 Gilbert took his title from a children's story, "Eyes and No Eyes; or, The Art of Seeing", in a 1799 collection of early children's literature, "Evenings at Home".The didactic children's story compares one child's recollection of a boring walk with another's description of the many interesting things he saw on the same walk by slowing down to pay attention to his surroundings.Gilbert's libretto is loosely based on Hans Andersen's 1837 story, "The Emperor's New Clothes".