The Empress's New Clothes!

The empress posed vainly in front of her mirror in all her dresses. She stomped her feet and lashed out at her servants. "I have no dress that matches my beauty! Bring me the seamstress here at once!" One of the servants almost got hit by a shoe she threw at him as he scurried out of the room.

Later that day, the seamstress was brought before the empress. "I want you to make me the most amazing dress anyone has ever seen, and I want it by tomorrow morning!"

"Your highness, I can't make a dress that fast-"

"Why are you still here? GET TO IT!"

The seamstress got run out of the castle and walked back to her store, cursing under her breath the entire way. "Royalty or not, I can't make a dress like that in a day!" Still, she prepared a mannequin and began working on an outfit for the empress.

Morning came and despite her best efforts, all the seamstress could manage is a short cape, gloves and stockings. She put them on the mannequin and before she could figure out something for the dress, the door slammed open.

"I've come for my beautiful dress! Where is it, seamstress?!"

"Your highness, I-" The seamstress stopped herself as she had a bright idea to save herself from the wrath of the empress.

"It's here, your highness. I've toiled all night, and I think this is my best work yet!" the seamstress presented the partially dressed mannequin.

"What?!" The empress was about to launch into a tirade as the seamstress held back a chuckle as she continued her bogus explanation.

"You see your majesty, this dress cannot be seen by the dimwitted and ugly! Only the fairest and wisest can see this dress! The fabric was so scarce I could only use it on the dress!"

The empress had a look of panic as she scanned up and down the mannequin. The seamstress pounced on the opportunity to make the vain woman double down.

"Surely someone as beautiful and wise as yourself can appreciate the beauty of this dress!"

"O-of course! It's such a beautiful dress!"

"Great! I'll help you into it, your majesty!" The seamstress made a big show of putting on her "dress" and brought a mirror for the empress. The empress was clearly desperate to not out herself as not being able to see the dress and feigned amazement. "Beautiful! Amazing!" the empress blurted out unconvincingly.

"Surely you'll want to parade this dress to the whole town! Such a beautiful dress should be shown to all the townsfolk!"

"Yes, absolutely! The townsfolk will admire me for my beauty and wisdom!"

The seamstress could barely hold back her laughter as the basically naked empress strutted out of her shop and into the street. Her guards waiting outside nearly had a heart attack as the royal woman's bare body was fully visible to them.

"Your majesty?" The guards could not hide their amazement as they tried to make sense of the situation.

"I see you're already smitten by the dress! This full beauty of this dress can only be seen by the wise and beautiful, and I want you two to announce this as we walk back. Make sure you stay 10 paces back of me to let everyone see my beauty!"

The guards carried out her orders without question, after all she was quick to anger. The guards announced at the top of their lungs: "Behold the beauty of her highness! Her dress can only be seen by the wise and fair!"

The people on the street were absolutely stunned by the sight of the basically naked woman strutting with her head held high. Some murmured, some ogled, and some even played into her delusions by cheering. This stroked the empress's ego to new heights, but she still felt embarrassed by her nudity. Her face was a bright red hue as she did her best strut down the street. Soon word of mouth of the naked empress made it around town and everyone had come to ogle and stare at her exposing herself to the world.

The empress, so thrilled by the attention, would later announce she would wear the dress once a year to celebrate her great wisdom and beauty. The entire nation was pleased and calendars were sold immediately with a marking on the day for next year. Officially it was dubbed "The Empress's Parade" but the citizens quietly refer to it as...

"The day the empress goes naked"!