Great Throughts Treasury

"A piece of iron can only become what the blacksmith says it should become."

"A person who uses the world as his carrying pad will find himself carrying his load on his bare head."

"A pig that is used to wallowing in the mud looks for a clean person to rub against."

"A pot that build attracts the cook."

"A pot trader whose fortunes are all invested in her clay pots isn?t much of a merchant."

"A servant serves a king, he serves the king well; a servant serves two kings, he is true to one."

"A proverb is the horse of conversation: when the conversation lags, a proverb revives it."

"A rat is not born a rabbit."

"A shepherd does not strike his sheep"

"A single man cannot build a house."

"A snake that swallows its neighbor will have a tail sticking out of its mouth."

"A snake which escapes fills a basket."

"A smiling face dispels unhappiness."

"A slave boy is blamed no matter what he does: If he does not wash his hands, he is accused of being dirty. If he washes his hands, he is accused of wasting water."

"A speedy wrestling and a bad fall go hand in hand."

"A single tree cannot make a forest."

"A stinging man does not adorn himself."

"A strong man is remembered on the day of the fight, and a gluttony on the day pounded yam is surplus."

"A spacious ground is the right place to demonstrate one's skill in wrestling."

"A thorn that pierces the toe should be burned by the light of a new moon lest the devil possess the foot."

"A tree is known by its fruit."

"A traveler to distant places should make no enemies."

"A wayward woman is like the weaver bird. She uses her perch on one tree to scout other trees."

"A tree does not move unless there is wind."

"A wise man who knows proverbs can reconcile difficulties."

"A traveled child knows better than the old man who sits at home."

"A tiger does not have to proclaim its tigri-tude."

"A tree stump never shifts."

"A toad does not jump around in the daytime, unless something is after its life."

"A wealthy man will always have followers."

"A woman possessed by demons dreams of toads in red dancing shoes."

"A woman who has not been twice married cannot know what a perfect marriage is."

"A woman who is not successful in her own marriage has no advice to give to her younger generations."

"A woman who needs to borrow a calabash cannot count on going early to the stream."

"Abundance will make cotton pull a stone."

"All is never said."

"Accomplishment of purpose is better than making a profit."

"All lizards lie prostrate; how can a man tell which lizard suffers from bellyache? In time, the pain will make one of them lie flat on its back; then, shall that which has been unknown be made known."

"All you can tell about a big belly is that the owner has had a lot to eat, not what he had to eat."

"Allah preserve us from ?If only I?d known!?"

"All lizards lie on their bellies, but nobody knows which of them suffers stomach ache."

"Allah made the silk-cotton tree beautiful, so let the fig tree cease being angry."

"Always being in a hurry does not prevent death, neither does going slowly prevent living."

"Although the snake does not fly it has caught the bird whose home is in the sky."

"An ant-hill that is destined to become a giant ant-hill will definitely become one, no matter how many times it is destroyed by elephants."

"An eagle does not go to the market-place unless there is something there."

"An old man is there to talk."

"An old woman is not old in a song she dances well."

"An oil lamp feels proud to give light even though it wears itself away."

"An old banana leaf was once young and green."