英语谚语故事 掩耳盗铃英文：
Plug one's ears while stealing a bell
In the Spring and Autumn period, a thief had stolen a bell and intended to carry it away on his back, but the bell was too bulky and heavy to be carried, so he tried to break it into pieces with a hammer to make it easier for carrying. On his first hit,however, the bell made a loud noise. He thus feared that the ringing sound might be heard by someone, who would come to rob him of his bell. His fright made him plug his own ears, while hitting the bell with the hammer. The bell sound was, nevertheless, audible to others and therefore to stuff his ears for the purpose of stealing a bell was a stupid action it is as foolish as burying one's head in the sand.
英语谚语故事 掩耳盗铃中文：
在春秋战国时期，有一个小偷偷了一只钟。他准备把钟扛在背上带走。可是钟又大又沉，很难扛走。因此他想用锤子把钟敲成碎片，这样运起来就能多了。可是，他敲了一下，那只钟发出巨大的响声。他怕别人听到了钟声会来抢他的钟，于是他在锤子敲钟时捂上了自己的耳朵。不过，即使他这样做，别人还是听得到钟声的。所以掩耳盗铃是非常愚蠢的行为，就像把头埋在沙子中一样。
故事寓意：
钟的响声是客观存在的，不管你是否捂住耳朵，它都是要响的。凡是要客观存在的东西，它不会依人的主观意志为改变。有的人对对自己不利，或不喜欢的客观存在，采取不承认的态度，以为如此，它就不存在了，这和“掩耳盗钟”（掩耳盗铃）一样，都是极端的主观唯心主义——唯我论的表现。