De Nieuwe Kleren Van De Keizer (The Emperors New Clothes)

De Nieuwe Kleren Van De Keizer (The Emperor's New Clothes)

There once was an emperor who was so vain he spent more time trying on clothes than ruling his people.

He spent the whole day standing in front of a mirror, wondering what to try on next. His old valet would run back and forth with jackets and stockings but the emperor was never satisfied, until two tailors made him a very special costume...

Come and see it for yourself! This new fairytale can now be seen in the Fairytale Forest since 2012!

Story

There once was an emperor who was so vain he spent more time trying on clothes than ruling his people.
He spent the whole day standing in front of a mirror, wondering what to try on next. His old dresser would run back and forth with jackets and stockings but the emperor was never satisfied. Until two tailors made him a very special costume...
Come and see it for yourself!

To read the full story go to the Efteling souvenir shop and purchase the Efteling Book of Fairy Tales.

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Translation

Originally a Hans Christian Andersen tale.

The story of The Emperor's New Clothes is played on audio during the show. This is in the Dutch language. Please find below a translation for your benefit.

There was once a vain emperor who liked nothing better than to prance about.

He had a wonderful new set of clothes for each hour of each day.
The people behind gold fences obeyed his commands dutifully, always
Bound to acclaim him and to stroke his vain ego.

Two of his subjects were dismayed, so much vanity was quite improper!

That is why they thought of a trick and appeared at the gates of the palace.

They kneeled before him, kissed his feet and convinced him:

"We are imperial tailors and travel from palace to palace.

Specially for you we will weave a garment so colourful and so special.

A fabric invisible to the stupid, is that not phenomenal?

The emperor ordered them to weave this fabric ready to be made into new clothes.

The teahouse was designated as their sewing studio, in gold coins they were paid.

The tailors began the work, this wasn’t just anything.

They snipped and weaved and sewed the most beautiful …nothing!

The emperor could wait no longer, the minutes felt like hours,

So he sent his prime minister to take a peek at the tailors.

The minister went pale when he saw the tailors weaving and folding busily.

But their hands were empty. Was he to consider himself stupid?

The minister, terribly shocked, quickly invented a tactic.

With much enthusiasm he proclaimed to the emperor: "It is really going to be magnificent!"

Overjoyed by the good news and preceded by his imperial procession,

The emperor headed to the teahouse to meet his new clothes.

Now that the emperor was finally allowed to try on the clothes, he turned a little bit pale.

He turned this way and that in front of the mirror, but he could not see the clothes no matter how hard he looked.

The emperor felt stupid but his court was cheering.

The clothes must be beautiful, so he told himself.

The emperor inhaled sharply when he saw his people standing behind the golden gates.

But with his head held high he decided to go outside.

“Oh! He isn’t wearing anything!” cried out a little scamp.

It was silent for a moment, but soon everyone was laughing at the emperor.

With shame on his cheeks but with a dignified stride,

The emperor realized that he had been thoroughly fleeced.

!The video below has English subtitles!