叶公好龙
叶公说自己喜欢龙,真龙来了却吓得逃走。比喻口头上爱好某事物,其实并不是真的喜欢。
Lord Ye loves dragons — claiming to love something until the real thing shows up and sends you running.
从前,楚国有一位叶公,特别喜欢龙。他家里的柱子上、梁上、墙上、碗上,都画着龙;衣服上也绣着龙。别人都说:“叶公真是个爱龙的人啊!”
天上真的有一条龙,听说叶公这么爱自己,很是感动,就腾云驾雾,来到叶公家拜访。龙把大大的头伸进窗户,把长长的尾巴摆在厅堂里。
叶公一回头,看见真龙,脸都吓白了,转身撒腿就跑,连鞋子都跑掉了一只。龙愣在那里,这才明白:叶公爱的根本不是真正的龙,只是墙上画的龙。
后来人们就用“叶公好龙”,比喻一个人嘴上说喜欢,心里其实不是真喜欢。
Long ago, in the state of Chu, there lived a lord called Lord Ye. He was famous for loving dragons. Dragons were painted on his pillars, carved on his beams, stitched on his robes, and decorated his bowls. Everyone said, “Lord Ye truly loves dragons!”
A real dragon in the heavens heard about him and was so moved that it flew down on the clouds to pay him a visit. It poked its great head through a window, and its long tail curled into the hall.
Lord Ye turned around, saw the real dragon, went pale — and ran. He ran so fast he lost one of his shoes. The dragon just stood there, puzzled, and realized: Lord Ye didn't love dragons at all. He only loved the pictures of them.
From this comes the saying “Lord Ye loves dragons,” used for anyone who claims to love something in words but doesn't really love it in their heart.
Let's