The Emperor’s New Clothes

A proud and boastful emperor only cares about displaying himself in beautiful clothes and finery. He hires two weavers and promises them a reward if they make for him the best suit of clothes ever worn by anyone. 

The weavers are con-men who tell the king that they are using a special fabric that is invisible to anyone who is stupid or unfit for his position. The weavers are actually tricking the king, by only pretending to stitch the clothes, by miming making clothes. 

Thus, even though no one, including the emperor and his ministers, can actually see the clothes, nobody admits it, for fear of being called stupid or unfit for his position. The weavers claim to have finished the suit and mime-dressing the emperor, who then marches before his subjects to show off his new clothes. 

The townspeople go along with this, as they do not want to admit that the king is naked and risk being called stupid. Then, a child who is watching the procession screams that the emperor has no clothes. The child does not understand the reason to keep up the pretense. 

Hearing the child, others in the crowd also join the child is saying that the emperor is naked. The emperor is very embarrassed. 

He realizes that his pride and foolishness put him in a situation where he became the object of ridicule.