Fox Borrows Tiger's Might

Fox Borrows Tiger's Might Illustration

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很久hěn jiǔ以前yǐ qiánzài中国zhōng guódepiàn森林sēn línzhùzhezhīhěn凶猛xiōng měngde老虎lǎo hǔA long time ago, in a forest in China, there lived a very fierce tiger.森林sēn lín所有suǒ yǒude动物dòng wùdōuhěnAll the animals in the forest were very afraid of it.

有一天yǒu yī tiān老虎lǎo hǔzài森林sēn lín散步sàn bùshí遇到yù dàozhīxiǎo狐狸hú liOne day, while the tiger was walking in the forest, it met a small fox.老虎lǎo hǔ肚子dù zihěn饿è觉得jué dezhèzhīxiǎo狐狸hú li一定yī dìnghěn好吃hǎo chīThe tiger was very hungry and thought that this small fox must be delicious.

jiùzài老虎lǎo hǔ准备zhǔn bèiyàochī狐狸hú lide时候shí hou狐狸hú li突然tū rán大叫dà jiào等等děng děng不能bù néngchī天上tiān shangpàiláizuò百兽bǎi shòuzhīwáng如果rú guǒchīle天上tiān shangdeshén一定yī dìnghuìhěn生气shēng qìJust as the tiger was about to eat the fox, the fox suddenly shouted: 'Wait! You can’t eat me. Heaven sent me to be the king of all beasts, and if you eat me, the gods in heaven will surely be very angry!'

老虎lǎo hǔtīngle觉得jué de有点yǒu diǎn奇怪qí guàizhèzhīxiǎo狐狸hú li真的zhēn dehuìshì动物dòng wùmendewángmaThe tiger heard this and felt a bit strange: Could this small fox really be the king of the animals?狐狸hú li看到kàn dào老虎lǎo hǔ有点yǒu diǎn相信xiāng xìn赶快gǎn kuàishuō如果rú guǒ相信xiāng xìngēn一起yī qǐzǒuzǒudāngmen看见kàn jiàn所有suǒ yǒu动物dòng wùdōuhuì害怕hài pà逃走táo zǒu。」Seeing that the tiger didn’t quite believe it, the fox quickly said: 'If you don’t believe me, walk with me, and when the animals see me, all the animals will run away in fear.'

老虎lǎo hǔ同意tóng yìleThe tiger agreed.狐狸hú lihěn得意dé yìzǒuzài前面qián miàn强壯qiáng zhuàngde老虎lǎo hǔgēnzài后面hòu miànThe fox walked proudly in front, with the strong tiger following behind it.dāngmen一起yī qǐ经过jīng guò森林sēn línshí所有suǒ yǒu看见kàn jiànmende动物dòng wùdōuxiàde赶紧gǎn jǐn跑开pǎo kāileAs they passed through the forest together, all the animals that saw them were scared and quickly ran away.

老虎lǎo hǔkànle心里xīn lǐxiǎngmen真的zhēn dehěn狐狸hú li!」The tiger saw this and thought to itself: 'Wow! They really are afraid of the fox!'cóngtiān老虎lǎo hǔjiù相信xiāng xìn狐狸hú lidehuà再也zài yěgǎn伤害shāng hàileFrom that day on, the tiger believed the fox’s words and never dared to harm it again.dàn事实shì shíshàng其他qí tā动物dòng wùde根本gēn běn不是bù shì狐狸hú li而是ér shì狐狸hú li后面hòu miànzhī强大qiáng dàde老虎lǎo hǔBut in fact, the other animals weren’t afraid of the fox at all, but rather the powerful tiger behind it.

现在xiàn zài中文zhōng wénchángshuō狐假虎威hú jiǎ hǔ wēi」,意思yì si就是jiù shì有人yǒu rénkàozhe别人bié rénde力量lì lianghuò权力quán lìlái吓人xià rénhuòràng自己zì jǐ看起来kàn qǐ láihěn厉害lì haiNow in Chinese, we often say: 'Fox borrows the tiger’s power,' meaning that someone relies on another’s strength or authority to intimidate others or make themselves appear formidable.

比如bǐ rúyǒujiào小凯xiǎo kǎide男生nán shēngFor example, there’s a boy named Xiao Kai.平常píng chángrénde时候shí houhěn胆小dǎn xiǎo可是kě shì只要zhǐ yào哥哥gē gezài旁边páng biānjiùhuì假装jiǎ zhuānghěnxiōng指挥zhǐ huī其他qí tā小孩xiǎo háiNormally, when he’s alone, he’s very timid, but as long as his older brother is nearby, he pretends to be fierce and order other kids around.小凯xiǎo kǎi这樣zhè yàngde行为xíng wéi就是jiù shì狐假虎威hú jiǎ hǔ wēi」。This behavior of Xiao Kai is exactly what 'fox borrows the tiger’s power' means.

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