The Emperor's New Clothes · chapter 3 of 3
Nothing On at All
什么也没穿
The new clothes are finally ready, the whole town turns out for the parade, and every voice is cheering. Well, almost every voice.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 游行那天早上，骗子来给皇帝穿新衣服。
Yóuxíng nà tiān zǎoshang, piànzi lái gěi huángdì chuān xīn yīfu.
On the morning of the parade, the swindler came to dress the emperor in his new clothes.
- The Swindler 陛下，您看！这是上衣，这是裤子。
Bìxià, nín kàn! Zhè shì shàngyī, zhè shì kùzi.
Look, Your Majesty! Here's the coat, and here are the trousers.
- The Swindler 这衣服很轻很轻。穿上它，就像什么也没穿一样！
Zhè yīfu hěn qīng hěn qīng. Chuān shàng tā, jiù xiàng shénme yě méi chuān yíyàng!
They're light as air. Put them on, and it's just like wearing nothing at all!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Emperor's New Clothes is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- The Emperor 我看看镜子……是很轻。可是，有一点儿冷。
Wǒ kànkan jìngzi… Shì hěn qīng. Kěshì, yǒu yìdiǎnr lěng.
Let me look in the mirror… Yes, very light. A little chilly, though.
- The Swindler 那是因为布太好了，陛下！
Nà shì yīnwèi bù tài hǎo le, bìxià!
That's because the cloth is so very fine, Your Majesty!
- The Old Minister 陛下，您穿什么都好看！
Bìxià, nín chuān shénme dōu hǎokàn!
Your Majesty, you look wonderful in anything!
- Narrator 游行的路上都是人。大家都想看看皇帝的新衣服。
Yóuxíng de lùshang dōu shì rén. Dàjiā dōu xiǎng kànkan huángdì de xīn yīfu.
The parade route was packed with people. Everyone wanted to see the emperor's new clothes.
- The Girl's Father 好看！皇帝的新衣服真好看！
Hǎokàn! Huángdì de xīn yīfu zhēn hǎokàn!
Wonderful! The emperor's new clothes are just wonderful!
- The Emperor 大家都能看见……我怎么看不见呢？
Dàjiā dōu néng kànjiàn… Wǒ zěnme kàn bú jiàn ne?
Everyone else can see them… so why can't I?
- The Little Girl 爸爸，皇帝的新衣服在哪儿？
Bàba, huángdì de xīn yīfu zài nǎr?
Daddy, where are the emperor's new clothes?
- The Girl's Father 在……在他身上啊。
Zài… zài tā shēnshang a.
They're… they're on him, of course.
- The Little Girl 没有啊！皇帝什么也没穿！
Méiyǒu a! Huángdì shénme yě méi chuān!
No, they're not! The emperor's got nothing on!
- The Girl's Father 你们听，孩子说……皇帝什么也没穿？
Nǐmen tīng, háizi shuō… huángdì shénme yě méi chuān?
Listen, everyone. The child says… the emperor has nothing on?
- Narrator 大家看看旁边的人，小声说了起来。
Dàjiā kànkan pángbiān de rén, xiǎoshēng shuō le qǐlái.
People glanced at their neighbors and began to whisper.
- The Girl's Father 哈哈，对啊！他真的什么也没穿！
Hāhā, duì a! Tā zhēn de shénme yě méi chuān!
Ha ha! It's true! He really has nothing on!
- The Old Minister 陛下……大家都在笑。他们说，您什么也没穿……
Bìxià… dàjiā dōu zài xiào. Tāmen shuō, nín shénme yě méi chuān…
Your Majesty… everyone's laughing. They're saying you have nothing on…
- The Emperor 他们说得对……我知道。
Tāmen shuō de duì… Wǒ zhīdào.
They're right… I know it.
- The Emperor 可是，我是皇帝。游行不能停！
Kěshì, wǒ shì huángdì. Yóuxíng bù néng tíng!
But I'm the emperor. The parade can't stop!
- The Emperor 老大臣，拿好我的衣服！我们走！
Lǎo dàchén, ná hǎo wǒ de yīfu! Wǒmen zǒu!
Old Minister, keep hold of my robe! Onward!
- The Old Minister 是，陛下！
Shì, bìxià!
Yes, Your Majesty!
- Narrator 皇帝没有停。他走得更慢，更像一个皇帝了。
Huángdì méiyǒu tíng. Tā zǒu de gèng màn, gèng xiàng yí gè huángdì le.
The emperor did not stop. He walked even more slowly, looking more like an emperor than ever.
- Narrator 老大臣跟在后边，高高地拿着那件看不见的衣服。
Lǎo dàchén gēn zài hòubian, gāogāo de názhe nà jiàn kàn bú jiàn de yīfu.
Behind him walked the old minister, holding high a robe that nobody could see.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- According to the swindler, what do the new clothes feel like?
“穿上它，就像什么也没穿一样！”
- What does the little girl ask her father?
“爸爸，皇帝的新衣服在哪儿？”
- How does the crowd react once the girl's words spread?
“大家看看旁边的人，小声说了起来。”……“哈哈，对啊！他真的什么也没穿！”
- What does the emperor think when he hears the crowd?
“他们说得对……我知道。”
- What does the emperor do in the end?
“皇帝没有停。他走得更慢，更像一个皇帝了。”