The little boy's father finished laughing and spoke to his son:
"Son, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, dad."
"In school they teach you to always obey the law, right?"
"I don't know."
"Ok. Did you know that there is a law against walking on the Emperor's grass?"
"Yes, papa."
"Have you seen anyone walk on it?"
"No."
"That's because the grass belongs to the Emperor and we respect his property."
"Yeah, I know. But it's illegal besides."
"Right, but what about buying the gypsies' wine? Did you know that's illegal too?"
"But dad, you buy the gypsies' wine."
"Exactly. There's nothing immoral about buying their wine. It's dangerous, because if the emperor's men catch you, you might get punished. More likely, though, you'll be able to appease them by giving them a bottle or two."
"Dad, you're confusing me. I thought you said it's illegal."
"Oh, I did. It is illegal, but it's not immoral. Some things that are illegal are not immoral. Does that seem odd?"
"But my teacher says that we have to obey the law."
The boy's father beamed at him.
The little boy giggled a little, remembering his father's first question. "I see what you mean, dad."
"The thing is, the Emperor gets a lot of money, and he uses it to hurt people when they do things he doesn't like. He makes up the laws to control us and he really wants people to follow them. He forgot to make up a law forbidding people to laugh at him, so when you pointed out that he's naked, everybody was comfortable laughing."
"But why was everyone pretending that he had clothes on?"
"That's a good question. Let's see... I was pretending just because everyone else was. I think it's because we all know the Emperor can be mean. If you were a bit older, his guards might have taken you away for saying what you said."
"Son, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, dad."
"In school they teach you to always obey the law, right?"
"I don't know."
"Ok. Did you know that there is a law against walking on the Emperor's grass?"
"Yes, papa."
"Have you seen anyone walk on it?"
"No."
"That's because the grass belongs to the Emperor and we respect his property."
"Yeah, I know. But it's illegal besides."
"Right, but what about buying the gypsies' wine? Did you know that's illegal too?"
"But dad, you buy the gypsies' wine."
"Exactly. There's nothing immoral about buying their wine. It's dangerous, because if the emperor's men catch you, you might get punished. More likely, though, you'll be able to appease them by giving them a bottle or two."
"Dad, you're confusing me. I thought you said it's illegal."
"Oh, I did. It is illegal, but it's not immoral. Some things that are illegal are not immoral. Does that seem odd?"
"But my teacher says that we have to obey the law."
The boy's father beamed at him.
The little boy giggled a little, remembering his father's first question. "I see what you mean, dad."
"The thing is, the Emperor gets a lot of money, and he uses it to hurt people when they do things he doesn't like. He makes up the laws to control us and he really wants people to follow them. He forgot to make up a law forbidding people to laugh at him, so when you pointed out that he's naked, everybody was comfortable laughing."
"But why was everyone pretending that he had clothes on?"
"That's a good question. Let's see... I was pretending just because everyone else was. I think it's because we all know the Emperor can be mean. If you were a bit older, his guards might have taken you away for saying what you said."
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