Once upon a time, there lived an emperor who loved beautiful clothes. He spent all his money on new outfits. He changed his clothes many times every day. One day, two clever men came to the city. They said they were weavers who could make magical fabric. 'Our fabric is special,' they explained to the emperor. 'Only wise people can see it. Foolish people cannot.' The emperor was very excited about this idea. 'With these clothes, I can find out who is wise and who is foolish!' He gave the two men a lot of gold to start working. The two men set up their looms in a large room. But they didn't put any thread on the looms. They pretended to weave day and night. The emperor wanted to know how the work was going. He sent his old minister to check on the weavers. The minister looked at the empty looms and saw nothing. 'Oh no!' he thought, 'Does this mean I am foolish?' He was afraid to tell the truth. 'The fabric is wonderful!' he lied to the emperor. The emperor sent another official, and the same thing happened. Nobody wanted to admit they could not see the fabric. Finally, the two weavers announced that the clothes were ready. The emperor went to see his new clothes with all his ministers. The weavers held up their arms as if they were holding something. 'Here is the jacket, and here are the trousers,' they said. The emperor could not see anything, but he didn't want to seem foolish. 'Magnificent!' he said, 'I love these new clothes!' All the ministers agreed and praised the beautiful fabric. The emperor took off his real clothes. The weavers pretended to dress him in the new outfit. The emperor looked in the mirror and saw nothing but his underwear. 'How wonderful I look!' he said, but he felt worried inside. The emperor decided to walk through the city to show everyone his new clothes. Servants held up his invisible train behind him. The people in the streets were surprised to see the emperor. They could not see any clothes on him! But nobody wanted to say anything because they were afraid to seem foolish. 'What beautiful clothes!' they shouted, 'What a magnificent outfit!' Suddenly, a little child in the crowd spoke up. 'But he has no clothes on!' the child said loudly. The people began to whisper to each other. 'The child is right! The emperor has no clothes!' Soon everyone was laughing and pointing at the emperor. The emperor felt very embarrassed, but he continued walking proudly. From that day on, everyone remembered the foolish emperor and his invisible clothes.
Story illustration coming soon
The Emperor's New Clothes
English Story for Elementarys (A2)
This A2 English story is designed for elementarys learning English. It includes simple vocabulary and short sentences to help you improve your reading and listening skills. Click any word to see translations and hear pronunciation.
About this story
An emperor who loves beautiful clothes is tricked by two clever men who claim they can weave magical fabric that only wise people can see. Not wanting to appear foolish, the emperor and his ministers pretend to see the nonexistent clothes. When the emperor parades through the city in his 'new clothes,' only a child has the courage to point out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all.
Underlined word = shows word translationOther words = shows sentence translation
Vocabulary
30 words from this story
Tap any word to see it in context
