Proverbs from Samoa

 

 

 

The person with burned fingers asks for tongs.

 

 

 

Sin is carried in the mouth.

 

 

 

May it end with threats and not come to blows.

 

 

 

Like a fish, one should look for a hole in the net.

 

 

 

Blessed is the moon; it goes but it comes back again.

 

 

 

The person who has burned their fingers often asks for tongs.

 

 

 

Only the snake looks at its slayer.

 

 

 

Let the crab take counsel with its leg.

 

 

 

Gather the breadfruit from the farthest branches first.

 

 

 

Sit and wait for the good chestnuts.

 

 

 

A decision made at night may be changed in the morning.

 

 

 

You shake in vain the branch that bears no fruit.

 

 

 

Stones decay; words last.

 

 

 

The person with burnt fingers asks for tongs.

 

 

 

The grasshopper flies about, but the kingfisher watches him.

 

 

 

Your highness's blow cannot be parried.

 

 

 

The knee feels the tapping.

 

 

 

The fault was committed in the bush, but it is now talked about on the highway.

 

 

 

The careless fish will be eaten by the shark.

 

 

 

Persevere like a bird in the wind.

 

 

 

First friends, then broken heads.

 

 

 

From the direction of the wind.

 

 

 

Let each do his share of the work.