A Fox and a Monkey were on the road together, and fell into a dispute as to which of the two was the better born.

一只狐狸和一只猴子在路上同行，它们为谁的出身更好而发起了争执。

They kept it up for some time, till they came to a place where the road passed through a cemetery full of monuments,

他们各执一词，谁也不肯相让，直到他们穿过一个墓地，来到一个地方，这里面全是墓碑，

when the Monkey stopped and looked about him and gave a great sigh.

猴子停下来并环顾四周，然后发出一声长叹。

"Why do you sigh?" said the Fox.

“你为什么叹气?”狐狸说。

The Monkey pointed to the tombs and replied,

猴子指着坟墓回答说:

"All the monuments that you see here were put up in honour of my forefathers, who in their day were eminent men."

“你在这里看到的所有墓碑都是为了纪念我的祖先而建的，他们在那个时代都是杰出的人物。”

The Fox was speechless for a moment, but quickly recovering he said,

狐狸一时说不出话来，但很快它说道:

"Oh! don't stop at any lie, sir; you're quite safe: I'm sure none of your ancestors will rise up and expose you."

“噢!继续撒谎吧，先生；谁也不会发现，我敢肯定你的祖先没有一个会起来反驳你。”

Boasters brag most when they cannot be detected.

吹牛的人最喜欢在自己不被发现的时候吹牛。