"the emperor's new clothes" is a story by hans christian andersen. the tale was first published on 7 april 1837 with "the little mermaid" in the third and final installment of andersen's "fairy tales told for children". it was published in copenhagen, denmark by c. a. reitzel. the story is based on one from the "libro de los ejemplos del conde lucanor y de patronio|libro de los ejemplos" (or "el conde lucanor", 1335) by juan manuel, prince of villena (1282–1348). this book was a medieval spanish collection of fifty-one cautionary tales with various sources such as aesop and other classical writers and persian folktales. andersen did not know the spanish original, but read the tale in a german translation titled "so ist der lauf der welt". in the source tale, a king is hoodwinked by weavers who claim to make a suit of clothes invisible to any man not the son of his presumed father. andersen altered the source tale to direct the focus on courtly pride and intellectual vanity rather than adulterous paternity.