黔驴技穷
Show feet of clay
In ancient times there were no donkeys in Guizhou province. Somebody brought a donkey from somewhere and tied it to a tree at the foot of a mountain.
过去贵州(黔)这个地方没有驴。有个多事的人用船运来了一头驴,运来后却没有什么用处,就把驴放到山脚下。
A tiger saw the donkey, and thought that it must be a fearsome(可怕的) monster. It hide behind a tree and spied on the donkey.When the donkey brayed(叫) , the tiger was frightened, thinking that the donkey was about to devour(吞食,毁灭) it.
一只老虎看见了驴,以为这个躯体高大的家伙一定很神奇,就躲在树林里偷偷观察着,后来又悄悄走出来,小心翼翼地接近驴,不知道驴子的底细。驴叫了一声,大虎大吃一惊,远远躲开,以为驴要咬自己了,非常恐惧。
After a while, seeing that the donkey had not moved, the tiger approached it and teased it. The donkey became angry, and kicked the tiger.
然而,老虎反复观察以后,觉得驴并没有什么特殊本领,而且越来越熟悉驴的叫声了。老虎开始走到驴的前后,转来转去,还不敢上去攻击驴。后来,老虎慢慢逼近驴,越来越放肆,或者碰它一下,或者靠它一下,不断冒犯它。驴非常恼怒,就用蹄子去踢老虎。
The tiger thought to itself: "Its then all it is capable of?" It then jumped on the donkey and ate it.
老虎心里盘算着:“你的本事也不过如此罢了!”非常高兴。于是老虎腾空扑去,大吼一声,咬断了驴的喉管,啃完了驴的肉,才离去了。
This idiom is used to mean that one has exhauseted one s skills.
这个成语用来表示一个人已经耗尽了一个人的技能。