For mange år siden levede en kejser, som holdt så uhyre meget af smukke nye klæder, at han gav alle sine penge ud for ret at blive pyntet. Han brød sig ikke om sine soldater, brød sig ej om komedie eller om at køre i skoven, uden alene for at vise sine nye klæder. Han havde en kjole for hver time på dagen, og ligesom man siger om en konge, han er i rådet, så sagde man altid her: “Kejseren er i garderoben!”
Many years ago there lived an Emperor, who was so exceedingly fond of beautiful new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed. He did not care about his soldiers, cared not for comedy or for a ride in the woods, but only to show off his new clothes. He had a gown for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as one might, about another king, ‘He is in council,’ here they always said, ‘The Emperor is in his dressing room!’
I den store stad, hvor han boede, gik det meget fornøjeligt til, hver dag kom der mange fremmede, en dag kom der to bedragere; de gav sig ud for at være vævere og sagde, at de forstod at væve det dejligste tøj, man kunne tænke sig. Ikke alene farverne og mønstret var noget usædvanligt smukt, men de klæder, som blev syet af tøjet, havde den forunderlige egenskab at de blev usynlige for ethvert menneske, som ikke duede i sit embede, eller også var utilladelig dum.
In the big city, where he lived, life was splendid. Every day many strangers came, and among them one day came two swindlers. They pretended to be weavers, and they said that they understood how to weave the loveliest cloth one could imagine. Not only were their colours and patterns unusually beautiful, but the clothes, which were sewn from this cloth, had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to any person who was unfit for their office, or who was inexcusably stupid.
“Det var jo nogle dejlige klæder,” tænkte kejseren; “ved at have dem på, kunne jeg komme efter, hvilke mænd i mit rige der ikke dur til det embede de har, jeg kan kende de kloge fra de dumme! ja det tøj må straks væves til mig!” og han gav de to bedragere mange penge på hånden, for at de skulle begynde på deres arbejde.
‘These would surely be some beautiful clothes,’ thought the Emperor. ‘If I wore them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are not fit for the posts they have. And I could tell the wise from the fools. Yes, that cloth must immediately be woven for me!’ And he paid the two swindlers a large sum of money, so that they could begin their work.
De satte også to vævestole op, lod som om de arbejdede, men de havde ikke det mindste på væven. Rask væk forlangte de den fineste silke, og det prægtigste guld; det puttede de i deres egen pose og arbejdede med de tomme væve, og det til langt ud på natten.
They set up two looms and pretended as if they were working, but they had not the slightest bit on the weaving looms. All the finest silk and the prettiest gold thread which they demanded went into their own bags, while they worked the empty looms far into the night.
“Nu gad jeg dog nok vide, hvor vidt de er med tøjet!” tænkte kejseren, men han var ordentligt lidt underlig om hjertet ved at tænke på, at den, som var dum, eller slet passede til sit embede, ikke kunne se det, nu troede han nok, at han ikke behøvede at være bange for sig selv, men han ville dog sende nogen først for at se, hvorledes det stod sig. Alle mennesker i hele byen vidste, hvilken forunderlig kraft tøjet havde, og alle var begærlige efter at se, hvor dårlig eller dum hans nabo var.
‘Now I would like to know how they are getting on with the cloth,’ the Emperor thought, but he felt slightly uncomfortable when he remembered that those who were stupid or were unfit for office position would not be able to see the fabric. Now he did not believe that he needed to be afraid for himself, but he would rather nevertheless to send someone else first to see how things were going. The whole town knew what peculiar power the cloth had, and all were impatient to find out how bad or stupid their neighbours were.
“Jeg vil sende min gamle ærlige minister hen til væverne!” tænkte kejseren, “han kan bedst se, hvorledes tøjet tager sig ud, for han har forstand, og ingen passer sit embede bedre end han!”
‘I will send my honest old minister to the weavers,’ thought the Emperor. ‘He will best be able to see, how the cloth looks, for he is intelligent, and nobody serves their office better than him!’
Nu gik den gamle skikkelige minister ind i salen, hvor de to bedragere sad og arbejdede med de tomme væve. “Gudbevares!” tænkte den gamle minister og spilede øjnene op! “jeg kan jo ikke se noget!” Men det sagde han ikke.
So now the honest old minister went to the room where the two swindlers sat working away at their empty looms. ‘Heaven help me,’ he thought as his eyes flew wide open, ‘I can’t see anything!’ But he did not say so.
Begge bedragerne bad ham være så god at træde nærmere og spurgte, om det ikke var et smukt mønster og dejlige farver. Så pegede de på den tomme væv, og den stakkels gamle minister blev ved at spile øjnene op, men han kunne ikke se noget, for der var ingen ting. “Herregud!” tænkte han, “skulle jeg være dum! Det har jeg aldrig troet, og det må ingen mennesker vide! skulle jeg ikke du til mit embede? Nej det går ikke an, at jeg fortæller, jeg ikke kan se tøjet!”
Both swindlers begged him to be so kind as to come nearer and asked, if it was not a beautiful pattern with the loveliest colours. So they pointed to the empty looms, and the poor old minister stared as hard as he dared, but he couldn’t see anything, because there was nothing. ‘Good Lord!’ he thought. ‘Can it be that I’m stupid? I would have never believed it, and not a person must know. Am I not fit for my office? No, it would never do to let on that I can’t see the cloth!’
“Nå, De siger ikke noget om det!” sagde den ene, som vævede!
‘Well, you are not saying anything about it!’ said one of the weavers.
“Oh det er nydeligt! ganske allerkæreste!” sagde den gamle minister og så igennem sine briller, “dette mønster og disse farver! ja, jeg skal sige kejseren, at det behager mig særdeles!”
‘Oh, it is pretty! Completely enchanting!’ said the old minister as he peered through his glasses. ‘Such a pattern, what colours! Yes, I shall tell the Emperor that it pleases me extremely!’
“Nå det fornøjer os!” sagde begge væverne, og nu nævnede de farverne ved navn og det sælsomme mønster. Den gamle minister hørte godt efter, for at han kunne sige det samme, når han kom hjem til kejseren, og det gjorde han.
‘Well that delights us!’ said both weavers, and now they proceeded to name each colour and to explain the strange pattern. The old minister listened closely, so that he could tell it all when he came home to the Emperor. And so he did.
Nu forlangte bedragerne flere penge, mere silke og guld, det skulle de bruge til vævning. De stak alt i deres egne lommer, på væven kom ikke en trævl, men de blev ved, som før, at væve på den tomme væv.
Now the swindlers demanded more money, more silks and gold, which they would use for weaving. They stacked everything in their own pockets. Not a thread went into the looms, but they continued, as before, to weave on the empty looms.
Kejseren sendte snart igen en anden skikkelig embedsmand hen for at se, hvorledes det gik med vævningen, og om tøjet snart var færdigt. Det gik ham ligesom den anden, han så og så, men da der ikke var noget uden de tomme væve, kunne han ingen ting se.
The Emperor soon sent another honest official to see how the weaving was going and whether the cloth would soon be ready. The same thing happened to him that had happened to the other. He looked and looked, but as there was nothing to see in the looms, he couldn’t see anything.
“Ja, er det ikke et smukt stykke tøj!” sagde begge bedragerne og viste og forklarede det dejlige mønster, som der slet ikke var.
‘Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth!’ said both swindlers, as they showed and explained the lovely pattern, which was not there at all.
“Dum er jeg ikke!” tænkte manden, “det er altså mit gode embede, jeg ikke dur til? Det var løjerligt nok! men det må man ikke lade sig mærke med!” og så roste han tøjet, han ikke så, og forsikrede dem sin glæde over de skønne kulører og det dejlige mønster. “Ja det er ganske allerkæreste!” sagde han til kejseren.
‘I am not stupid,’ the man thought, ‘so it must be that I am not fit for my good office. That is strange! I must not let anyone find it out though!.’ And so he praised the cloth, which he did not see, and assured them of his joy with the beautiful colours and the lovely pattern. To the Emperor he said, ‘It is most enchanting!’
Alle mennesker i byen talte om det prægtige tøj.
Everybody in the town was talking of this gorgeous cloth.
Nu ville da kejseren selv se det, medens det endnu var på væven. Med en hel skare af udsøgte mænd, mellem hvilke de to gamle skikkelige embedsmænd var, som før havde været der, gik han hen til begge de listige bedragere, der nu vævede af alle kræfter, men uden trævl eller tråd.
Now the Emperor wanted to see it for himself while it was still in the looms. With a whole troop of chosen men, among whom were his two old trusted officials, the ones who had been there before, he went to the two crafty swindlers, who were were weaving with all their might, but without a single shred of thread.
“Ja er det ikke magnifik!” sagde begge de skikkelige embedsmænd. “Vil Deres Majestæt se, hvilket mønster, hvilke farver!” og så pegede de på den tomme væv, thi de troede, de andre vistnok kunne se tøjet.
‘Well, is it not magnificent!’ said both of the honest officials. ‘Just look, Your Majesty, what a pattern! What colours!’ And so they pointed to the empty looms, as they believed, the others could see the cloth.
“Hvad for noget!” tænkte kejseren, “jeg ser ingen ting! det er jo forfærdeligt! er jeg dum? dur jeg ikke til at være kejser? det var det skrækkeligste, som kunne arrivere mig!” – “Oh det er meget smukt!” sagde kejseren, “det har mit allerhøjeste bifald!” og han nikkede tilfreds og betragtede den tomme væv; han ville ikke sige, at han ingen ting kunne se. Hele følget, han havde med sig, så og så, men fik ikke mere ud af det, end alle de andre, men de sagde ligesom kejseren, “oh det er meget smukt!” og de rådede ham at tage disse nye, prægtige klæder på første gang, ved den store procession, som forestod. “Det er magnifik! nysseligt, excellent!” gik det fra mund til mund, og man var alle sammen så inderligt fornøjede dermed. Kejseren gav hver af bedragerne et ridderkors til at hænge i knaphullet og titel af vævejunkere.
‘What did you say?’ thought the Emperor. ‘I see nothing! This is terrible! Am I stupid? Am I unfit to be emperor? What a thing to happen to me!’ ‘Oh! It’s very beautiful!’ said the Emperor. ‘It has my highest approval!’ And he nodded satisfied and looked at the empty looms. He would not say that he could not see anything. His whole retinue, who he had with him, stared and stared. But one saw no more than the other, but they said just like the Emperor, ‘Oh, it is very beautiful!’ And they advised him to wear clothes made of this gorgeous cloth for the first time at the big procession which was to take place soon. ‘It is magnificent! Excellent! Unsurpassed!’ were bandied from mouth to mouth, and everyone did his best to seem delighted. The Emperor gave each of the swindlers a Knight’s Cross to wear in his buttonhole, and the title of ‘Sir Weaver.’
Hele natten før den formiddag processionen skulle være, sad bedragerne oppe og havde over seksten lys tændt. Folk kunne se, de havde travlt med at få kejserens nye klæder færdige. De lod, som de tog tøjet af væven, de klippede i luften med store sakse, de syede med synål uden tråd og sagde til sidst: “Se nu er klæderne færdige!”
Before the morning procession, the swindlers sat up all night and burned more than sixteen candles. Folk could see how busy they were at getting the Emperor’s new clothes finished. They pretended to take the cloth off the looms. They made cuts in the air with huge scissors. They sewed with needles without thread and said at last, ‘Look, now the clothes are finished!’
Kejseren, med sine fornemste kavalerer, kom selv derhen og begge bedragerne løftede den ene arm i vejret ligesom om de holdt noget og sagde: “Se her er benklæderne! her er kjolen! her kappen!” og således videre fort. “Det er så let, som spindelvæv! man skulle tro man havde ingen ting på kroppen, men det er just dyden ved det!”
The Emperor himself came with his noblest cavaliers, and both swindlers lifted one arm in the air as if they were holding something and they said, ‘See here are the trousers! Here is the gown! Here, the coat!’ and so on. ‘They are as light as a spider web! One would almost think he had nothing on, but that is just the beauty of it!’
“Ja!” sagde alle kavalererne, men de kunne ingen ting se, for der var ikke noget.
‘Yes!’ said all the cavaliers, but they could see nothing, for there was nothing.
“Vil nu Deres Kejserlige Majestæt allernådigst behage at tage deres klæder af!” sagde bedragerne, “så skal vi give Dem de nye på, herhenne foran det store spejl!”
‘If Your Imperial Majesty will now graciously please take your clothes off,’ said the swindlers, ‘so shall we help you with your new ones here in front of the big mirror.’
Kejseren lagde alle sine klæder, og bedragerne bar sig ad, ligesom om de gav ham hvert stykke af de nye, der skulle være syet, og kejseren vendte og drejede sig for spejlet.
The Emperor took off all of his clothes, and the swindlers pretended to put each supposedly newly sewn piece on him. And then the Emperor turned and spun around the mirror.
“Gud hvor de klæder godt! hvor de sidder dejligt!” sagde de alle sammen. “Hvilket mønster! hvilke farver! det er en kostbar dragt!”
‘God, how good are the clothes! They fit so delightfully!’ they said all together. ‘What a pattern! What colours! It is a precious outfit.’
“Udenfor står de med tronhimlen, som skal bæres over Deres Majestæt i processionen!” sagde overceremonimesteren.
Then the minister of public processions said: ‘Your Majesty’s canopy is waiting outside.’
“Ja jeg er jo i stand!” sagde kejseren. “Sidder det ikke godt?” og så vendte han sig nok engang for spejlet! for det skulle nu lade ligesom om han ret betragtede sin stads.
‘Well, I am surely ready!’ the Emperor said, and turned once more around the mirror. ‘It is a fit, is it not?’ He seemed to regard his costume with the greatest interest.
Kammerherrerne, som skulle bære slæbet, famlede med hænderne hen ad gulvet, ligesom om de tog slæbet op, de gik og holdt i luften, de turde ikke lade sig mærke med, at de ingenting kunne se.
The noblemen who were to carry his train fumbled with their hands on the floor as if they were picking up his train. Then they pretended to lift and hold it in the air. They dared not to let the others notice, that they could see nothing.
Så gik kejseren i processionen under den dejlige tronhimmel og alle mennesker på gaden og i vinduerne sagde: “Gud hvor kejserens nye klæder er mageløse! hvilket dejligt slæb han har på kjolen! hvor den sidder velsignet!” Ingen ville lade sig mærke med, at han intet så, for så havde han jo ikke duet i sit embede, eller været meget dum. Ingen af kejserens klæder havde gjort sådan lykke.
So off went the Emperor in procession under his pretty canopy and everyone in the streets and in the windows said, ‘God, how unique are the Emperor’s new clothes! What a delightful train he has on the gown! How heavenly it fits!’ Nobody wanted to confess that he couldn’t see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his office, or to be very stupid. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a success.
“Men han har jo ikke noget på,” sagde et lille barn. “Herregud, hør den uskyldiges røst,” sagde faderen; og den ene hviskede til den anden, hvad barnet sagde.
‘But he hasn’t got anything on,’ a little child said. ‘Good Lord, did you ever hear such innocent prattle?’ said the father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said.
“Men han har jo ikke noget på,” råbte til sidst hele folket. Det krøb i kejseren, thi han syntes, de havde ret, men han tænkte som så: “Nu må jeg holde processionen ud.” Og kammerherrerne gik og bar på slæbet, som der slet ikke var.
‘But he hasn’t got anything on!’ the whole crowd cried out at last. And the Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, ‘This procession has got to go on.’ So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that was not there at all.
