A Treasury of Literary Classics -
Fairy Tales Series

Instruction:

    Read the story and answer the following questions.

The Emperor's New Clothes

by Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen (2 April, 1805 - 4 August, 1875) was a Danish author who wrote a lot of famous fairy tales, including "The Little Mermaid", "The Little Match Girl" and "The Princess and the Pea". His stories have achieved worldwide popularity and inspired ballets, plays, animated and live-action films.

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1. What was the most important to the emperor?

A. He only wanted to have a lot of money.
B. He only wanted to make his own clothes.
C. He only wanted to win in battles.
D. He only wanted to wear new clothes.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 1.

"A long long time ago, an emperor was very fond of new clothes. The only thing important to him was to be well dressed every day. He wanted to appear before everybody in beautiful new clothes."

2. What did the emperor do in his dressing room?

A. The emperor liked working in his dressing room.
B. The emperor spent all his time trying on new clothes in his dressing room.
C. The emperor had meetings in his dressing room.
D. The emperor made new clothes in his dressing room.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 1.

"A long long time ago, an emperor was very fond of new clothes. The only thing important to him was to be well dressed every day. ... The only thing his people could say about him was that 'The emperor is in his dressing room trying on new clothes.' "

3. According to the two weavers, what was special about the clothes they made?

A. The clothes were visible only to smart people.
B. The clothes were invisible only to smart people.
C. The clothes were touchable only by smart people.
D. The clothes were fashionable only to smart people.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 2.

"One day, two swindlers from other places arrived in the country. They pretended to everyone that they were weavers and that they could make the finest cloth in the world. They boasted, 'The colours and patterns are very beautiful and the material is so special that it is invisible to stupid persons.' "

4. How did the emperor make the two weavers start working on his clothes?

A. The emperor helped them set up a lot of looms.
B. The emperor bought them a lot of clothes.
C. The emperor sent them a lot of wardrobes.
D. The emperor gave them a lot of money.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 3.

"He invited these two rascals to his palace and gave them a large sum of money so that they would start working at once."

5. Which of the following sentences are TRUE about the weavers?

  1. The weavers came to the town from other places.
  2. The weavers said that they could make the finest cloth.
  3. The weavers asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth.
  4. The weavers worked really hard in making the suit for the emperor.

A. (i), (ii) & (iii)
B. (i), (ii) & (iv)
C. (i), (iii) & (iv)
D. (ii), (iii) & (iv)

Your answer:

Read paragraphs 2 and 3.

"One day, two swindlers from other places arrived in the country. They pretended to everyone that they were weavers and that they could make the finest cloth in the world."

 "They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth. They then hid away the expensive material and pretended to be working very hard at the empty looms from dawn till late at night."

6. Why did the emperor send an old minister to look at the cloth?

A. The emperor thought that the old minister was honest.
B. The emperor was unable to look at the cloth himself.
C. The emperor thought that he was unfit to look at the cloth himself.
D. The emperor wanted to find out who was stupid.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 5.

What did the emperor think about the old minister?

7. The writer uses the simile "as light as a cobweb" to describe the emperor's new suit. A simile is a way to compare one thing with another using "as ... as" or "like ...". For example, "as wise as an owl" (very clever) or "like a bag of bricks" (very heavy).

Read the following descriptions. Fill in each blank with a simile from the list given. Each option can be used once only.

A. as quiet as a mouse B. as cunning as a fox C. as red as a beetroot D. as brave as a lion
Description Simile
7a. The weavers claimed that they could make magnificent clothes, but in fact they did not know how. The weavers were _______.
7b. A little boy told the emperor the truth while all the other people said nothing. The little boy was ________.
7c. The emperor thought he was naked but he did not know what to do. The emperor's face was ________.
7d. None of the assistants made a sound when someone told the emperor the truth honestly. They were ________.

A. "As quiet as a mouse" refers to someone who makes no noise or says nothing.

B. "As cunning as a fox" refers to someone who tricks others in order to get something for oneself.

C. "As red as a beetroot" refers to someone who is red in the face because he or she is feeling very embarrassed about something.

D. "As brave as a lion" refers to someone who does dangerous things without fear.

8. When the two weavers had helped the emperor put on the new clothes, why did the emperor look at himself in the mirror from all sides?

A. He wanted to see how he looked in the new clothes.
B. He wanted to show the people around him that he could see his beautiful new clothes.
C. He thought that only he himself could see his new clothes and he was very pleased.
D. He wanted to add accessories onto his new suit.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 9.

"The emperor put the new clothes on. He could not feel the weight of the clothes. He looked at himself in the mirror from all sides, as if he was admiring his new suit."

9. When the emperor put on the new suit, the weavers said it was "as light as a cobweb" . What does "as light as a cobweb" mean?

A. It means the suit was bright.
B. It means there was a light on the suit.
C. It means the suit was very light.
D. It means there was a spider-web on the suit.

Your answer:

Read paragraph 9.

How did the emperor feel after wearing the new suit?

The Emperor's New Clothes

Score Sheet

Questions Results
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7a
Question 7b
Question 7c
Question 7d
Question 8
Question 9
Total

Extension: Time to think!

10. What is the moral lesson of the story?

11. If you were the little child, would you do the same? Why or why not? Think and share with your parents or classmates.