In ancient times, someone took the opportunity to run to his neighbor's house and steal something, and he saw a big bell hanging in the yard. The bell is made of high-quality bronze, with exquisite shapes and patterns. The thief was extremely happy in his heart and wanted to carry this exquisite bell home, but the bell was big and heavy, and he couldn't move it no matter what. He thought about it and there was only one way, which was to break the bell and then move the pieces home separately. The thief found a large hammer and smashed it desperately towards the bell with a loud bang, which startled him greatly. The thief was afraid that the bellwould attract others, so he came up with a foolish idea of plugging his ears to steal the bell, thinking that others would not hear it. As a result, the bell still rang far away, and people rushed to catch the thief upon hearing it.
The original meaning of the idiom is to plug one's own ears while stealing someone else's bell, metaphorically referring to deceiving oneself by cleverly trying to cover up things that cannot be covered up.
Objectively existing things are not subject to human subjective will, just like the sound of a bell. As long as a person touches it, it will make a sound, regardless of whether they plug their ears or not. This idiom vividly illustrates a basic principle of dialectical materialism: if one does not face and study the reality of objective existence, and adopts an attitude of turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to, they will eventually reap the bitter fruit.
古时候，有人趁机跑到邻居家里想偷点东西，看见院子里吊着一口大钟。钟是用上等青铜铸成的，造型和图案都很精美。小偷心里高兴极了，想把这口精美的钟背回家，但钟又大又重，怎么也挪不动。他想来想去，只有一个办法，那就是把钟敲碎，然后再分别搬回家。小偷找来一把大锤，拼命朝钟砸去，咣的一声巨响，把他吓了一大跳。小偷害怕钟声会引来别人，便想了一个愚蠢的办法，捂住自己的耳朵去偷钟，以为这样别人就听不到钟声了。结果，钟声依然传到很远的地方，人们听到钟声蜂拥而至，把小偷捉住了。
成语掩耳盗铃的原意是捂着自己的耳朵去偷别人家的铃铛，比喻自己欺骗自己，明明掩盖不了的事情偏要自作聪明地设法掩盖。
客观存在的东西不会因人的主观意志而转移，就如钟的响声一样，只要人碰了它，它就会发出响声，不管是否捂住耳朵。这条成语形象地阐明了一条辩证唯物主义的基本原理：对客观存在的现实不正视、不研究，采取闭目塞听的态度，终究会自食苦果的。
