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'The Emperor's New Clothes' is a children's story by:
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Answer: Option B — Hans Christian Andersen
Detailed Solution
"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1837.
About the story:
Two swindlers come to the capital of a vain emperor who loves fine clothes. They claim to weave a magnificent cloth that is invisible to anyone who is stupid or unfit for their position.
The emperor and his ministers cannot see any cloth, but they pretend to admire it so as not to appear foolish.
The emperor walks in a grand procession wearing the "new clothes", and the crowd also pretends to admire them.
Finally, a child cries out, "But he has nothing on!" and everyone realises the truth.
The story is a satire on vanity, pride and the fear of speaking the truth. The phrase "the emperor's new clothes" is now used to describe something that people pretend to admire although it is obviously false or worthless.
About Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875):
- He was born on 2 April 1805 in Odense, Denmark, into a poor family.
- He wrote over 150 fairy tales, as well as novels, plays, poems and travel books.
His famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Snow Queen" (which inspired Disney's "Frozen"), "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" and "The Princess and the Pea".
His birthday, 2 April, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award, given every two years by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), is called the "Little Nobel Prize" of children's literature.
A famous statue of the Little Mermaid stands in Copenhagen harbour.
Other famous collectors and writers of fairy tales:
- The Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm, Germany): "Snow White", "Hansel and Gretel", "Rapunzel", "Little Red Riding Hood" (also told by Perrault).
- Charles Perrault (France): "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", "Puss in Boots".
- Aesop (ancient Greece): fables such as "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Fox and the Grapes".
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Brothers Grimm collected German folk tales such as "Hansel and Gretel".
- ✗Charles Perrault wrote "Cinderella".
- ✗Aesop is known for his fables.
Quick tip
Remember: "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1837), "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling" = Hans Christian Andersen (Denmark); 2 April = International Children's Book Day; "Hansel and Gretel" = Brothers Grimm.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.