掩耳盗铃（yǎn ěr dào líng）

掩耳盗铃（yǎn ěr dào líng；cover ear steal bell）

Once upon a time, a person wandering on the street came across an exquisite door bell hanging on the door of a rich family’s house. The bell was very responsive: sounding a beautiful and resonant chime at the slightest touch. He fell in love with the bell right away and decided to steal it. He knew that if he touched the bell it would ring, and then he would be caught. He thought and thought, and finally devised a plan. He decided to cover his ears when stealing the bell. Of course, though he himself did not hear, the bell rang as soon as he touched it, and he was caught by the owner of the bell.

Describes a stupid self-deceptive behavior and is similar to the English expression: “the cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream.”