The tailor undressed the emperor until he stood only in his underpants. He unpacked his tape measure. He measured the emperor’s arms, legs, shoulders, and all around his big round belly.
The tailor reached inside one of the suitcases.
“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 idiots! And look at this jacket! See the colours? 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 an idiot?!” he thought. “A complete moron would not know fancy words like… vestibule! Crepuscular! Flibbertigibbit!”
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 his 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. Stupid people see nothing at all!”
Of course, his friends didn’t see anything either. But they did not want to look stupid.
“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 doofus!”
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