clothes,' said the impostors, 'then we will put on the new
clothes, here before the mirror.'

The Emperor took off all his clothes, and the impostors placed
themselves before him as if they were putting on each part of his
new clothes which was ready, and the Emperor turned and bent
himself in front of the mirror.

'How beautifully they fit! How well they sit!' said everybody.
'What material! What colours! It is a gorgeous suit!'

'They are waiting outside with the canopy which your Majesty is
wont to have borne over you in the procession,' announced the
Master of the Ceremonies.

'Look, I am ready,' said the Emperor. 'Doesn't it sit well!' And
he turned himself again to the mirror to see if his finery was on
all right.

The chamberlains who were used to carry the train put their hands
near the floor as if they were lifting up the train; then they
did as if they were holding something in the air. They would not
have it noticed that they could see nothing.

So the Emperor went along in the procession under the splendid
canopy, and all the people in the streets and at the windows
said, 'How matchless are the Emperor's new clothes! That train
fastened to his dress, how beautifully it hangs!'

No one wished it to be noticed that he could see nothing, for