小学英语阅读：The Naked King

The Naked King

Long， long time ago， there lived a very fancy king. The king changed his clothes 12 times a day. He really liked to show off to his subjects. “My clothes are the best in the world.”

One day， two tailors planned a trick. “Why don‘t we teach that stupid and extravagant king a lesson. He doesn’t even worry about his starving people.” “That‘s right！ He thinks he’s the best.”

The two men went to see the king. “Oh， the world‘s most marvelous king！ We have brought the most beautiful cloth in the whole world.” “However， not everyone is able to see the cloth. Those that tell lies and have bad hearts are not able to see this fine cloth.”

After the king heard those words， he became very interested. “Could there really be such a cloth？ If I can make clothes out of those cloths， my clothes will be the best in the whole world. Hurry and show me the cloth.” The king began to get greedier.

The tailors pretended that the cloth was real， as they showed it to the king. The king and the fine-spoken subjects could not see anything before them. But， none of them could show that they could not see it.

The king and his fine-spoken subjects just looked at each other. Then， the tailor quickly spoke in a arrogant manner. “Well， is there no honest man here？ How can you look at this beautiful cloth and not praise it.”

Among the subjects， one of them made a flattering comment out loud. “Wow！ This is the first time that I have seen such a wonderful cloth.” All the subjects tried to be the first to praise the cloth. Then， the king was amazed with the beauty of the cloth， too.

The king gave the money and ordered them to make his clothes. For several days， the tailors pretended to be making the clothes. The king became worried and told one of his subjects to go and see how the clothes was coming along.

The subject could not say how much the clothes had been completed. As hard as he looked， he could not see it. But， he could not say that he was unable to see it. Instead， he pretended to be amazed at how beautiful it was coming along.

A few days later， the tailors came back with the King’s clothes. “Here you are， try on this clothes.” The king was not able to honestly say that he could not see the clothes. He， too， pretended to look over it.

One man said， “Your majesty， lets go and show off this finest clothes in the world.” The subjects all agreed at the same time. “Yes， that is a good idea.”

The king walked out to the street very proudly and walked with pride. All the people in the land came out to see the king‘s new clothes. They were all surprised， though.

Just then， a little girl shouted out， “Our king is naked！” Then everyone said：” He’s naked， he‘s naked！“

The king now realized the truth. However， with only his undergarments on， he still walked in a dignified manner. Even though he was embarrassed， he could not stop walking. Why not？ The reason is that he was the king.

单词注释：

tailor n. 裁缝

extravagant adj. 奢侈的；浪费的；过度的；放纵的

starving adj. 挨饿的；饥饿的

arrogant adj. 自大的，傲慢的

例句：I dislike his arrogant demeanour.

我讨厌他那傲慢的行为。

flatter adj. 谄媚的；奉承的

例句：I think layers are funky and would be a flattering look.

我想做出层次应该是很时髦的，而且很讨人喜欢。

embarrass vt. 使局促不安；使困窘；阻碍