African proverbs

A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which his mother puts into his palm. A fool looks for dung where the cow never browsed.A stranger has big eyes but sees nothing. A weapon which you don’t have in your hand won’t kill a snake. Ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them. Before shooting, one must aim. Confiding a secret to an unworthy person is like carrying grain in a bag with a hole. Do not call to a dog with a whip in your hand. Don’t set sail on someone else’s star. He who is being carried does not realize how far the town is. He who is born a fool is never cured. He who learns, teaches. He who talks incessantly, talks nonsense. If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings. If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree.If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for something. If you don’t work you shan’t eat. If you refuse to be made straight when you are green, you will not be made straight when you are dry. If you run after two hares you will catch neither. If you’re going home, you don’t get wet. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. If your mouth turns into a knife, it will cut off your lips. It is not what you are called, but what you answer to. It is not with saying, “Honey,” “Honey,” that sweetness will come into the mouth.It is not work that kills, but worry. One must talk little and listen much. Peace is costly but it is worth the expense. Quarrels end, but words once spoken never die. Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. The day the monkey is destined to die, all the trees get slippery. The egg shows the hen where to hatch. The fool speaks, the wise man listens. The lion does not turn around when a small dog barks. Ends