The Emperor's New Clothes · chapter 2 of 3
The Invisible Cloth
看不见的布
The emperor sends his trusted old minister to check on the magic cloth. There's just one problem: the loom looks completely empty.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 两个骗子天天织布，晚上也不休息。
Liǎng gè piànzi tiāntiān zhī bù, wǎnshang yě bù xiūxi.
Day after day the two swindlers wove, and they didn't even stop at night.
- Narrator 可是，织布机上什么也没有。
Kěshì, zhībùjī shang shénme yě méiyǒu.
But there was nothing on the loom at all.
- The Emperor 老大臣，我的布怎么样了？你去看看吧。
Lǎo dàchén, wǒ de bù zěnmeyàng le? Nǐ qù kànkan ba.
Old Minister, how is my cloth coming along? Go and have a look.
Chapter 2 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 Old Minister 我去？陛下，您不去吗？
Wǒ qù? Bìxià, nín bú qù ma?
Me? Aren't you going yourself, Your Majesty?
- The Emperor 我……我很忙！你去吧。你不笨，一定能看见。
Wǒ… wǒ hěn máng! Nǐ qù ba. Nǐ bú bèn, yídìng néng kànjiàn.
I… I'm very busy! You go. You're no fool, so you're sure to see it.
- The Swindler 老大臣，您来了！快看，这是陛下的布！
Lǎo dàchén, nín lái le! Kuài kàn, zhè shì bìxià de bù!
Ah, Old Minister, welcome! Quick, look: this is His Majesty's cloth!
- The Old Minister 布？什么布？我什么也看不见！
Bù? Shénme bù? Wǒ shénme yě kàn bú jiàn!
Cloth? What cloth? I can't see a thing!
- The Old Minister 天哪，我是笨人吗？不行，谁也不能知道！
Tiān na, wǒ shì bèn rén ma? Bù xíng, shéi yě bù néng zhīdào!
Heavens, am I a fool? No. Nobody must ever find out!
- The Swindler 老大臣，您怎么不说话？不好看吗？
Lǎo dàchén, nín zěnme bù shuōhuà? Bù hǎokàn ma?
Old Minister, why so quiet? Don't you think it's beautiful?
- The Old Minister 好看！太好看了！我……我都看见了！
Hǎokàn! Tài hǎokàn le! Wǒ… wǒ dōu kànjiàn le!
Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! I… I can see every bit of it!
- The Swindler 您看，这里是红的，这里是蓝的，这里还有金子。
Nín kàn, zhèlǐ shì hóng de, zhèlǐ shì lán de, zhèlǐ hái yǒu jīnzi.
See? This part is red, this part is blue, and here there's gold.
- The Old Minister 红的，蓝的，还有金子……好，我记住了！
Hóng de, lán de, hái yǒu jīnzi… Hǎo, wǒ jìzhù le!
Red, blue, and gold… Right, I've got it memorized!
- The Swindler 对了，金子不够了。我们还要一百块。
Duì le, jīnzi bú gòu le. Wǒmen hái yào yìbǎi kuài.
Oh, one more thing. We've run out of gold. We'll need another hundred pieces.
- Narrator 几天以后，皇帝自己来看布了。
Jǐ tiān yǐhòu, huángdì zìjǐ lái kàn bù le.
A few days later, the emperor came to see the cloth for himself.
- The Swindler 陛下，您看！您的布，多好看啊！
Bìxià, nín kàn! Nín de bù, duō hǎokàn a!
Look, Your Majesty! Isn't your cloth beautiful?
- The Emperor 什么？我什么也看不见！我是笨人吗？
Shénme? Wǒ shénme yě kàn bú jiàn! Wǒ shì bèn rén ma?
What? I can't see a thing! Am I a fool?
- The Old Minister 陛下，您看，红的，蓝的，还有金子！
Bìxià, nín kàn, hóng de, lán de, hái yǒu jīnzi!
Look, Your Majesty: the red, the blue, and the gold!
- The Emperor 老大臣能看见，我看不见？不行！我是皇帝啊！
Lǎo dàchén néng kànjiàn, wǒ kàn bú jiàn? Bù xíng! Wǒ shì huángdì a!
My old minister can see it, and I can't? That won't do! I'm the emperor!
- The Emperor 好看！非常好看！我很喜欢！
Hǎokàn! Fēicháng hǎokàn! Wǒ hěn xǐhuan!
Beautiful! Simply beautiful! I love it!
- The Swindler 陛下，下个星期有大游行。我们用这布，给您做新衣服！
Bìxià, xià gè xīngqī yǒu dà yóuxíng. Wǒmen yòng zhè bù, gěi nín zuò xīn yīfu!
Your Majesty, there's a grand parade next week. We'll make this cloth into new clothes for you!
- The Emperor 好！游行那天，让全国的人都来看我的新衣服！
Hǎo! Yóuxíng nà tiān, ràng quánguó de rén dōu lái kàn wǒ de xīn yīfu!
Splendid! On the day of the parade, let the whole country come and see my new clothes!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is on the swindlers' loom?
“织布机上什么也没有。”
- What excuse does the emperor give for not going himself?
“我……我很忙！”
- Why does the minister pretend he can see the cloth?
“我是笨人吗？不行，谁也不能知道！”
- What does the swindler ask for after the minister praises the cloth?
“金子不够了。我们还要一百块。”
- Why does the emperor say he loves the cloth?
“老大臣能看见，我看不见？不行！我是皇帝啊！”