quitethecharmer:

"'Listen to the voice of innocence!' exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.

And this should also be a lesson in how easily gossip can spread, when people are either impolite or honest enough to say exactly what's going on." Vincent added another comment to the fairy tale he had been reading to children at the library. His annotations earned him a chiding cough from a nearby librarian. He was a fair storyteller after all, using some simple illusions and enchantments to give proper voices to the characters, and render a few grander projections of the illustrations.

"'But he has nothing at all on!' at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold. The End.

See what happens if you're not brave enough to call someone's bluff, children?" Vincent grins at them.