The Fox and The Cat

A fox and a cat were out walking together when the fox began boasting how clever he was.

“I’m prepared for any situation” said the Fox. “I have a whole bag of tricks to choose from if my enemies try to capture me.”

“I’m afraid I’ve only got one trick, but it has always worked for me” The cat said timidly.

The fox looked at the cat and shook his head “One trick, how dumb is that? I’ve got hundreds of ways of escaping” said the fox.

“I still think it’s better to have one trick that works than waste time trying to choose from a dozen that might” said the cat softly.

“Rubbish” shouted the fox. “You’re just not as smart as me”

Just then they heard a pack of dogs barking as they coming towards them. The cat immediately ran up the nearest tree and hid on one of the highest branches.

“That’s my trick” the cat called from high up in the tree. “You had better reach into that bag of tricks of yours and choose one right now or you're history”

“Ok, Ok, stay calm” said the fox to himself.

“Should I run and hide behind the nearest hedge?

Or should I jump down a burrow?”

The dogs were getting closer and closer.

“Down a burrow that’s the way to go” said the fox, and started running around the field looking for a burrow.

“No, that one’s too small, I can’t get down far enough. This one’s too big, they could get down too. Maybe that one over there?”

Too late. While the fox wasted time, confused by so many choices, the dogs caught him and killed him.

The cat looked down sadly and said, “It’s better to have one safe way than a hundred you can’t choose from.”

THE END

Hannah Banana

In the deepest jungle of Africa, there lived a family of monkeys. There was a Mama Monkey, and a Papa Monkey, and they had a young daughter named Hannah.
The monkey family lived very happily swinging and playing in the trees and vines. But unfortunately, it wasn't all play. Papa Monkey had to make sure their home in the canopy was warm and protected.

Mama was responsible for the sewing and cooking of the family's meals. Hannah helped with the cleaning, but her main chore was to collect all the bananas and other fruit for the monkey family's meals.

One morning, Mama Monkey said to Hannah, "Tomorrow is your Papa's birthday. I want to surprise him with his favorite, Banana Rama Lama, Tootie Fruit Cake. I need you to gather all the special ingredients.

Hannah smiled at her mother. She was excited about going on an adventure. "Okay, Mama, what do we need?"

She was so happy that she could barely sit still. Mama pulled a small piece of paper
out of her apron. It was a list of ingredients for the cake.

"Try to be back before the moon goes down," Mama said. Hannah took the list and kissed her mother. She creeped around her sleeping Papa and disappeared into the jungle.

Hannah Banana swung through the trees from vine to vine. She was a very quick little monkey, and she gained speed as she climbed. Hannah pulled out the list and read the first ingredient. She needed three Wala-Wala Berries from the Great Wala-Wala Tree. She knew the jungle quite well from traveling with her father and reached the Great Wala-Wala Tree in just under an hour.

Wrapped around the tree was a huge snake named 'Seth'. He was munching on the Wala-Wala Berries as Hannah came near. Hannah grabbed a branch and started to pick a few berries. She pulled and pulled, but the berries would not come off the branch. "Stop, says I," whispered the snake.

"Please, sir," pleaded Hannah, "I need three Wala-Wala Berries for my mother's cake."

The snake squinted at Hannah. "Swell," said Seth, "Certainly showing some singing skill should salvage some delicious, succulent berries from Seth's stock." Seth started to sing and Hannah repeated... "Sweet Wala-Wala Berry Tree... Sweet Wala-Wala Berry Tree... Won't you share a song with me? Won't you share a song with me? Swing your branches, make it funky. Swing your branches, make it funky. Drop three berries for this monkey."

As they finished singing, the wind started to blow and the branches at the top of the Great Wala-Wala Tree began to swing. Three plump berries fell from the branch above Hannah and landed in her pouch. She smiled at the sly snake and said, "Thank you for your help, good sir." The snake smiled at her. "Sure, sister. Singing silly songs has saved your celebration snack. Safe travels. So long."

Hannah waved to the snake one last time as she swung away through the trees. She looked at her list again. Her next special ingredient was a handful of Tiki Grass which she knew only grew at the bottom of the Great Tiki Lake. The lake was only a few miles away, so Hannah raced through the jungle as fast as she could.

The animals were all waking up as Hannah climbed. All around her, she could hear the colorful birds singing, and below her, the tigers were growling and the frogs were croaking to each other. When she reached the Great Tiki Lake, she heard loud roaring and big splashing. It scared little Hannah Banana at first, but then she saw that it was just a family of hippos bathing and playing in the lake. The hippos were diving down into the depths to reach the long bushels of Tiki grass that
grew at the murky bottom. Hannah walked up to the shore and all the hippos stopped playing and stared at her. A very large, very grumpy hippo floated over to where Hannah was sitting. "How dare you disturb our..." The hippo paused and rolled his head back in the water, roaring, "RAARRR! My tooth! The pain! It hurts!" The huge hippo glared at Hannah and rubbed his mouth.

But Hannah, being a very smart, very crafty little monkey, saw a way she could get some Tiki Grass from the bottom of the hippos' lake.

"Please, sir," said Hannah Banana, "Maybe I can help your tooth if you do me a favor and get me a mouth-full of Tiki Grass."

The hippo squinted at Hannah and started to laugh. "Ha! How can a little monkey help a big strong hippo? Ha, ha!" The hippo continued to laugh with his mouth wide open. The other hippos laughed with him.

Hannah suddenly jumped into the mouth of the big hippo. She immediately saw the tooth that was causing so much pain and she pulled it out, using all her strength. When the tooth popped out, Hannah flew backwards into the water. The huge hippo roared in pain, but once the sting was gone he had no more pain at all. The wet monkey climbed out of the lake and shook herself dry on the shore. She put the big hippo tooth in her pouch and turned around to see five hippos with mouths full of Tiki Grass. They dropped the bushels of grass in front of Hannah. One hippo said to her, "Thank you so much, little monkey. Our father has been complaining about that tooth for many months."

Hannah grabbed a handful of Tiki Grass and set out on her way, waving goodbye to the happy family of hippos.

The third and fourth ingredients were easy for Hannah to find. She grabbed twelve bananas and plucked fifteen flower petals from some Papola Plants. The last ingredient was a stalk of Bona Cane, the special sweet sugar that could only be found at the top of the Great Mount Conanai. Little Hannah Banana was afraid because of all the scary bedtime stories she'd heard about the Mountain from her Mother and Father. The sun was setting and the jungle was getting darker and scarier. Hannah grabbed her pouch and started to move. The sounds she heard in the jungle were much creepier than those she'd heard earlier in the day. After traveling a few miles, she reached the base of the Great Mount Conanai. It was a very steep climb. She knew she couldn't take too long or she'd miss her Father's birthday. For twenty minutes, she climbed straight up. After a while, she became tired, being a small monkey and carrying three juicy Wala-Wala Berries, a handful of thick wet Tiki Grass, twelve plump bananas, and fifteen Papola petals.

When she reached the halfway point, she looked up into the sky. The moon was rising over the Mountain. A colorful parrot with a long beak flew down and landed on a branch near Hannah.

"Would you like a ride to the top?" asked the parrot.

"Yes, please," said Hannah with appreciation.

"I've been following you all day, young one. Your mother asked me to watch out for
you."

Hannah was happy to see the bird and she grabbed his feet. They slowly flew to the top of the Mountain. At the summit, there was ample sugar cane growing everywhere. Hannah cut off some Bona Cane and stuffed it in her pouch. She said to the friendly bird, "That's the last ingredient. Now we can go." Just as the bird was about to speak, a loud buzz came over the Mountain.

The colorful parrot immediately flew away, as well as all the other birds on the Mountain. The buzzing got louder and closer. It seemed as if the inside of the Mountain was buzzing. Suddenly, a swarm of giant bees came up from the ground. It appeared as if the whole top of the mountain was one big beehive. Hannah was terrified. She ran into the thick of the sugar cane and hid her pouch.

"BUZZZZ...bring back our Bona Cane. BUZZZZ! Little monkey, how dare you steal our sacred crop? BUZZZ!" Hannah came out from her hiding place.
"Please sir," she cried, "I need just a small amount of your special sugar for my Father's birthday cake."

The Chief Bee scowled at little Hannah Banana. This time, the monkey's polite manners would not be enough to convince the giant bee clan. So she started to think about a crafty way to get out of her bad situation.

Suddenly, the bees' buzzing was drowned out by a great chirping and flapping of wings as every bird in the jungle rose over the Mountain to help little Hannah. They were led by the friendly parrot who had helped Hannah up the mountain. Five small birds flew down and picked up Hannah. The other birds attacked the army of giant bees, and the red parrot snuck into the sugar cane thicket and snatched up Hannah's purple pouch. The birds carried Hannah high above the jungle.

She saw the Great Tiki Lake, but the hippos were all asleep. She saw the Great Wala-Wala Tree, and the snake was singing himself a lullaby and having a bedtime snack. Finally, they reached the monkey family's canopy and the small birds dropped Hannah onto a branch above her home.

She climbed down and tiptoed around her sleeping Father. Mother was waiting up for little Hannah Banana.

"Welcome back, my child," her Mother said. But Hannah did not smile.

"I failed you, Mother. All the ingredients are stuck on Mount Conanai."

But her Mother pulled from behind her back Hannah's empty pouch. A tired bird sat by the oven, helping to bake the cake. He said to Hannah, "I forgot to tell you, little one, that Banana Rama Lama Rootie Tootie Fruit Cake is my favorite too. I get the second largest slice after your Papa!"

Hannah Banana yawned a little monkey yawn, closed her eyes, and fell fast asleep.
When she awoke the next morning, they celebrating her Father's birthday. The colorful parrot handed her a piece of the special cake and it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

The monkey family enjoyed the birthday thanks to Hannah Banana. They lived happy monkey lives in the deepest jungle of Africa.

THE END

Cap O' Rushes

Long long time ago, there lived a rich man and his three daughters.

One day, the rich man asked his daughters, 'How much do you love me, my dears?'

'Why, Father,' said the first daughter, ' I love you as much as life itself.'

'Oh, Father,' said the second daughter, 'I love you more than all the world.'

The rich man was very pleased. Then he turned to his youngest daughter, and asked, 'And how much do you love me, my little one?'

'I love you as much as food loves salt, Father,' she replied, quietly.

This made the rich man very angry. 'You don't love me at all!', he exclaimed. 'You will no longer live in my house or be my daughter!' he said. He threw his youngest daughter out of the house, and shut the door.

The poor girl wandered on and on by herself, till she came to a riverbank where tall, green rushes grew. She cut the rushes and wove herself a cloak and a hood to hide her beautiful clothes. She then went to a large house that she could see, and knocked at the kitchen door.

'What do you want?' asked the cook, as she opened the door and saw the girl in her cloak of rushes.

'I have nowhere to go, and nowhere to stay,' said the girl. 'I'll do any sort of work for you, and ask only for food and a roof to sleep under in return.'

'Well,' said the cook. 'I do need someone to scrub the floor and wash the dishes and scour the pans. If you are willing to do that, you are welcome to stay.'

So the girl became a scullery maid in the large house. All day long she would scrub and clean. At night she would go to sleep in a little corner of the kitchen.

The girl would never take her cloak of rushes off, not even at night. If someone asked her her name, she wouldn't answer. So, since she wouldn't give a name and she wouldn't take her hood and cloak of rushes off, the other maids began calling her Cap o' Rushes.

Cap o' Rushes stayed in that big house for many days, doing all that she was asked to do.

One evening the other maids said to her, 'There is a great dance tonight in the next village, and the servants have leave to go and watch the rich folk dance. Will you come with us?'

But Cap o' Rushes said she was far too tired to go that far. She lay down in her corner and pretended to go to sleep.

As soon as the other servants had left, and the house was empty, Cap o' Rushes threw off her cloak and hood of rushes, and dressed in her fine clothes, went to the dance. There she was the most beautiful girl of all. The son of her master was at the dance as well. He could not take his eyes off the girl, and danced with her all evening.

'Who are you?' he asked her. 'Where do you live?' But Cap o' Rushes only smiled and gave no answer. Well before the dance was over, Cap o' Rushes slipped off home. She quickly put on her hood and cloak of rushes again, and lay down in her corner, pretending to be fast asleep.

The other maids and servants returned home very excited. 'Why, Cap o' Rushes!' they said. 'You missed the most beautiful lady there ever was. She danced all evening with the master's son, and then vanished into thin air. Nobody knows where she came from, and where she went off to.'

'Oh,' said Cap o' Rushes, 'I would have liked to see that lovely lady!'

The next evening there was a dance again. 'Come with us, Cap o' Rushes,' said the other maids and servants. 'Maybe the beautiful lady will be there again tonight, and you can see her.'

But Cap o' Rushes said she was too be tired to go all that way, and pretended to fall asleep in her corner again. As soon as the house was empty, she threw off her hood and cloak of rushes, and dressed in her fine clothes, went to the dance again.

The master's son was at the dance again, hoping the beautiful lady would come again. When he saw Cap o' Rushes he rushed up to her, and wouldn't leave her side all evening. But as before, Cap o' Rushes would tell him nothing about herself, and slipped off before the dance was over.

The other maids and servants came home to find her sleeping in her corner as before. 'O Cap o' Rushes, ' they sighed. 'The beautiful lady was there again. The master's son danced with her all evening, and with no one else.'

'O', said Cap o' Rushes again. ' I would have loved to see that!'

The following evening there was another dance. Again the others begged Cap o' Rushes to come with them, again she refused, but went later to the dance dressed in fine clothes. The master's son was waiting for her, and danced with her all evening.

'I don't know who you are,' said the master's son to Cap o' Rushes that evening. 'But if I lose you, I will pine away and die for you.' And he gave her a ring to put on her finger, to remember him by.

Once again, Cap o' Rushes slipped off before the dance was over, and the other maids and servants found her sleeping in her corner when they came back home. 'O, Cap o' Rushes,' they said, 'You've missed the beautiful lady forever, for now there are no more dances.'

Cap o' Rushes said nothing, but turned over and went back to sleep.

The master's son tried to find the beautiful lady. But nobody knew anything about her, and no one had ever seen her, except at the dances. Soon the master's on was ill with love and longing for his beautiful lady, and nobody knew how to help him or make him better.

One morning the cook was making gruel for the master's son. 'What are you doing?' asked Cap o' Rushes. 'Making gruel for the master' son,' said the cook. 'Maybe eating it will make him feel better.'

'Let me do it,' said Cap o' Rushes. ' I know how to make good gruel.'

'Very well, ' said the cook, and went off to do her work. Cap o' Rushes made the gruel, and poured it into a bowl. She dropped the ring the master's son had given her into the bowl of gruel, and gave it to the cook to take upstairs.

The master' son finished the gruel, and saw the ring lying at the bottom of the bowl. He recognized the ring as the one he had give his beautiful lady. 'Who made this gruel?' he asked the cook. 'Cap o' Rushes did, ' said the cook. 'Send her to me,' commanded the master's son.

Cap o' Rushes went into the master's son's room, still dressed in her hood and cloak of rushes. 'Where did you get this ring?' asked the master's son, not recognizing his beautiful lady under the hood and cloak of rushes. 'From him that gave it me,' answered Cap o' Rushes, throwing off her hood and cloak and standing there in her fine clothes.

The master's son was overjoyed to find his beautiful lady. But Cap o' Rushes still did not tell him her real name or who she was.

Soon a wedding was arranged between the master's on and Cap o' Rushes. People from all over were invited to the wedding feast, including Cap o' Rushes own father. Before the feast, Cap o' Rushes went into the kitchen and told the cook to put no salt in any of the dishes she prepared for the feast.

'But that will make the food taste horrible,' protested the cook.

'Never mind,' said Cap o' Rushes. 'Just do as I say.'

The guests arrived for the wedding feast, including Cap o' Rushes' father. The guests sat down to eat, but could not swallow a single bite - the saltless food tasted so terrible!

Suddenly, Cap o' Rushes' father burst out crying. 'What is the matter?' asked the others.

'I once had a daughter who said she loved me as much as food loved salt,' he wept. 'I didn't understand what she meant, and threw her out of the house. Now, eating this food without salt, I realise she loved me very much!'

Then Cap o' Rushes stood up and put her arms around her father. 'Here I am, Father,' she said. 'Your very own daughter!'Her father was overjoyed to see her safe and sound.

Cap o' Rushes and the master's son lived happily ever after, and so did her father and her sisters.

Why the sea is salt

Long ago, there lived two brothers. The older brother was rich and successful, but mean and arrogant. The younger brother was very poor, but kind and generous.

One day the poor brother and his wife found that they had nothing to eat in their house. They had no money either, and nothing that they could sell. To make matters worse, the next day was a holiday, a day of celebration.

'Where are we going to get something to eat? Tomorrow is a holiday. How will we celebrate?' asked the poor brother's wife in tears.

The poor brother was in a fix. He did not know what to do.

'Go to your brother and ask for his help,' suggested the poor man's wife. 'He killed a cow yesterday - I saw him. Surely he will not grudge us a little meat for the holiday?'

The poor man sighed. He did not like to ask his brother for help, for he knew how mean and selfish his brother was. But the next day was a holiday, and he really could not think how else to get something to eat.

So the poor man put on his ragged cloak and walked to his rich brother's house.

'What do you want?' asked the rich brother as soon as he saw the poor man.

'Why do you come here?' cried the rich man's wife. 'Tomorrow is a holiday, and we are busy preparing the feast. Go away, we have no time for you!'

'Brother,' said the poor man, 'We have nothing to eat in the house, no food to celebrate the holiday. Lend me a little meat, so that I and my wife may also celebrate.'

'I knew it!' shrieked the rich man's wife at her husband. 'I knew your brother would come begging one day. Throw him out!'

The poor man ignored his brother's wife. 'Please, brother,' he said, looking at the rich man.

'Oh very well,' grumbled the rich man. 'Take this - and go to Hiysi!' And he threw a cow's hoof at the poor man.

The poor man thanked his brother, and wrapping the cow's hoof in his tattered cloak began walking back to his house. As he walked he thought, 'My brother did not give me the cow's hoof. He has told me to take it to Hiysi. So this piece of meat is not mine to eat, but Hiysi's. I must take it to Hiysi.'

Hiysi the Wood-Goblin lived deep in the forest. So the poor man turned around and started walking towards the forest. The forest was dark and gloomy, but the poor man was determined to deliver the cow's hoof to Hiysi. So he walked and he walked through the trees.

After a while he met some woodcutters.

'Where are you going, so deep in the forest?' asked the woodcutters.

'To Hiysi the Wood-Goblin's,' replied the poor man. 'I have this cow's hoof for him. Can you tell me how to find his hut?'

'Keep walking straight ahead,' said the woodcutters. 'Turn neither left nor right, and soon you will be at Hiysi's hut. But listen carefully. Hiysi loves meat. He will offer you silver and gold and precious stones in gratitude. Don't accept any of those. Ask instead for his millstone. If he tries to offer you something else, refuse. Ask only for his millstone.'

The poor man thanked the woodcutters, and walked on. Very soon he saw a hut. He went inside, and there sat Hiysi, the Wood-Goblin himself.

'Why have you come here?' asked Hiysi.

'I have brought you a gift,' said the poor man. 'A cow's hoof.' And he held out the piece of meat to Hiysi.

'Meat!' cried Hiysi in delight. 'Quick, give it to me! I haven't eaten meat for thirty years!' Hiysi grabbed the hoof and ate it.

'Now I shall give you a gift in return,' said the Wood-Goblin. 'Here, take some silver,' he said, pulling out a handful of silver coins.

'No, I don't want any silver,' said the poor man.

'Gold, then?' offered Hiysi, pulling out two handfuls of gold coins.

'No. I don't want gold either,' said the poor man.

'How about some precious stones?' asked Hiysi. 'Diamonds, rubies, sapphires?'

'No, thank you, I don't want any of those either,' said the poor man.

'Well, what do you want then?' asked Hiysi.

'I want your millstone,' replied the poor man.

'My millstone!' exclaimed Hiysi. 'No, you can't have that. But I can give you anything else you like.'

'That's very kind of you,' said the poor man, 'but I only want your millstone.'

Hiysi did not know what to do. He had eaten the cow's hoof, and could not let the poor man go without a gift in return.

'Oh well,' he said at last. 'I suppose I must let you have my millstone. Take it. But do you know how to use it?'

'No,' said the poor man. 'Tell me.'

'Well,' explained Hiysi, 'this is a magic millstone. It will give you whatever you wish for. Just make your wish and say Grind, my millstone! When you have enough and want the millstone to stop, just say Enough and have done! And it will stop. Now go!'

The poor man thanked Hiysi, and wrapping the magic millstone in his tattered cloak, began walking back towards his home.

He walked and he walked and he walked, and at last reached his home. His wife was weeping, having given him up for dead. 'Where have you been?' she cried. 'I thought I'd never see you again!'

The poor man told his wife the tale of his adventures. Then, setting the magic millstone on to the table, he said, 'Grind, my millstone! Give us a feast fit for a king.'

The millstone began to grind, and there on the table poured the most wonderful dishes ever. The poor man and his wife ate and ate till they could eat no more.

'Enough and have done!' commanded the poor man, and the millstone stopped grinding.

The next day the poor man and his wife celebrated the holiday happily. There was enough to eat, and new clothes to wear. From then on they never lacked for anything. The millstone gave them a fine new house, green fields full of crops, horses and cattle, and enough food to eat and clothes to wear. Soon they had so much that they did not really need to use the millstone any more.

The rich brother heard of the poor man's change of fortune. 'How could my brother have become rich so suddenly?' he wondered. 'I must find out.' So the rich brother went to the poor brother's house.

'How have you become rich so quickly?' he asked.

The poor brother told him everything - about Hiysi and his gift of the magic millstones. 'I must get that millstone for myself,' thought the rich brother. 'Show me the millstone,' he demanded.

The poor brother, not suspecting his brother of any wickedness, did so. He put the millstone on the table and said, 'Grind, my millstone! Give us good things to eat.' At once the millstone began turning and out poured the most delicious pies and cakes and breads on the table.

The rich brother could not believe his eyes. 'Sell me your millstone!' he begged of the poor brother.

'No,' said the poor man. 'The millstone is not for sale.'

'Well then, lend it to me for a bit,' said the rich brother. 'After all, it was I who gave you the cow's hoof to carry to Hiysi!'

The poor brother thought for a bit. What harm could there be in letting his brother have the millstone for a while?

'Very well, you may borrow it for a day,' said the poor man.

The rich brother was delighted. He grabbed the millstone and ran off with it, without asking how to make it stop. He put the millstone into a boat, and rowed out to sea with it, where the fishermen were hauling in their catch of fish.

'The fishermen are salting the fish right now,' he thought. 'They will pay well for fine salt.' He was far out to sea by now, far away from any land. There was no one to hear him as he said 'Grind, my millstone! Give me salt, as much as you can!'

The millstone began to turn and out poured the finest, whitest salt imaginable. Soon the boat was full. The rich man decided to stop the millstone. But he did not know how. 'Stop, my millstone!' he cried. 'Stop grinding. I don't want any more salt.' But the millstone kept turning, pouring out the finest whitest salt.

The rich man begged and pleaded with the millstone to stop. But he did not know the magic words. So the millstone kept turning and pouring out salt and more salt. The rich brother tried to throw the millstone overboard, but he couldn't lift it. The boat was now so full of salt that it began sinking.

'Help!' cried the rich man. But there was no one there to hear him.

The millstone kept turning, pouring out salt, and the boat kept sinking till it sank to the bottom of the sea with the rich man and the millstone.

The rich man drowned for his greed.

But the magic millstone kept turning, even at the bottom of the sea, pouring out the finest whitest salt. It is turning there to this very day, making more and more salt.

And that, believe it or not, is why the sea is salt.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Once, long ago, there lived an Emperor who loved new clothes. He loved clothes so much that he thought of nothing else all day and spent all his time and money in acquiring more and more, ever more beautiful clothes.

The emperor's love for clothes was well known. Traders, merchants and weavers from far and wide would bring fine silks, flowered brocades and softest satins to sell to the Emperor, knowing he would buy even the most expensive cloth if it caught his fancy. One day two men, claiming to be skilled weavers, arrived in the Emperor's city and asked to meet him. The men were not real weavers at all, but crooks.

'Sire,' they cried, bowing low before the Emperor, 'the cloths we weave are special - not only do they have the most beautiful colours and elaborate patterns, but the clothes made from them have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who is unfit for his office or unforgivably stupid.'

'These are clothes worth having,' thought the Emperor to himself. 'If I had such a suit of clothes, I'd know at once the men unfit for their office, and be able to tell the wise from the foolish! This cloth must be woven for me immediately!' The Emperor gave orders for the men to be provided with every facility, and commanded them to start their work at once.

The two men set up their looms in the special room in the palace, and pretended to weave their magic cloth, though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the finest silk and purest gold thread, put these away into their sacks when no one was looking, and continued their pretended work at the empty looms.

After a few days, the Emperor said to himself, 'The weavers have been at work for quite a while now. I would like to know how they are coming along.' He remembered though, that one unfit for his office, or one who was unforgivably stupid, would not be able to see the cloth. Now, though he did not doubt that he would be able to see the cloth perfectly well, he decided he would prefer to send someone else first to view the cloth and tell him how the weavers were getting on.

'I will send my faithful old minister,' he said. 'He is a wise man, and I know no one else more suited to his office than he. He will surely be able to see the cloth.'

So the faithful old minister went into the room where the weavers were working. All he could see were the empty looms. Yet the two men seemed to be working really hard at the looms. 'What can be the meaning of this?' wondered the Minister.

The two men, seeing the Minister, greeted him courteously, and pretended to show him the cloth they were supposedly weaving. They pointed to the empty frames and asked anxiously whether the design pleased him, whether the Emperor would approve of the colours, and so on. The Minister looked and looked, but he could not see the cloth - for the very good reason that there was no cloth to see!

'What can be the meaning of this?' he wondered again. 'I cannot see the cloth these men are weaving! Am I then a fool? No - of course not! I have never thought so, and no one else must think so! Am I then not fit to be minister? No, that is not true either! I will never confess that I could not see the cloth!'

The two crooks, enjoying themselves thoroughly, begged the confused old minister to be sure and tell the Emperor how much he liked the cloth and how hard they were working to make him the most wonderful suit of clothes ever.

'Oh yes, of course I will tell the Emperor, do not worry,' said the Minister, trying hard to remember all that the crooks had said about the colours and the patterns they had used.

Soon after, much impressed by his minister's report and ever more eager for his magic clothes, the Emperor sent another high official to check on and report on the weavers' work. This man too, could not see the cloth, but having heard the Minister's report, and seeing the weavers working so hard, and listening to their descriptions of colours and patterns, he was convinced that there really was a magic cloth on the empty frames that he could not see. 'Does that mean I am a fool, or that I am unfit for my office?' he wondered in panic. 'That must never be thought! I will never confess that I cannot see the cloth!' So he too praised the cloth, and the weavers.

The whole city was talking of the wonderful cloth that was being woven for their Emperor. The Emperor himself was beside himself with excitement. 'I must see the cloth for myself,' he declared.

When the two crooks heard that the Emperor himself was coming to inspect their work, they pretended to work harder than ever, keeping the candles burning through the night. The looms remained as empty as ever.

The Emperor entered the room where the weavers were working, and stared in surprise at the empty looms. 'What is this?' he thought. 'I cannot see any cloth on the looms! Yet two officials of my court did see it! Does this mean I am not fit to be Emperor, or that I am unforgivably stupid? Oh dear - I cannot let that happen!' So the Emperor smiled graciously at the weavers and said aloud, 'The cloth is wonderful!'

The weavers bowed gratefully, and praised the beauty of the non-existent cloth, pretending to point out a colour here, a pattern there. The Emperor nodded and smiled. The minister and the court official, determined they would not appear unfit for office or stupid, added their praises to those of the weavers. The men and women in his retinue strained their eyes to see the cloth - and could see no more than the others. But, like the emperor and his ministers, not wishing to be thought unfit for office, nor unforgivably stupid, they all exclaimed, 'Oh, how wonderful, how beautiful!' and advised the Emperor to have some new clothes made and wear them in procession through the city.

The Emperor thought that a marvelous idea. He ordered the weavers to tailor the clothes for him as quickly as possible, and gave them a knighthood and his kingdom's Ribbon of Honour. The weavers bowed and scraped in gratitude. They pretended to work really hard, and sat up all night cutting and stitching the imaginary suit of clothes. At last they declared the clothes ready.

The Emperor, with all his high officials, came to the weavers. The two men held up their arms, as though holding something, and cried 'Here is Your Majesty's tunic! Here is Your Majesty's cloak! Here are the trousers! Here is the scarf! The whole suit is as light as air - wearing it you might think you are wearing nothing! That is the wonderful quality of this magical cloth!'

The Emperor and his courtiers nodded and smiled and exclaimed in admiration, though none of them could see anything of this magical suit of clothes.

The weavers asked the Emperor to undress, so they could help him on with his new suit of clothes. The Emperor did so, and the weavers pretended to dress him in the new clothes. The Emperor turned from side to side in front of the mirror, admiringly.

'How wonderful His Majesty look sin his new clothes!' cried the courtiers.

Finally the weavers declared the Emperor ready. The lords of the bedchamber felt about on the ground, as though picking up the end of his mantle, and pretended to be carrying it. The rest gazed admiringly at the Emperor.

So now the Emperor, followed by his courtiers and high officials, walked through the streets of his city, so that the people may admire his new suit of clothes. All the people standing by, and those leaning out from the windows cried, 'Oh how magnificent our Emperor looks in his new clothes!' No one was willing to admit he could not see these much admired clothes, for no one wanted to be thought unfit for his office or a fool.

A little child was watching the procession too. He wondered what the grown ups were admiring. 'But the Emperor has nothing at all on!' he cried. At that the people looked at each other, and soon a great shout went up, 'But the Emperor has nothing at all on!'

The Emperor was annoyed, because he knew the people were right. Yet what could he do? Royal dignity must be maintained. The procession must go on. So he held his head higher and walked even more regally through the streets, while the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever to pretend they were holding a train, even though there was no train to hold!