"[Hans Christian] Andersen's manuscript was at the printer's when he was suddenly inspired to change the original climax of the tale from the emperor's subjects admiring his invisible clothes to that of the child's cry."

"There are many unconfirmed theories about why he made this change. Most scholars agree that from his earliest years in Copenhagen, Andersen presented himself to the Danish bourgeoisie as the naïvely precocious child not usually admitted to the adult salon. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' became his exposé of the hypocrisy and snobbery he found there when he finally gained admission. Andersen's decision to change the ending may have occurred after he read the manuscript tale to a child, or its inspiration may have been one of Andersen's own childhood incidents which was similar to that in the tale: he once recalled standing in a crowd with his mother, waiting to see King Frederick VI, and when the king made his appearance, Andersen cried out, 'Oh, he's nothing more than a human being!' His mother then tried to silence him saying, 'Have you gone mad, child?' Whatever the reason, Andersen thought the change would prove more satirical."

From "The Emperor's New Clothes" (Wikipedia), which I'm reading about because it came up in a conversation about the previous post, which discusses public exposure and embarrassment.

Here's that "nothing more than a human being" Frederick VI: