掩耳盗铃【yǎn ěr dào líng】

[Shudan Guan]

Once, a thief wanted to steal the bell that was hung on the front gate of a family but was afraid the bell rang. Therefore, he came up with the idea of stealing the bell while covering his ears; then he was caught immediately. He was surprised, “How can you hear the bell?” The person who caught him said, “You covered your ears, not mine!”

[Annotation] 掩: Cover. 盗: Steal.

[Definition] When something can only deceive oneself instead of the others.

 

 

* If you are interested in Chinese folk tales or ghost stories, have a look at: https://chinesestoriesfolktales.quora.com