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Action<br />
1. “Maa mën” : defal ñu gis. (2)<br />
“I can do it”; (then) do it so we can see.<br />
“Actions speak louder than words.”<br />
2. Àkk àkkum gaynde, song songum bukki. (6)<br />
Charge with the spirit of a lion but attack like a hyena.<br />
Enthusiasm before action, composure at the moment of action.<br />
3. Def ca ba ngay man. (12)<br />
Do it while you can.<br />
“Strike while the iron’s hot.”<br />
“Opportunity knocks but once.”<br />
“Seize the day.”<br />
“Time and tide wait for no man.”<br />
4. Fa ñuy tëgge ab xàndoor, deesu fa ñaani njël ; fa ñu koy bey lañu koy ñaane. (11,12)<br />
Where they make hilaires (an African tool for removing weeds from a field) they do<br />
not pray for dawn; it is those who are weeding who pray for it.<br />
It is in the place where a good idea is put into practice that its value becomes visible, not in<br />
the place where the idea was spoken.<br />
5. Jabar, doonte ne yeena jéllooy sàkket, ab xer damm. (2,3)<br />
(In the matter of a) wife, even if you only have a wall of reeds between you, a post<br />
can break.<br />
Even if a marriage seems easy to organise, the future bridegroom will always have to do<br />
more and spend more than he anticipates.<br />
Tanor owns a large garage and his business is going well. One day, one of his cousins is<br />
promoted to head of an important public service. Tanor expects that his cousin will give<br />
him the contract to maintain the service vehicles. Some time later he learns that the<br />
contract has been given to another mechanic. Tanor makes known his resentment to one of<br />
his friends who says to him that he had been too confident and that he should have gone to<br />
see his cousin right after his promotion, and quotes this proverb.<br />
6. Maa la men deesu ko wax, dees koy jëf. (11,12)<br />
“I am better than you” is not something which is said; it is shown by action.<br />
“Actions speak louder than words.”<br />
It is not words which count but action.<br />
7. Nit la mu jëf la du la mu wax. (15)<br />
A man is measured by what he does, not what he says.<br />
“Actions speak louder than words.”<br />
8. Soo jiwul, doo góob. (20)<br />
If you do not sow, you will not reap.<br />
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”<br />
“The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully<br />
satisfied.” (Proverbs 13:4 NIV)<br />
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