“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is a folk tale written by the prolific author Hans Christian Anderson in 1837. While close to 200 years old, the message of this story is as relevant today as it was then, because human nature remains the same.
Two conniving thieves trick the vain emperor into believing that they can make incredibly beautiful clothing that is invisible to anyone who is unfit for his office or incredibly stupid. They are given much money and fine thread and pretend to make clothing for the king. No one will admit that they see nothing, because they are afraid that means they’re unfit for their office or incredibly stupid. The king is “dressed” in this cloth (that doesn’t exist, so the king is dressed in nothing). As he parades without clothung, all the spectators pretend to see him clothed in beautiful robes, until one young boy calls out the truth – that the king is wearing nothing.
I was trying to find an original telling of the tale, as I didn’t want a modern version, and I found and ordered this one. It turns out that it has less pictures than I imagined for a typical picture book. Nevertheless I highly recommend reading this story to your children, as the lesson is relevant to our day, when people are afraid to speak the truth when it seems that everyone else is believing a lie.
