掩耳盗铃 Yăn'ĕr dàolíng

掩耳盗铃

Yăn'ĕr dàolíng

To cover one's ears when he steals the bell

有个小偷看见范氏家里有一口名贵的大钟，他想把钟敲
Yŏu gè xiăotōu kànjiàn fànshì jiālĭ yŏu yì kŏu míngguì de dàzhōng, tā xiăng bă zhōng qiāo
碎，然后再分别搬回家。可敲钟的巨响把他吓了一大跳，他不由自
suì , ránhòu zài fēnbié bān huí jiā. Kĕ qiāo zhōng de jùxiăng bă tā xià le yí dà tiào, tā bùyóuzì
主地捂住自己的耳朵。他高兴的发现钟声变小了，于是他立刻
zhŭ dì wŭzhù zì jĭde ĕrduo. Tā gāoxìng de fāxiàn zhōng shēng biàn xiăo le, yúshì tā lìkè
找来两个布团，把耳朵塞住，放手砸起钟来，人们听到钟
zhăo lái liăng gè bùtuán, bă ĕrduo sāizhù, fàngshŏu zá qĭ zhōng lái, rénmen tīng dào zhōng
声蜂拥而至把小偷捉住了。
shēng fēngyōng'érzhì bă xiăotōu zhuō zhù le.

English Translation:
A thief wanted to steal the Fan family's very valuable and large bell, so he decided to smash it so that he could carry it home. But when he hit it, the loud clang surprised him and he covered his ears, thereby muffling the sound. He decided to use cloth to plug his ears, foolishly thinking it quieted the bell so that he could hit it repeatedly. Neighbors soon heard the sound and caught the thief in the act. Thus, the moral of the story is that the sound of the bell exists objectively; it won't be silenced even if you cover your own ears. This story vividly explains the basic principle of dialectical materialism: all things exist objectively—a fact that should not be ignored, or else you will deceive yourself and suffer the consequences.