Hans Christian Andersen

---

Good morning, schoolmaster.

See the kite?

Tell us a story!

Wait for me, Hans! Please wait.

Well, hurry up. Faster!

Thank you.

Next time, don't be late.

Now, yesterday, Matilda was the wicked

mermaid - the princess of the frozen sea.

- Remember that?

- Yes.

Today, as I promised -

we always keep our promises, don't we?

Yes!

- Today, as I promised, she will be the...

- Queen of China!

Did anybody remember to bring

a dress for the queen of China?

You said you would!

All right.

Please, ladies and gentlemen.

If we can't have a queen,

then we'll have a king.

It's very simple. We just take

the crown and put it over on the side.

He was a very jaunty little king -

wore his crown like that. Now, we'll just...

Ah... No peeping.

There we are.

Long live the king!

Long live the king!

That's not a king.

It's only a queen with a moustache.

Well, a lot of kings

are only a queen with a moustache.

- We all believe it's a king, don't we?

- Yes!

Since we have no clothes for the king,

this is a story about a king

who had no clothes,

and about a little boy

who only believed what he saw.

That's you!

Well, one day, two swindlers

came to see the king

to sell him what they said

was a magic suit of clothes.

Now, the king was very fond of new

clothes, so he said, "Let me see it. "

But there wasn't any suit of clothes.

The swindlers held up their hands like this

and said,

"Your Majesty, this is a magic suit.

"You, being very wise and intelligent,

can see how beautiful it is,

"but to a fool, it is absolutely invisible. "

Well, he said, "I see. "

Not wanting to appear a fool, he added,

"Yes, indeed. I see it perfectly.

"It's beautiful.

"Isn't it grand? Isn't it fine?

Look at the cut, the style, the line!

"The suit of clothes is altogether

but altogether, it's altogether

"The most remarkable suit of clothes

that I have ever seen

"These eyes of mine at once determine

the sleeves are velvet, the cape is ermine

"The hose are blue and

the doublet is a lovely shade of green!"

A lovely shade of green!

"Somebody send for the queen!"

The queen came and she was told

how all the wise people could see the...

- Magic suit!

- That's right.

Naturally, not wanting

to appear a fool, she said,

"Oh! Isn't it grand?

"Isn't it rich?

Look at the charm of every stitch!

"The suit of clothes is altogether,

it's altogether

"The most remarkable suit of clothes

that I have ever seen

"These eyes of mine at once determine

the sleeves are velvet, the cape is ermine

"The hose are blue and the doublet

is a lovely shade of green!"

- A lovely shade of green!

- "Summon the court to convene!"

All the court came, the ministers

and ambassadors came.

Not wanting to seem like fools,

they agreed with the...

- King and queen.

- The king issued a proclamation.

The suit of clothes is altogether

but altogether, it's altogether

The most remarkable suit of clothes

a tailor ever made

Now quickly put it altogether

with gloves of leather and hat and feather

It's altogether the thing

to wear at Saturday's parade

- Saturday's parade!

- Leading the royal brigade!

By this time, everybody had heard

about the king's new clothes

that he would wear at the parade.

The people lined the streets as

the artillery came by, the infantry came by,

and the cavalry came by and the fife

and drum corps and the royal guard,

and finally the king.

Everybody cheered "Hurray"...

...because nobody wanted

to appear a fool.

Nobody that is except one little boy

who, for some strange reason, hadn't

heard about the king's new magic suit,

and didn't know

what he was supposed to see.

He took one look at the king,

turned a little pale and said,

"Look at the king! Look at the king!

"The king is in the altogether,

but altogether, the altogether

"He's altogether as naked

as the day that he was born

"The king is in the altogether,

but altogether, the altogether

"It's altogether the very least

the king has ever worn

"Call the court physician,

call an intermission

"His majesty is wide open

to ridicule and scorn

"The king is in the altogether,

but altogether, the altogether

"He's altogether as naked

as the day that he was born

"And it's altogether too chilly a morn!"

- Hans!

- Hurry, Peter.

We're going to hear another story.

Hans, the schoolmaster

went to the Burgomaster and the...

Peter, don't worry so much

on a beautiful day like this.

They're coming here - the schoolmaster,

the Burgomaster, the council. Look!

Good morning, Burgomaster.

Look, Burgomaster.

The books - on the dirty ground!

Here. The History of Denmark

used to tie the string of a dirty kite!

The history of any country

can always stand a little fresh air.

Did you hear about the history book

that took a vacation

and came back a much better history?

You see? That's the stuff

he fills the children's heads with!

Look at this.

"Arithmetic. A two met a four one day.

"They liked each other immediately

and got married,

"and all the other numbers

came to their wedding. "

- It's impossible!

- There are different ways of learning.

A cobbler belongs in his shop,

and children belong in school.

- Tend to your shoes. I'll tend to my school!

- To be sure.

But is the world made up of nothing else

but shoes and schoolrooms, and...?

There's a story

of a piece of chalk and a blackboard.

The piece of chalk had written

so many things on the blackboard

that it believed

it knew all about everything.

The blackboard was angry.

She felt that without her to write upon,

nobody would know anything,

and she was the one

who really knew it all.

One day, quite by accident,

the schoolmaster broke the piece of chalk

and tossed it out of the window.

It fell beside a pencil that the piece

of chalk had always admired.

A pencil to a piece of chalk

is something very special.

- And what do you suppose happened?

- What happened?

What is this? Have we all lost our senses?

Are you going listen to him

with the children? What is this?

That will be enough, Hans.

Children, pick up your schoolbooks

and go back to school. Hurry now.

Follow the schoolmaster.

Not another word from anyone.

I advise you, Hans, to stay in your shop

from now on. Come, gentlemen.

Stop shaking your head at me

like an old woman, Peter.

- I can feel it in the back of my neck.

- Hans, turn around. I've got to talk to you.

Did you ever hear

the story of the old woman

who shook her head at the family

so much that it fell off, right on the table?

Hans, why do you keep

on making trouble for us?

Trouble? There's no trouble

that a good story can't get us out of -

like the one just now about the piece

of chalk and the blackboard.

I didn't know what I was going to say

until after I'd said it.

In fact, I'd like to know

how the story ends myself.

Please stay in the shop. Don't tell

the children stories all the time.

I never saw such a worrier like you, Peter.

You want to really worry

about something? Here's something.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes