双语·《伊索寓言》 狐狸和猴子

THE FOX AND THE MONKEY

A Fox and a Monkey were on the road together, and fell into a dispute as to which of the two was the better born. They kept it up for some time, till they came to a place where the road passed through a cemetery full of monuments, when the Monkey stopped and looked about him and gave a great sigh. “Why do you sigh?” said the Fox. The Monkey pointed to the tombs and replied, “All the monuments that you see here were put up in honour of my forefathers, who in their day were eminent men.” The Fox was speechless for a moment, but quickly recovering he said, “Oh! Don't stop at any lie, sir; you're quite safe: I'm sure none of your ancestors will rise up and expose you.”

Boasters brag most when they cannot be detected.

狐狸和猴子

狐狸和猴子一起走在路上，为了谁的出身更好争论了起来。两个人吵了一段时间，直到他们路过一片公墓，那里有很多墓碑，猴子停了下来，环顾四周，长叹一口气。狐狸问：“你为什么叹气啊？”猴子指着那些坟墓回答说：“你看看这些墓碑，全都是为了纪念我的祖辈而立，他们生前可全都是伟人啊。”狐狸先是无言以对，然后很快恢复正常，说道：“哎呀！接着扯谎吧，先生，没事的，我肯定你的那些祖先不会爬出来揭穿你的。”

训诫：吹牛的人在无法被揭穿时吹得最大。