Many years ago, there was an emperor who liked wearing beautiful new clothes very much. In order to dress beautifully, he spent all his money on clothes. He doesn't care about his army at all, and he doesn't like going to the theater. He doesn't like going to the park by carriage unless it is to show off his new clothes. He changes into a new suit every hour every day. When people mention the emperor, they always say: The emperor is in the conference room. But when people mention him, they always say: The emperor is in the dressing room.

In the big city where he lives, life is easy and pleasant. Many foreigners come every day. One day, two swindlers came. They say they are weavers. They say they can weave the most beautiful cloth that no one can imagine. The color and pattern of this cloth are not only very beautiful, but also the clothes sewn with it have a strange function, that is, no incompetent or stupid person can see the clothes.

That's my favorite skirt! The emperor thought. I can see who is incompetent in my kingdom by wearing such clothes; I can tell who is smart and who is stupid. Yes, I'll let them weave this cloth right away! He gave two swindlers a lot of cash and told them to start working at once.

They took out two looms and pretended to be working, but there was nothing on the looms. One by one, they asked the emperor to send them some of the best raw silk and gold. They put all these things in their pockets, but pretended to be busy late at night on those two empty looms.

I wonder how they are woven, thought the emperor. However, he immediately remembered that stupid people or incompetent people could not see the cloth. He did feel a little uncomfortable. He believes that he has nothing to fear. Even so, he still thinks it is more appropriate to send someone to have a look first. The whole city has heard that this kind of fabric has a strange power, so everyone wants to take this opportunity to test it and see how stupid their neighbors are.

I will send an honest old minister to visit the weavers, the emperor thought. Only he can see what this cloth looks like, because he has a lot of brains and no one is more capable than him.

So the kind old minister went to the workplace of two swindlers. They are busy working on the empty loom.

What's going on here? The old minister thought, eyes as big as bowls.

I didn't see anything! But he was afraid to say it.

Two swindlers begged him to come closer and asked him if the pattern and color of the cloth looked good. They pointed to two empty looms.

The poor old minister's eyes are getting bigger and bigger, but he still can't see anything, because there is really nothing to see.

Jesus Christ. He thought. Am I a stupid person? I never doubted myself. I must never let anyone know about it. Am I incompetent? No; I must never let anyone know that I can't see that cloth.