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Opportunity<br />
497. Daw, ca ba ngay am i tànk. (2,7,11,12,16,20)<br />
Run while you still have legs.<br />
“Strike while the iron is hot.”<br />
To get up and go is better than waiting until it is too late.<br />
498. Ku bañ céebo nangum xaar. (18)<br />
He who turns his nose up at the first rains must wait.<br />
“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”<br />
The peasant who does not want to sow his field with the first rains must wait until the wet<br />
season is properly established. If you turn up your nose at the opportunity before you, you<br />
must have the patience to wait for another opportunity to present itself.<br />
499. Béy wéy na mbuus. (2,6)<br />
Béy wees na mbuus. (19)<br />
Béy bi ñu yàpp, wees na mbuus. (13)<br />
The goat has passed the bag.<br />
The goat which has been devoured (by wild animals) is already past the point of being<br />
turned into a bag. In skinning the carcass of a goat if a slit is made on the chest it can no<br />
longer be made into a water bag. The occasion to use it as a bag has therefore passed. This<br />
time it is already too late for what one wants to do.<br />
500. Dund gu jeexagul, lu nekk xaj na ca. (6,7,11,12)<br />
Dund gu jeexagul, guddi gu bët setagul la, lu ne xaj na ca. (2)<br />
Dund gu sotteegul, lu ne xaj na ca. (19)<br />
While life has not yet finished all is still possible.<br />
“While there is life, there is hope.”<br />
501. Baroom jur ci sa tool taxul nga yett giir. (6)<br />
Ku baroom jur ci sa tool, taxti la yett engu. (13)<br />
The fact that an antelope gave birth in your field is not a reason to carve a bowl for<br />
milking (because she will not stay there).<br />
One cannot always profit from an occasion.<br />
Organisation<br />
502. Ku xëy tëdd, dinga gontoo daw. (18)<br />
The person who spends the morning in bed will spend the afternoon running<br />
around.<br />
Good organisation is essential for success in work. It also has a wider sense that if one<br />
wastes one's youth, one will try and catch up as an adult often with pain.<br />
At the age of 56 Alassane is having lots of problems finding a suitable wife, whereas his<br />
peers have been married for years. His friend and counsellor, the old Farba, quotes this<br />
proverb to help him understand that it would have been much easier to find a wife if he<br />
had begun looking before a certain age.<br />
Patience<br />
503. Gan doxat la balaay reyee, dem. (20)<br />
A guest who farts, before it kills anyone, he will be gone.<br />
Things which disturb you will not last for a long time.<br />
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