“Yes, it is perfectly beautiful,” he reported to the Emperor.
Everybody in the town was talking of the magnificent cloth. The Emperor himself wished to see it while it was still on the loom. With a great crowd of carefully selected men, among whom were the two worthy statesmen who had been before, he [[22]]went to visit the cunning rogues, who were weaving away with might and main, but without fiber or thread.
“Is it not splendid?” said both the old statesmen. “See, Your Majesty, what a pattern! what colors!” And they pointed to the empty loom, for they believed others could see the cloth quite well.
“What!” thought the Emperor; “I can see nothing. This 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 beautiful!” he said aloud. “It has my highest approval.” And then he nodded pleasantly as he examined the empty loom, for he would not say that he could see nothing.
His whole suite gazed and gazed, and saw no more than the others; but, like the Emperor, they all exclaimed, “Oh, it is beautiful! beautiful!” and they advised him to wear the splendid new clothes for the first time at the great procession which was soon to take place. [[23]]
“Splendid! Gorgeous! Magnificent!” went from mouth to mouth. Every one seemed delighted, and the Emperor gave the rogues the title of “Court Weavers of the Emperor.”
During the whole night before the day on which the procession was to take place, the rogues sat up and worked by the light of sixteen candles. The people could see that they were hard at work, finishing the Emperor’s new clothes. They pretended to take the cloth from the loom; they cut into the air with huge scissors; they stitched with needles with no thread; and at last they said, “Now the clothes are finished!”
The Emperor came himself, with his noblest courtiers, and each rogue lifted his arm just as if he 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 almost think one had nothing on; but that is the beauty of it!”
“Yes!” said all the courtiers, but they could see nothing, for there was nothing there. [[24]]