中国成语故事中英对照 黔驴技穷

In ancient times there were no donkeys in Guizhou province. Somebody brought a donkey from somewhere and tied it to a tree at the foot of a mountain.

过去贵州(黔)这个地方没有驴。有个多事的人用船运来了一头驴，运来后却没有什么用处，就把驴放到山脚下。

A tiger saw the donkey, and thought that it must be a fearsome(可怕的) monster. It hide behind a tree and spied on the donkey.

一只老虎看见了驴，以为这个躯体高大的家伙一定很神奇，就躲在树林里偷偷观察着，后来又悄悄走出来，小心翼翼地接近驴，不知道驴子的底细。

When the donkey brayed(叫) , the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour(吞食，毁灭) it. After a while, seeing that the donkey had not moved, the tiger approached it and teased it. The donkey became angry, and kicked the tiger.

有一天，驴叫了一声，大虎大吃一惊，远远躲开，以为驴要咬自己了，非常恐惧。然而，老虎反复观察以后，觉得驴并没有什么特殊本领，而且越来越熟悉驴的叫声了。老虎开始走到驴的前后，转来转去，还不敢上去攻击驴。以后，老虎慢慢逼近驴，越来越放肆，或者碰它一下，或者靠它一下，不断冒犯它。驴非常恼怒，就用蹄子去踢老虎。

The tiger thought to itself: "Its then all it is capable of?" It then jumped on the donkey and ate it.

老虎心里盘算着：“你的本事也不过如此罢了!”非常高兴。于是老虎腾空扑去，大吼一声，咬断了驴的喉管，啃完了驴的肉，才离去了。

This idiom is used to mean that one has exhauseted one's skills.

唉!那驴的躯体高大，好像有德行;声音洪亮，好像有本事。假如不显出那有限的本事，老虎虽然凶猛，也会存有疑虑畏惧的心理，终究不敢攻击它。现在落得如此下场，不是很可悲吗?