The Emperor's New Clothes

A fairy tale retold from Hans Christian Andersen

This story comes from Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish writer who gave the world many beloved fairy tales in the nineteenth century. The Emperor's New Clothes is a tale about vanity, honesty, and the courage to speak the truth when everyone else stays silent. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story asks children to think about pride and about telling the truth even when it feels hard.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readers, about 4 to 5

Length

short · about 346 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Andersen's Fairy Tales, H. C. Andersen · Project Gutenberg

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.