Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Sleepy Stories. I'm your host, Lucy,
Speaker 1: and my friends and I will be reading you a
Speaker 1: sleepy bedtime story every week to relax you and to
Speaker 1: help you to drift off into a RESTful sleep. From
Speaker 1: time to time, we will also read you a relaxing,
Speaker 1: peaceful meditation that will take you somewhere beautiful and calming.
Speaker 1: Once we have read the stories, we will then read
Speaker 1: them a second time, but this time they will be
Speaker 1: ready even slower. This will help you to relax even more.
Speaker 1: Before we begin, I would like you to close your
Speaker 1: eyes and breathe in and out nice and deeply. Take
Speaker 1: a few seconds to inhale, and then hold your breath
Speaker 1: for a few seconds more, and then release and breathe out.
Speaker 1: Do this a few times if you need to. While
Speaker 1: you listen to the music and you listen to my voice,
Speaker 1: give yourself time to let your body relax and your
Speaker 1: mind settle. It's important that we allow time for us
Speaker 1: to feel safe, cozy, and completely at ease. And now
Speaker 1: it's time for this week's story.
Speaker 2: The Emperor's New Clothes. Many years ago, there was an
Speaker 2: emperor who was so excessively fond of new clothes that
Speaker 2: he spent all his money and dress. He did not
Speaker 2: trouble himself in the least about his soldiers, nor did
Speaker 2: he care to go either to the theater or the chase,
Speaker 2: except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his
Speaker 2: new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour
Speaker 2: of the day. And as of any other king or emperor,
Speaker 2: one is accustomed to say he is sitting in council,
Speaker 2: it was always said of him, the Emperor is sitting
Speaker 2: in his wardrobe. Time passed merrily in the large town
Speaker 2: which was his capital. Strangers arrived every day at the court.
Speaker 2: One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance.
Speaker 2: They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs
Speaker 2: of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns, the clothes
Speaker 2: manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining
Speaker 2: invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held,
Speaker 2: or who was extraordinarily simple in character. These must indeed
Speaker 2: be splendid clothes, thought the Emperor. Had I such a suit,
Speaker 2: I might at once find out what men in my
Speaker 2: realms are unfit for their office, and also be able
Speaker 2: to distinguish the wise from the foolish. This stuff must
Speaker 2: be woven for me immediately, and he caused large sums
Speaker 2: of money to be given to both the weavers in
Speaker 2: order that they might begin their work directly. So the
Speaker 2: two pretended weavers set up two looms and affected to
Speaker 2: work very busily, though in reality they did nothing at all.
Speaker 2: They asked for the most delicate silk and the purest
Speaker 2: gold thread, put both into their own knapsacks, and then
Speaker 2: continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late
Speaker 2: at night. I should like to know how the weavers
Speaker 2: are getting on with my cloth, said the emperor to himself,
Speaker 2: after some time had elapsed. He was, however, rather embarrassed
Speaker 2: when he remembered that a simpleton, or one unfit for
Speaker 2: his office, would be unable to see the manufacture. To
Speaker 2: be sure, he thought he had nothing to risk in
Speaker 2: his own person, But yet he would prefer sending somebody
Speaker 2: else to bring him intelligence about the weavers and their
Speaker 2: work before he troubled himself in the affair. All the
Speaker 2: people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property
Speaker 2: the cloth was to possess, and all were anxious to
Speaker 2: learn how wise or how ignorant their neighbors might prove
Speaker 2: to be. I will send my faithful old minister to
Speaker 2: the weavers, said the Emperor at last, after some deliberation.
Speaker 2: He will be best able to see how the cloth looks,
Speaker 2: for he is a man of sense, and no one
Speaker 2: can be more suitable for his office than he is.
Speaker 2: So the faithful old minister went into the hall, where
Speaker 2: the knaves were working with all their might at their
Speaker 2: empty looms. What can be the meaning of this? Thought
Speaker 2: the old man, opening his eyes very wide. I cannot
Speaker 2: discover the least bit of thread on the looms. However,
Speaker 2: he did not express his thoughts aloud. The impostors requested
Speaker 2: him very courteously to be so good as to come
Speaker 2: nearer their looms, and then asked him whether the design
Speaker 2: pleased him, and whether the colors were not very beautiful
Speaker 2: at the same time, pointing to the empty frames. The
Speaker 2: poor old minister looked and looked, but he could not
Speaker 2: discover anything on the looms for a very good reason, viz.
Speaker 2: There was nothing there. What thought he again, Is it
Speaker 2: possible that I am a simpleton? I have never thought
Speaker 2: so myself, and no one must know it now? If
Speaker 2: I am, so can it be that I am unfit
Speaker 2: for my office? No, that must not be said either.
Speaker 2: I will never confess that I could not see the stuff. Well,
Speaker 2: sir minister, said one of the knaves, still pretending to work.
Speaker 2: You do not say whether the stuff pleases you. Oh
Speaker 2: it is excellent, replied the old minister, looking at the
Speaker 2: loom through his spectacles. This pattern and the colors. Yes,
Speaker 2: I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful
Speaker 2: I think them. We shall be much obliged to you,
Speaker 2: said the impostors, and they named the different colors and
Speaker 2: described the pattern of the pretended stuff. The old minister
Speaker 2: listened attentively to their words in order that he might
Speaker 2: repeat them to the Emperor. And then the knave asked
Speaker 2: for more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary
Speaker 2: to complete what they had begun. However, they put all
Speaker 2: that was given them into their knapsacks and continued to
Speaker 2: work with as much apparent diligence as before at their
Speaker 2: empty looms. The Emperor now sent another officer of his
Speaker 2: court to see how the men were getting on, and
Speaker 2: to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready. It
Speaker 2: was just the same with this gentleman. As with the minister,
Speaker 2: he surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see
Speaker 2: nothing at all but the empty frames. Does not the
Speaker 2: stuff appear as beautiful to you as it did to
Speaker 2: my lord? The minister asked, the impostors of the Emperor's
Speaker 2: second ambassador, at the same time, making the same gestures
Speaker 2: as before, and talking of the design and colors which
Speaker 2: were not there. I certainly am not stupid, thought the messenger.
Speaker 2: It must be that I am not fit for my good,
Speaker 2: profitable office. That is very odd. However, no one shall
Speaker 2: know anything about it. And accordingly he praised the stuff
Speaker 2: he could not see, and declared that he was delighted
Speaker 2: with both colors and patterns. Indeed, please, your Imperial Majesty,
Speaker 2: said he to his sovereign, when he returned. The cloth
Speaker 2: which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent. The whole
Speaker 2: city was talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor
Speaker 2: had ordered to be woven at his own expense, and
Speaker 2: now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture
Speaker 2: while it was still in the loom, accompanied by a
Speaker 2: select number of officers of the court, among whom were
Speaker 2: the two honest men, who had already admired the cloth.
Speaker 2: He went to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as
Speaker 2: they were aware of the Emperor's approach, went on working
Speaker 2: more diligently than ever, although they still did not pass
Speaker 2: a single thread through the looms. Is not the work?
Speaker 2: Absolutely magnificent, said the two officers of the crown already mentioned,
Speaker 2: if your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it,
Speaker 2: What a splendid design, what glorious colors. And at the
Speaker 2: same time they pointed to the end empty frames, for
Speaker 2: they imagine that everyone else could see this exquisite piece
Speaker 2: of workmanship. How is this, said the emperor to himself.
Speaker 2: I can see nothing. This is indeed a terrible affair.
Speaker 2: Am I a simpleton? Or am I unfit to be
Speaker 2: an emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen. Oh,
Speaker 2: the cloth is charming, said he aloud. It is my
Speaker 2: complete approbation. And he smiled most graciously and looked closely
Speaker 2: at the empty looms, for on no account would he
Speaker 2: say that he could not see what two of the
Speaker 2: officers of his court had praised so much. All his
Speaker 2: retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on
Speaker 2: the looms, but they could see no more than the other. Nevertheless,
Speaker 2: they all exclaimed, oh, how beautiful, and advised his Majesty
Speaker 2: to have some new clothes made from this splendid material
Speaker 2: for the approaching procession. Magnificent, charming, excellent resounded on all sides,
Speaker 2: and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the
Speaker 2: general satisfaction and presented the impostors with the riband of
Speaker 2: an order of knighthood to be worn in their buttonholes,
Speaker 2: and the title of gentlemen Weavers. The rogues sat up
Speaker 2: the whole of the night before the day on which
Speaker 2: the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights
Speaker 2: burning so that everyone might see how anxious they were
Speaker 2: to finish the Emperor's new suit. They pretended to roll
Speaker 2: the cloth off the looms, cut the air with their scissors,
Speaker 2: and sewed with needles without any thread in them. See,
Speaker 2: they cried, at last, the Emperor's new clothes are ready.
Speaker 2: And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court,
Speaker 2: came to the weavers, and the rogues raised their arm
Speaker 2: as if in the act of holding something up, saying,
Speaker 2: here are your Majesty's trousers. Here is the scarf, here's
Speaker 2: the mantle. The whole suit is as light as a cobweb.
Speaker 2: One might fancy one has nothing at all on when
Speaker 2: dressed in it. That, however, is the great virtue of
Speaker 2: this delicate cloth. Yes, indeed, said all the courtiers, although
Speaker 2: not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture.
Speaker 2: If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take
Speaker 2: off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit
Speaker 2: in front of the looking glass. The Emperor was accordingly undressed,
Speaker 2: and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit.
Speaker 2: The Emperor, turning round from side to side before the
Speaker 2: looking glass. How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes,
Speaker 2: and how well they fit? Everyone cried out, what a design?
Speaker 2: What colors? These are indeed royal robes. The canopy, which
Speaker 2: is to be borne over your Majesty in the procession,
Speaker 2: is waiting, announced the chief Master of the ceremonies. I
Speaker 2: am quite ready, answered the Emperor. Do my new clothes
Speaker 2: fit well? Asked he, turning himself round again before the
Speaker 2: looking glass in order that he might appear to be
Speaker 2: examining his handsome suit. The lords of the bedchamber, who
Speaker 2: were to carry His Majesty's train, felt about on the
Speaker 2: ground as if they were lifting up the ends of
Speaker 2: the mantel, and pretended to be carrying something, for they
Speaker 2: would by no means betray anything like simplicity or unfitness
Speaker 2: for their office. So now the Emperor walked under his
Speaker 2: high canopy in the midst of the procession through the
Speaker 2: streets of his capital, and all the people standing by
Speaker 2: and those at the windows cried out, Oh, how beautiful
Speaker 2: are our Emperor's new clothes. What a magnificent train there
Speaker 2: is to the mantel, and how gracefully the scarf hangs.
Speaker 2: In short, no one would allow that he could not
Speaker 2: see these much admired clothes, because in doing so, he
Speaker 2: would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for
Speaker 2: his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor's various suits had
Speaker 2: ever made so great an impression as these invisible ones.
Speaker 2: But the Emperor has nothing at all. On said a
Speaker 2: little child, listen to the voice of innocence, exclaimed his father.
Speaker 2: And what the child had said was whispered from one
Speaker 2: to another. But he has nothing at all on at
Speaker 2: last cried out all the people. The emperor was vexed,
Speaker 2: for he knew that the people were right, but he
Speaker 2: thought the procession must go on now. And the lords
Speaker 2: of the bed chamber took greater pains than ever to
Speaker 2: appear holding up a train, although in reality there was
Speaker 2: no train to hold the ant The Emperor's new clothes.
Speaker 2: Many years ago there was an emperor who was so
Speaker 2: excessively fond of new clothes that he spent all his
Speaker 2: money and dress. He did not trouble himself in the
Speaker 2: least about his soldiers, nor did he care to go
Speaker 2: either to the theater or the chase, except for the
Speaker 2: opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He
Speaker 2: had a different suit for each hour of the day.
Speaker 2: And as of any other king or emperor, one is
Speaker 2: accustomed to say he is sitting in council, it was
Speaker 2: always said of him, the Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe.
Speaker 2: Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital.
Speaker 2: Strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two rogues,
Speaker 2: calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that
Speaker 2: they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful
Speaker 2: colors and d elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which
Speaker 2: should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone
Speaker 2: who was unfit for the office he held, or who
Speaker 2: was extraordinarily simple in character. These must, indeed be splendid clothes,
Speaker 2: thought the Emperor. Had I such a suit, I might
Speaker 2: at once find out what men in my realms are
Speaker 2: unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish
Speaker 2: the wise from the foolish. This stuff must be woven
Speaker 2: for me immediately, and he caused large sums of money
Speaker 2: to be given to both the weavers in order that
Speaker 2: they might begin their work directly. So the two pretended
Speaker 2: weavers set up two looms and affected to work very busily,
Speaker 2: though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked
Speaker 2: for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread,
Speaker 2: put both into their own knapsacks, and then continued their
Speaker 2: pretended work at the empty looms until late at night.
Speaker 2: I should like to know how the weavers are getting
Speaker 2: on with my cloth, said the emperor to himself after
Speaker 2: some time had elapsed. He was, however, rather embarrassed when
Speaker 2: he remembered that a simpleton or one unfit for his office,
Speaker 2: would be unable to see the manufacture. To be sure,
Speaker 2: he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person.
Speaker 2: But yet he would prefer sending somebody else to bring
Speaker 2: him intelligence about the weavers and their work. Before he
Speaker 2: troubled himself in the affair. All the people throughout the
Speaker 2: city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was
Speaker 2: to possess, and all were anxious to learn how wise
Speaker 2: or how ignorant their neighbors might prove to be. I
Speaker 2: will send my faithful old minister to the weavers, said
Speaker 2: the emperor at last, after some deliberation. He will be
Speaker 2: best able to see how the cloth looks, for he
Speaker 2: is a man of sense, and no one can be
Speaker 2: more suitable for his office than he is. So the
Speaker 2: faithful old Minister went into the hall, where the knaves
Speaker 2: were working with all their might at their empty looms.
Speaker 2: What can be the meaning of this? Thought the old man,
Speaker 2: opening his eyes very wide, I cannot discover the least
Speaker 2: bit of thread on the looms. However, he did not
Speaker 2: express his thoughts aloud. The impostors requested him very courteously
Speaker 2: to be so good as to come nearer their looms,
Speaker 2: and then asked him whether the design pleased him, and
Speaker 2: whether the colors were not very beautiful at the same time,
Speaker 2: pointing to the empty frames. The poor old minister looked
Speaker 2: and looked, but he could not discover anything on the
Speaker 2: looms for a very good reason, viz. There was nothing there.
Speaker 2: What thought he again? Is it possible that I am
Speaker 2: a simpleton? I have never thought so myself, and no
Speaker 2: one must know it now. If I am so, can
Speaker 2: it be that I am unfit for my office? No?
Speaker 2: That must not be said either. I will never confess
Speaker 2: that I could not see the stuff. Well, sir minister,
Speaker 2: said one of the knaves, still pretending to work. You
Speaker 2: do not say whether the stuff pleases you? Oh it
Speaker 2: is excellent, replied the old minister, looking at the loom
Speaker 2: through his spectacles, This pattern and the colors. Yes, I
Speaker 2: will tell the Emperor without delay how very beautiful I
Speaker 2: think them. We shall be much obliged to you, said
Speaker 2: the impostors, and they named the different colors and described
Speaker 2: the pattern of the pretend stuff. The old minister listened
Speaker 2: attentively to their words in order that he might repeat
Speaker 2: them to the Emperor, and then the knaves asked for
Speaker 2: more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary to
Speaker 2: complete what they had begun. However, they put all that
Speaker 2: was given them into their knapsacks and continued to work
Speaker 2: with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms.
Speaker 2: The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to
Speaker 2: see how the men were getting on and to ascertain
Speaker 2: whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just
Speaker 2: the same with this gentleman as with the minister. He
Speaker 2: surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see nothing
Speaker 2: at all but the empty frames. Does not the stuff
Speaker 2: appear as beautiful to you as it did to my lord?
Speaker 2: The minister asked, the impostors of the Emperor's second ambassador,
Speaker 2: at the same time, making the same gestures as before,
Speaker 2: and talking of the design and colors which were not there.
Speaker 2: I certainly am not stupid, thought the messenger. It must
Speaker 2: be that I am not fit for my good, profitable office.
Speaker 2: That is very odd. However, no one shall know anything
Speaker 2: about it. And accordingly he praised the stuff he could
Speaker 2: not see, and declared that he was delighted with both
Speaker 2: colors and patterns. Indeed, please your Imperial majesty, said he
Speaker 2: to his sovereign when he returned. The cloth which the
Speaker 2: weave are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent. The whole city was
Speaker 2: talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor had ordered
Speaker 2: to be woven at his own expense, And now the
Speaker 2: Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture while it
Speaker 2: was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number
Speaker 2: of officers of the court, among whom were the two
Speaker 2: honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went
Speaker 2: to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as they were
Speaker 2: aware of the Emperor's approach, went on working more diligently
Speaker 2: than ever, although they still did not pass a single
Speaker 2: thread through the looms. Is not the work absolutely magnificent,
Speaker 2: said the two officers of the crown already mentioned, If
Speaker 2: your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it,
Speaker 2: What a splendid design, what glorious colors. And at the
Speaker 2: same time they pointed to the empty frames, for they
Speaker 2: imagine that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.
Speaker 2: How is this, said the Emperor to himself. I can
Speaker 2: see nothing. This is indeed a terrible affair. Am I
Speaker 2: a simpleton? Or am I unfit to be an emperor?
Speaker 2: That would be the worst thing that could happen. Oh,
Speaker 2: the cloth is charming, said he aloud. It is my
Speaker 2: complete approbation. And he smiled most graciously and looked closely
Speaker 2: at the empty looms, for on no account would he
Speaker 2: say that he could not see what two of the
Speaker 2: officers of his court had praised so much. All his
Speaker 2: retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on
Speaker 2: the looms, but they could see no more than the others. Nevertheless,
Speaker 2: they all exclaimed, oh, how beautiful, and advised his Majesty
Speaker 2: to have some new clothes made from this splendid material
Speaker 2: for the approaching procession. Magnificent, charming, excellent resounded on all sides,
Speaker 2: and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the
Speaker 2: general satisfaction, and presented the impostors with the riband of
Speaker 2: an order of knighthood to be worn in their buttonholes,
Speaker 2: and the title of gentlemen weavers. The rogues sat up
Speaker 2: the whole of the night before the day on which
Speaker 2: the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights
Speaker 2: burning so that everyone might see how anxious they were
Speaker 2: to finish the emperor's new suit. They pretended to roll
Speaker 2: the cloth off the looms, cut the air with their scissors,
Speaker 2: and sewed with needles without any thread in them. See,
Speaker 2: they cried, at last, the Emperor's new clothes are ready.
Speaker 2: And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court,
Speaker 2: came to the weavers, and the rogues raised their arm
Speaker 2: as if in the act of holding something up, saying,
Speaker 2: here are your majesty's trousers, Here is the scarf, here's
Speaker 2: the mantle. The whole suit is as light as a cobweb.
Speaker 2: One might fancy one has nothing at all on when
Speaker 2: dressed in it. That, however, is the great virtue of
Speaker 2: this delicate cloth. Yes, indeed, said all the courtiers, although
Speaker 2: not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture.
Speaker 2: If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take
Speaker 2: off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit
Speaker 2: in front of the looking glass. The Emperor was accordingly undressed,
Speaker 2: and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit,
Speaker 2: the Emperor turning round from side to side before the
Speaker 2: looking glass. How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes,
Speaker 2: and how well they fit? Everyone cried out, what a design,
Speaker 2: What colors these are? Indeed royal robes. The canopy, which
Speaker 2: is to be borne over your majesty in the procession,
Speaker 2: is waiting, announced the chief Master of the ceremonies. I
Speaker 2: am quite ready, answered the Emperor. Do my new clothes
Speaker 2: fit well? Asked he turning himself round again before the
Speaker 2: looking glass in order that he might appear to be
Speaker 2: examining his handsome suit. The lords of the bedchamber, who
Speaker 2: were to carry his Majesty's train, felt about on the
Speaker 2: ground as if they were lifting up the ends of
Speaker 2: the mantle, and pretended to be carrying something, for they
Speaker 2: would by no means betray anything like simplicity or unfitness
Speaker 2: for their office. So now the Emperor walked under his
Speaker 2: high canopy in the midst of the procession through the
Speaker 2: streets of his capital, and all the people standing by
Speaker 2: and those at the windows cried out, Oh, how beautiful
Speaker 2: are our Emperor's new clothes. What a magnificent train there
Speaker 2: is to the mantle, and how gracefully the scarf hangs.
Speaker 2: In short, no one would allow that he could not
Speaker 2: see these much admired clothes, because in doing so, he
Speaker 2: would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for
Speaker 2: his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor's various suits had
Speaker 2: ever made so great an impression as these invisible ones.
Speaker 2: But the Emperor has nothing at all. On, said a
Speaker 2: little child. Listen to the voice of innocence, exclaimed his father.
Speaker 2: And what the child had said was whispered from one
Speaker 2: to another. But he has nothing at all. On at last,
Speaker 2: cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for
Speaker 2: he knew that the people were right, but he thought
Speaker 2: the procession must go on now. And the lords of
Speaker 2: the bedchamber took greater pains than ever to appear holding
Speaker 2: up a train, although in reality there was no train
Speaker 2: to hold the end