THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES

MANY years ago there lived an emperor, who cared so enormously for beautiful new clothes that he spent all his money upon them, that he might be very fine. He did not care about his soldiers, nor about the theatre, nor about driving in the park except to show his new clothes.He had a oat for every hour of the day;and just as they say of a king,“He is in council,” one always said of him, “The emperor is in the wardrobe. ”

In the great city in which he lived it was always very merry; every day a number of strangers arrived there. One day two cheats came; they gave themselves out as weavers¹, and declared that they could weave the finest stuff anyone could imagine. Not only were their colours and patterns, they said, uncommonly³ beautiful, but the clothes made of the stuff possessed⁴ the wonderful quality that they became invisible to anyone who was unfit for the office he held, or was incorrigibly⁵ stupid.

“Those would be capital clothes!”thought the emperor . “If I wore those , I should be able to find out what men in my empire are not fit for the places they have; I could distinguish the clever from the stupid . Yes , the stuff must be woven for me directly!”

And he gave the two cheats a great deal of cash in hand, that they might begin their work at once.

As for them, they put up two looms⁶, and pretended to be working; but they had nothing at all on their looms. They at once demanded the finest silk and the costliest⁸ gold; this they put into their own pockets, and worked at the empty looms till late into the night .

“I should like to know how far they have got on with the stuff,” thought the emperor. But he felt quite uncomfortable when he thought that those who were not fit for their offices could not see it . He believed , indeed , that he had nothing to fear for himself, but yet he preferred first to send some one else to see how matters stood . All the people in the whole city knew what peculiar⁹ power the stuffpossessed , and all were anxious to see how bad or how stupid their neighbours were .

“I will send my honest old minister to the weavers,” thought the emperor. “He can judge best how the stuff looks, for he has sense, and no one discharges his office better than he . ”

Now the good old minister went out into the hall where the two cheats sat working at the empty looms .

“Mercy preserve us !” thought the old minister, and he opened his eyes wide.

“I cannot see anything at all ! ” But he did not say this .

Both the cheats begged him to be kind enough to come nearer, and asked if he did not approve of the colours and the pattern . Then they pointed¹⁰ to the empty loom⁷, and the poor old minister went on opening his eyes; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing to see .

“Mercy!” thought he,“can I indeed be so stupid? Inever thought that , and not a soul must know it . Am I not fit for my office? ----No, it will never do for me to tell that I could not see the stuff.”

“Do you say nothing to it ?” said one of the weavers .

“ Oh , it is charming----quite enchanting¹¹!” answered the old minister, as he peered through his spectacles .“ What a fine pattern , and what colours ! Yes , I shall tell the emperor that I am very much pleased with it.”

“ Well , we are glad of that ,” said both the weavers ; and then they named the colours , and explained the strange pattern . The old minister listened attentively¹² , that he might be able to repeat it when he went back to the emperor. And he did so.

Now the cheats asked for more money , and more silk and gold , which they declared they wanted for weaving. They put all into their own pockets, and not a thread was put upon the loom; but they continued to work at the empty frames as before .

The emperor soon sent again , dispatching another honest statesman, to see how the weaving was going on , and if the stuff would soon be ready . He fared just like the first : he looked and looked , but , as there was nothing to be seen but the empty looms , he could see nothing .

“Is not that a pretty piece of stuff?” asked the two cheats; and they displayed and explained the handsome pattern which was not there at all.

“I am not stupid!” thought the man----“it must be my good office , for which I am not fit . It is funny enough , but I must not let it be noticed .” And so he praised the stuff which he did not see , and expressed his pleasure at the beautiful colours and the charming pattern. “Yes, it is enchanting,” he said to the emperor.

All the people in the town were talking of the gorgeous stuff. The emperor wished to see it himself while it was still upon the loom. With a whole crowd of chosen men, among whom were also the two honest statesmen who had already been there, he went to the two cunning cheats, who were now weaving with might and main without fibre or thread.

“Is that not splendid?” said the two old statesmen, who had already been there once . “Does not your majesty¹³ remark the pattern and the colours?” And then they pointed to the empty loom, for they thought that the others could see the stuff.

“What' s this?” thought the emperor. “I can see nothing at all ! That is terrible . Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be emperor? That would be the most dreadful thing that could happen to me . ”

“Oh , it is very pretty !” he said aloud . “It has our exalted¹⁴ approbation¹⁵ . ” And he nodded in a contented¹⁶ way , and gazed at the empty loom, for he would not say that he saw nothing. The whole suite¹⁷ whom he had with him looked and looked, and saw nothing, any more than the rest ; but , like the emperor, they said, “That is pretty !” and counselled him to wear these splendid new clothes for the first time at the great procession that was presently to take place . “ It is splendid , tasteful , excellent !” went from mouth to mouth . On all sides there seemed to be general rejoicing, and the emperor gave each of the cheats a cross to hang at his button-hole and the title of ImperialCourt Weaver².

The whole night before the morning on which the procession was to take place the cheats were up, and had lighted more than sixteen candles . The people could see that they were hard at work, completing the emperor' s new clothes . They pretended to take the stuff down from the loom; they made cuts in the air with great scissors; they sewed with needles without thread; and at last they said , “Now the clothes are ready .”

The emperor came himself with his noblest cavaliers; and the two cheats lifted up one arm as if they were holding something, and said, “See, here are the trousers! Here is the coat ! Here is the cloak ! ” and so on . “It is as light as a spider's web: one would think one had nothing on ; but that is just the beauty of it . ”

“Yes , ” said all the cavaliers ; but they could not see anything, for nothing was there.

“Does your imperial majesty please to condescend¹⁸ to undress?” said the cheats; “then we will put you on the new clothes here in front of the great mirror . ”

The emperor took off his clothes, and the cheats pretended to put on him each of the new garments, and they took him round the waist , and seemed to fasten on something; that was the train; and the emperor turned round and round before the mirror.

“Oh , how well they look ! How capitally they fit !” said all. “What a pattern! What colours! That is a splendid dress !”

“They are standing¹⁹ outside with the canopy²⁰ which is to be borne above your majesty in the procession !” announced the head master of the ceremonies .

“ Well , I am ready ,” replied the emperor. “Does it not suit me well?” And then he turned again to the mirror, for he wanted it to appear as if he contemplated²¹ his adornment²² with great interest .

The chamberlains , who were to carry the train, stooped down with their hands towards the floor, just as if they were picking up the mantle²³; then they pretended to be holding something up in the air. They did not dare to let it be noticed that they saw nothing.

So the emperor went in procession under the rich canopy, and every one in the streets said, “How incomparable are the emperor' s new clothes! What a train he has to his mantle! How it fits him !”No one would let it be perceived that he could see nothing, for that would have shown that he was not fit for his office, or was very stupid. No clothes of the emperor's had ever had such a success as these .

“But he has nothing on !” a little child cried out at last.

“Just hear what that innocent says!” said the father and one whispered to another what the child had said. “There is a little child that says he has nothing on . ”

“ But he has nothing on !” said the whole people at length. And the emperor shivered, for it seemed to him that they were right; but he thought within himself. “Imust go through with the procession.” And so he carried himself still more proudly, and the chamberlains held on tighter than ever, and carried the train which did not exist at all .

1 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 incorrigibly   

adv.无法矫正地；屡教不改地；无可救药地；不能矫正地

参考例句：

• He was incorrigibly obstinate, no matter who persuaded him. 不论谁劝他，他都顽固不化。 来自互联网
• Medora is incorrigibly romantic. 梅朵拉很富于幻想，这是不可救药的。 来自互联网

6 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

8 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

9 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 enchanting   

a.讨人喜欢的

参考例句：

• His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑，活脱儿象他父亲。
• Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方，我又向往又害怕。

12 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

14 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

15 approbation   

n.称赞；认可

参考例句：

• He tasted the wine of audience approbation.他尝到了像酒般令人陶醉的听众赞许滋味。
• The result has not met universal approbation.该结果尚未获得普遍认同。

16 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

17 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

18 condescend   

v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑

参考例句：

• Would you condescend to accompany me?你肯屈尊陪我吗？
• He did not condescend to answer.He turned his back on me.他不愿屈尊回答我的问题。他不理睬我。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

20 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

21 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

22 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

23 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。