Fox Borrows Tiger's Might
Story behind the idiom: 狐假虎威 - the fox borrowing the tiger’s might
很久以前，在中国的一片森林里，住着一只很凶猛的老虎。A long time ago, in a forest in China, there lived a very fierce tiger.森林里所有的动物都很怕它。All the animals in the forest were very afraid of it.
有一天，老虎在森林里散步时，遇到一只小狐狸。One day, while the tiger was walking in the forest, it met a small fox.老虎肚子很饿，觉得这只小狐狸一定很好吃。The tiger was very hungry and thought that this small fox must be delicious.
就在老虎准备要吃狐狸的时候，狐狸突然大叫：「等等！你不能吃我。天上派我来做百兽之王，如果你吃了我，天上的神一定会很生气！」Just 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!'
老虎听了觉得有点奇怪：这只小狐狸真的会是动物们的王吗？The tiger heard this and felt a bit strange: Could this small fox really be the king of the animals?狐狸看到老虎有点不相信，赶快说：「如果你不相信，你跟我一起走一走，当它们看见我，所有动物都会害怕逃走。」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.'
老虎同意了。The tiger agreed.狐狸很得意地走在前面，强壮的老虎跟在它后面。The fox walked proudly in front, with the strong tiger following behind it.当它们一起经过森林时，所有看见它们的动物都吓得赶紧跑开了。As they passed through the forest together, all the animals that saw them were scared and quickly ran away.
老虎看了，心里想：「哇！它们真的很怕狐狸！」The tiger saw this and thought to itself: 'Wow! They really are afraid of the fox!'从那一天起，老虎就相信狐狸的话，再也不敢伤害它了。From that day on, the tiger believed the fox’s words and never dared to harm it again.但事实上，其他动物怕的根本不是狐狸，而是狐狸后面那只强大的老虎。But in fact, the other animals weren’t afraid of the fox at all, but rather the powerful tiger behind it.
现在中文里常说：「狐假虎威」，意思就是有人靠着别人的力量或权力来吓人或让自己看起来很厉害。Now 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，有一个叫小凯的男生。For example, there’s a boy named Xiao Kai.他平常一个人的时候很胆小，可是只要哥哥在旁边，他就会假装很凶地指挥其他小孩。Normally, 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.小凯这样的行为，就是「狐假虎威」。This behavior of Xiao Kai is exactly what 'fox borrows the tiger’s power' means.
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