“A new set of clothes for the emperor,”

That was all the servants would say,

He cared not for war nor play,

Only for the fine garb hanging from his frame.

 

The city he ruled over was exceedingly populated,

With strikes of diversity within the crowd,

One afternoon two trickers, exceedingly educated

In the realm of swindling,

Came to the kingdom with a cleverly formulated

Plan.

 

“The finest cloth known to gods, red and white, black and tan!”

They cried,

“Colors and patterns, too exquisite for the common man!”

“Aye! The substance is invisible to those unfit for their title,

Or perhaps… to those unimaginably dull.”

 

“Better to weed out the incompetent, and better for

Accentuating my status!”

The emperor thought, his mind’s working poor.

 

So he paid the tricksters in vaults,

And so they took his stupidity as his human fault,

And worked at the looms

Without actually toiling.

 

To check on his prize, the emperor

Sent a clergyman, whom he thought was the most “cleverer”

Of his office.

 

The clergyman was sent,

And he came to find his confidence bent,

When he realized that he could not indeed see the fabric

The tricksters had so fretfully worked upon.

 

Nevertheless, he lied,

For the stakes were his pride,

And said “Oh! Yes! Very beautiful cloth indeed!”

 

Pleased with their hoodwink,

The swindlers described the cloth, sea blue and japanese pink,

The clergyman listened intently for hope

That he may relay the colors back to the ruler.

 

The tricksters called for more cash,

The emperor delivered in a flash,

Before sending a smart courier to see

The progress of his clothes.

 

The messenger could not see the cloth either,

“I am not stupid, nor dull neither,

So it can only be inferred that I am not fit

To service the emperor.”

 

He lied as well,

For he would never tell,

That he was not able to

Deliver messages for the king.

 

With the peasants buzzing about the cloth,

The emperor found that he could not help but scoff

At the fact he had not seen the thread for himself yet.

 

And so he went to see the weavers

Along with the two believers

That had preceded him beforehand.

 

“Is it not beautiful?” said the men, gesturing to the looms,

The emperor’s face dropped, he thought he was doomed

To give up his office or claim himself a fool,

For he couldn’t see the thread either,

As it did not exist.

 

“I approve,” He said, content with his lie,

His court thought not to testify

Against the emperor, instead

They asked him to wear the magnificent garb

At a great procession later on.

 

The tricksters cackled and worked,

Feeling their lie was complete, they had truly shirked,

The leader of the kingdom they came to thieve from.

 

The day of the parade came and thus,

The emperor was dressed, his court discussed

The magnificence of his clothes and how lordly he appeared

In the robe that did not exist.

 

As he marched in the parade,

The more people were afraid

That they were too stupid to

See the cloth that did not

Indeed, exist.

 

Midway through the procession,

A child cried a confession,

“But he has on, nothing at all!”

 

The whole people yelled out,

With bawdy laughter and wit without,

“Indeed he has nothing on at all!”

 

The emperor realized that in fact,

He had been called out on his lack of tact,

And marched on anyway,

In the robe that did not

Indeed, exist.