When I went in to see the loom, the weavers asked me what I thought of the cloth. “What do you think? Isn’t it beautiful stuff?”

“Oh, it’s lovely, lovely!” I said. “What texture! What rich color! I will tell the emperor that it pleases me very much.”

The truth is, though, I saw nothing. How can I say that to the emperor? He’ll think I’m not fit for my office. Or worse, he’ll think I’m unforgivably stupid!

The Emperor’s Good Old Minister in The Emperor’s New Clothes, Yellow Fairy Book. Illustration by Edmund Dulac.