends couldn’t see anything either, but they didn’t want to look foolish. “Great shirt!” said one. “Perfect pants!” said another. “Cool shoes!” said the third.
The emperor was thrilled. “I will wear these clothes in the parade tomorrow!” he declared. He gave the tailor lots of money, and the tailor left with his suitcases full of gold, laughing at how he had tricked the emperor.
That night, the emperor stayed up reading big books, hoping to learn more fancy words so he could see the clothes. In the morning, his servants pretended to dress him in the invisible clothes. The emperor looked in the mirror and thought he saw a tiny shimmer of fabric. He was happy and shouted, “Let’s join the parade!”
Everyone in town came to see the parade. The emperor stood in his carriage, waving to the crowd. But the crowd was silent. Then, a small child shouted, “Mummy, I can see his underpants!”
Everyone gasped, then giggled, and soon they were all laughing and shouting, “UNDERPANTS! UNDERPANTS!”
The emperor realized he had been fooled. He wasn’t wearing special clothes; he was only in his underpants. Embarrassed, he jumped out of the carriage and ran back to the palace, hearing the crowd chant, “UNDERPANTS! UNDERPANTS!”
Back in his room, the emperor put on all his real clothes: all his fancy shirts, pants, and socks. He learned a valuable lesson about vanity and honesty that day.
Design Your Own Outfit: Imagine you are a tailor like the one in the story, but you want to make real clothes! Draw a picture of an outfit you would create for the emperor. Think about the colors, patterns, and styles you would use. Share your drawing with a friend and explain why you chose those designs. What makes your outfit special?
Invisible Clothes Experiment: Gather some friends or family members and try to create your own “invisible clothes” fashion show. Use your imagination to describe the clothes you are “wearing” and walk down an imaginary runway. Ask your audience to describe what they “see.” Discuss how it feels to pretend and how it relates to the story of the emperor.
Truth and Honesty Discussion: Think about a time when you saw something differently from others or when you were afraid to speak up. Share your story with a classmate or family member. Why is it important to be honest, even if it means standing out? How did the child in the story help the emperor realize the truth?
**The Emperor’s New Clothes**
Once upon a time, there was an emperor. He had a big round belly, bushy eyebrows, and a very long mustache. But he was very vain. All he thought about was himself. “I am so wonderful!” he would say. “Look at my wonderful eyebrows! Look at my excellent mustache! I look marvelous!”
The emperor loved to wear fancy clothes. He had four hundred fancy shirts, three hundred pairs of fancy pants, and one thousand pairs of fancy socks. The emperor also loved to use fancy words, like “empirical,” “cantankerous,” and “discombobulate.” He didn’t know what these words meant, but he liked to say them anyway. He liked to sound intelligent. “I am so intelligent!” he said. “I am a genius!”
One day, a man arrived at the palace. He claimed to be a tailor and said he could make the fanciest clothes in the land. But really, this man was dishonest. He earned his money by fooling rich people. The tailor brought the emperor ten suitcases.
“Your most majestic and intelligent majesty,” he said, “Everybody knows that you are the most intelligent man in the world. And I have created some amazing new clothes. These clothes are only for intelligent people. In fact, foolish people cannot even see these clothes!”
The emperor clapped his hands. “Amazing! With these clothes, I can know who is smart and who is foolish! I will never be bothered by simpletons again! Let me try these clothes!”
The tailor undressed the emperor until he stood only in his underpants. He unpacked his tape measure and measured the emperor’s arms, legs, shoulders, and all around his big round belly. The tailor reached inside one of the suitcases. “No… no… this one is too big. No… this one is too small. Ahh! This one is perfect!” He pretended to lift a shirt out of the suitcase. “What do you think?” said the tailor.
The emperor gasped. He could not see anything! “Isn’t it wonderful?” said the tailor. “And remember… only intelligent people will be able to see it!” The tailor reached into his suitcase again. “Look at these pants! Aren’t they beautiful? And they are completely invisible to foolish people! And look at this jacket! A complete nincompoop will see absolutely nothing!”
“Oh, oh, yes… very nice!” stammered the emperor. But he was confused. Why couldn’t he see the clothes? “Surely it’s not possible that I am foolish?!” he thought. A complete fool would not know fancy words like “vestibule,” “crepuscular,” and “flibbertigibbet.” But the emperor said nothing.
The tailor pretended to dress the emperor in the invisible shirt, pants, jacket, and shoes. The emperor stood in front of the mirror. He wanted to see the clothes, but all he saw was his big, round belly and his underpants. “I’m not sure that it’s really my style…” said the emperor. “But let me get a second opinion.”
The emperor called three of his most intelligent friends into the room. “Friends! What do you think of these new clothes? Only intelligent people can see these clothes. Foolish people see nothing at all!” Of course, his friends didn’t see anything either. But they did not want to look foolish. “Oh, yes! That is a great shirt!” said the first friend. “Yes! The pants are the perfect color,” said the second friend. “Cool shoes!” said the third friend.
The emperor was excited. “I will wear these new clothes in the parade tomorrow!” The emperor gave the tailor a lot of money. The tailor left the palace with ten suitcases full of gold. When he was safely in his carriage, he laughed long and hard. “What a fool!”
That night, the emperor did not sleep. He stayed up late, reading the biggest, heaviest books in his library. “I just need a few more fancy words… THEN I’ll be able to see my clothes!” he thought.
In the morning, two servants came to the emperor’s room to dress him for the parade. Of course, they couldn’t see any clothes either. But they said nothing. They did not want to look foolish. They pretended to dress the emperor in invisible pants, an invisible shirt, an invisible jacket, and an invisible hat. The emperor looked at himself in the mirror. He stared and squinted. He turned his head left and right. And … wait!… There it was! Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a slight shimmering fabric. A checkered pattern. A tiny bit of color. He could see the clothes! In reality, there were no clothes. But we often see what we want to see.
The emperor was happy that he could finally see the clothes. “Let’s join the parade!” he shouted. Everybody from the town was at the parade. All the intelligent people were there: all the scientists, all the writers, all the teachers, and all the children. The emperor stood in his open carriage and waved to the crowd. But as the emperor’s carriage drove down the street, the crowd fell silent. The music stopped. Everybody stared at the emperor.
“These clothes must be amazing…” thought the emperor. But then, from the back of the crowd, a small child yelled, “Mummy, I can see his underpants!” Everybody gasped. Then there were a few giggles. And then everyone on the street laughed — and laughed — and laughed even harder. They clapped and shouted: “UNDERPANTS! UNDERPANTS!”
The emperor heard the crowd laugh. He knew he had been fooled. He wasn’t wearing special clothes. He was wearing nothing — only his underpants. He jumped out of the carriage and ran all the way back to the palace. Behind him, he heard: “UNDERPANTS! UNDERPANTS!”
He ran to his bedroom and slammed the door. Later, when his friends found him, he was lying on his bed. He was wearing all his real clothes: all his fancy shirts, all his fancy pants, and all one thousand pairs of fancy socks.
