用英语讲好中国故事：道听途说 Pick up news by hearsay

During the Warring States Period, there was a man named Ai Zi who met Mao Kong, a person who loved to talk big, on the road.

战国时期，有个叫艾子的人，在路上碰到了爱说大话的毛空。

Mao Kong mysteriously told Ai Zi that a family's ducks laid a hundred eggs at one time.

毛空神秘兮兮地告诉艾子，有一户人家养的鸭子，一次就下了一百个蛋。

Ai Zi didn't believe it and said, "There won't be such a thing, right?"

艾子不相信，说道：“不会有这样的事情吧？”

Mao Kong said, "Maybe it was laid by two ducks."

毛空说：“那也许是两只鸭子下的。”

Ai Zi still didn't believe. Mao Kong kept increasing the number of ducks but refused to reduce the number of eggs he had said.

艾子还是不相信。毛空就不断增加鸭子的数量，却不肯减少已经说出来的鸭蛋的个数。

Of course, Ai Zi wouldn't believe him. After a while, Mao Kong said to Ai Zi again, "Last month, a piece of meat fell from the sky. It was ten zhang wide and thirty zhang long!" Ai Zi still didn't believe it.

艾子当然不会相信他的话。过了一会儿，毛空又跟艾子说：“上个月，天上掉下来一块肉，有十丈宽，三十丈长！”艾子还是不相信。

Mao Kong then changed his words and said that the meat was ten zhang long and ten zhang wide. Ai Zi didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore, so he asked him in return, "Where in the world is there meat that is ten zhang long and ten zhang wide? And it can fall from the sky? Did you see it with your own eyes? Which family's ducks did you just say? Now where did the piece of meat you mentioned fall?"

毛空就改口说那肉有十丈长，十丈宽。艾子不想再听他乱说了，于是反问他：“世上哪里会有十丈长、十丈宽的肉？还能从天上掉下来？是你亲眼看到的吗？你刚才说的鸭子是哪一家的？现在你说的那块肉又掉在了什么地方？”

Mao Kong was speechless and could only stammer, "Those were all heard from others on the road."

毛空被问得一句话也说不出来，只能结结巴巴地说：“那都是在路上听别人说的。”

After hearing this, Ai Zi laughed loudly. He turned to his students and said, "You mustn't spread what you hear like him!"

艾子听了之后，哈哈大笑。他转身对自己的学生说：“你们可不能像他那样随便听到点什么就到处传播啊！

This idiom comes from "The Analects of Confucius - Yang Huo". It means the words heard on the road are spread on the road. Now it is often used to describe groundless rumors.

这则成语出自《论语·阳货》，指的是在路上听到的话，就在路上传播出去。现在常用来形容没有根据的传闻。