Once upon a time, there was an emperor who loved new clothes more than anything. He had a blue coat for Mondays, a green coat for Tuesdays, and a golden coat with shiny buttons for special days. Every morning he stood in front of his big mirror, turned around and around, and said, "Hmm, what shall I wear today?"
One day, two travelling weavers named Pim and Pom arrived at the palace. They wanted to earn lots of gold very quickly. So they bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we can weave the most magical cloth in the world. It is so special that only very wise people can see it." The emperor clapped his hands. "Magic cloth! Please make me a new outfit at once!" And he gave them a big bag of gold.
Pim and Pom set up two looms in a quiet room. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, they moved their hands up and down all day long. But there was no thread on the looms at all. They were only pretending.
After a few days, the emperor sent his kind old minister to see how the work was going. The minister looked at the empty looms and blinked. "I can't see anything," he thought. "Oh dear, if I say so, everyone will think I'm not wise." So he said, "Oh, how lovely! Such beautiful colours!" Then another helper went to look, and he said the same thing. Soon everyone in the palace was saying, "What wonderful cloth!" even though nobody could see a single thread.
At last, Pim and Pom carried the new outfit to the emperor, holding their empty hands up high. "Here is your magical coat, Your Majesty, and here are your magical trousers." The emperor looked and looked. He saw nothing at all. But he did not want to seem unwise either, so he said, "Oh, marvellous!" He took off his golden coat and put on the clothes that weren't there. Luckily, he kept on his soft, white, long pyjamas underneath, all the way from his neck to his toes.
That afternoon there was a grand parade. The drums went boom, boom, boom and the trumpets went ta-ra-ra! The emperor walked proudly down the street in his long white pyjamas. All the people had heard about the magical cloth, so they called out, "Beautiful! Splendid!" Nobody wanted to be the first to say what they really saw.
Then a little girl called Rosa, sitting on her father's shoulders, looked carefully and said in a clear, friendly voice, "But the emperor is wearing his pyjamas!" Everything went quiet. Then someone whispered, "She's right, they are pyjamas." And another person said, "They're very nice pyjamas, though."
The emperor stopped. He looked down at his long white pyjamas. He thought about how he had pretended, and how everyone else had pretended too. And then his tummy began to shake, and he let out a great big laugh. "Ho, ho, ho! She's right! I'm in my pyjamas! What a silly emperor I've been!" Because the emperor laughed, everyone laughed with him, a warm, happy laugh, and nobody laughed at him at all.
The emperor walked over to Rosa. "Thank you, little one. You told the truth, and you told it kindly. That is a very brave and very good thing to do." Rosa smiled shyly. Then the emperor turned to the crowd. "I pretended I could see the cloth because I didn't want to look foolish. But pretending only made things more muddled. From now on, in this kingdom, a kind truth is always welcome."
Pim and Pom went red in the face. They came forward and bowed low. "Your Majesty, we're very sorry. There was never any magical cloth. We only wanted gold." And they gave back the whole bag. The emperor thought for a moment. "Thank you for telling the truth now. I forgive you. Can you weave real cloth?" "Oh yes," said Pim and Pom, "we're really very good at it!" "Then weave me a warm cloak, and I'll pay you fairly for honest work."
So Pim and Pom wove a real cloak, soft and sky blue, and Rosa helped choose the colour. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, and this time there was plenty of thread. And every year after that, the kingdom held a special Pyjama Parade. Everyone, even the emperor, walked through the streets in their cosiest pyjamas, laughing and waving, and each person said one kind, true thing to a friend.
Parent tip: When Rosa speaks, pause and softly ask your child what they would say, then praise any kind and honest answer.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
This is a gentle retelling: the emperor keeps his pyjamas on, laughs with everyone and nobody is embarrassed or punished.