{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44866/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44866","id":"gutenberg_44866","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44866","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Creole dialects","Proverbs, Creole"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n  Small capitals in the original work are here represented in ALL\n  CAPITALS. Italic text has been transcribed between underscores, as in\n  _text_.\n\n  Depending on the hard- and software used to read this text, and their\n  settings, not all characters may display as intended.\n\n\n\n\n  GOMBO\n  ZHEBES\n\n\n\n\n  \u201cGOMBO ZH\u00c8BES.\u201d\n\n\n  LITTLE DICTIONARY OF CREOLE PROVERBS,\n  SELECTED FROM SIX CREOLE DIALECTS.\n\n\n  TRANSLATED INTO FRENCH AND INTO ENGLISH, WITH NOTES, COMPLETE INDEX\n  TO SUBJECTS AND SOME BRIEF REMARKS UPON THE CREOLE\n  IDIOMS OF LOUISIANA.\n\n\n  BY\n  LAFCADIO HEARN.\n\n\n  NEW YORK:\n  WILL H. COLEMAN, PUBLISHER, NO. 70, BUSINESS QUARTER, ASTOR HOUSE.\n  1885.\n\n\n  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by\n  WILL H. COLEMAN,\n  in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.\n\n\n  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nAny one who has ever paid a flying visit to New Orleans probably knows\nsomething about those various culinary preparations whose generic name\nis \u201cGombo\u201d--compounded of many odds and ends, with the okra-plant, or\ntrue gombo for a basis, but also comprising occasionally \u201clos\u00e9,\nzepinard, laitie,\u201d and the other vegetables sold in bunches in the\nFrench market. At all events any person who has remained in the city for\na season must have become familiar with the nature of \u201cgombo fil\u00e9,\u201d\n\u201cgombo f\u00e9vi,\u201d and \u201cgombo aux herbes,\u201d or as our colored cook calls it,\n\u201cgombo zh\u00e8bes\u201d--for she belongs to the older generation of Creole\n_cuisini\u00e8res_, and speaks the patois in its primitive purity, without\nusing a single \u201cr.\u201d Her daughter, who has been to school, would\npronounce it _gombo zhairbes_:--the modern patois is becoming more and\nmore Frenchified, and will soon be altogether forgotten, not only\nthroughout Louisiana, but even in the Antilles. It still, however,\nretains originality enough to be understood with difficulty by persons\nthoroughly familiar with French; and even those who know nothing of any\nlanguage but English, readily recognize it by the peculiarly rapid\nsyllabification and musical intonation. Such English-speaking residents\nof New Orleans seldom speak of it as \u201cCreole\u201d: they call it _gombo_, for\nsome mysterious reason which I have never been able to explain\nsatisfactorily. The colored Creoles of the city have themselves begun to\nuse the term to characterize the patois spoken by the survivors of\nslavery days. Turiault tells us that in the towns of Martinique, where\nthe Creole is gradually changing into French, the _Bitacos_, or country\nnegroes who still speak the patois nearly pure, are much ridiculed by\ntheir municipal brethren:--_\u00c7a ou ka pal\u00e9 l\u00e0, ch\u00e8, c\u2019est n\u00e8g:--\u00c7a pas\nCr\u00e9ole!_ (\u201c_What you talk is \u2018nigger,\u2019 my dear:--that isn\u2019t Creole!_\u201d)\nIn like manner a young Creole negro or negress of New Orleans might tell\nan aged member of his race: \u201c_\u00c7a qui to parl\u00e9 \u00e7a pas Cr\u00e9ole: \u00e7a c\u2019est\ngombo!_\u201d I have sometimes heard the pure and primitive Creole also\ncalled \u201cCongo\u201d by colored folks of the new generation.\n\nThe literature of \u201cgombo\u201d has perhaps even more varieties than there are\npreparations of the esculents above referred to;--the patois has\ncertainly its gombo f\u00e9vi, its gombo fil\u00e9, its \u201cgombo zh\u00e8bes\u201d--both\nwritten and unwritten. A work like Marbot\u2019s \u201cBambous\u201d would deserve to\nbe classed with the pure \u201cf\u00e9vi\u201d;--the treatises of Turiault, Baissac,\nSt. Quentin, Thomas, rather resemble that fully prepared dish, in which\ncrabs seem to struggle with fragments of many well-stewed meats, all\nstrongly seasoned with pepper. The present essay at Creole folklore, can\nonly be classed as \u201cgombo zh\u00e8bes\u201d--(_Zh\u00e8bes \u00e7\u00e9 feuil-chou, cresson,\nlaitie, bettrav, los\u00e9, zepinard_);--the true okra is not the basis of\nour preparation;--it is a Creole dish, if you please, but a salmagundi\nof inferior quality.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nFor the collection of Louisiana proverbs in this work I am almost wholly\nindebted to my friend Professor William Henry, Principal of the\nJefferson Academy in New Orleans; not a few of the notes, Creole\nquotations, and examples of the local patois were also contributed by\nhim. The sources of the other proverbs will be found under the head of\nCreole Bibliography. The translations of the proverbs into French will\ngreatly aid in exhibiting the curious process of transformation to which\nthe negro slave subjected the language of his masters, and will also\nserve to show the peculiar simplicity of Creole grammar. My French is\nnot always elegant, or even strictly correct;--for with the above object\nin view it has been necessary to make the translation as literal as is\npossible without adopting the inter-linear system. Out of nearly five\nhundred proverbs I selected about three hundred and fifty only for\npublication--some being rejected because of their na\u00efve indecency,\nothers because they offered mere variations of one and the same maxim.\nEven after the sifting process, I was partly disappointed with the\nresults; the proportion of true Creole proverbs--proverbs of indubitably\nnegro invention--proved to be much smaller than I had expected.\nNevertheless all which I have utilized exhibit the peculiarities of the\nvernacular sufficiently to justify their presence.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhile some of these proverbs are witty enough to call a smile to the\nmost serious lips, many others must, no doubt, seem vapid, enigmatic, or\neven meaningless. But a large majority of negro sayings depend\naltogether upon application for their color or their effectiveness; they\npossess a chameleon power of changing hue according to the manner in\nwhich they are placed. (See for examples: Prov. 161, 251, or 308.) Every\nsaying of this kind is susceptible of numerous applications; and the art\nof applying one proverb to many different situations is one in which the\nnegro has no rival--not even among the Arabs themselves, whose use of\nsuch folklore has been so admirably illustrated by Carlo Landberg.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNo two authors spell the Creole in the same way; and three writers whom\nI have borrowed largely from--Thomas, Baissac, and Turiault--actually\nvary the orthography of the same word in quite an arbitrary manner. At\nfirst I thought of remodeling all my proverbs according to the phonetic\nsystem of spelling; but I soon found that this would not only disguise\nthe Creole etymology almost beyond recognition, but would further\ninterfere with my plan of arrangement. Finally I concluded to publish\nthe Creole text almost precisely as I had found it, with the various\nspellings and peculiarities of accentuation. The reader will find\n_cabrit_, for example, written in four or five different ways. Where the\nfinal _t_--never pronounced in our own patois--is fully sounded, the\nseveral authorities upon Creole grammar have indicated the fact in\nvarious fashions: one spelling it _cabritt_; another _cabrite_, etc.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe grammatical peculiarities and the pronounciation of the several\nCreole dialects are matters which could not be satisfactorily treated\nwithin the compass of a small pamphlet. Some few general rules might,\nindeed, be mentioned as applying to most Creole dialects. It is\ntolerably safe to say that in no one of the West Indian dialects was the\nFrench \u201c_r_\u201d pronounced in former days; it was either totally\nsuppressed, as in the word \u201cf\u00f2ce\u201d (_force_), or exchanged for a vowel\nsound, as in _bouanche_ (for _branche_). The delicate and difficult\nFrench sound of _u_ was changed into _ou_; the sound _en_ was simplified\ninto _\u00e9_; the clear European _o_ became a nasal _au_; and into many\nFrench words containing the sound of _am_, such as _amour_, the negro\nwedged the true African _n_, making the singular Creole pronounciation\n_lanmou_, _canmarade_, _janmain_. But the black slaves from the Ivory\nand Gold Coasts, from Congo or Angola, pronounced differently. The Eboes\nand Mandingoes spoke the patois with varying accentuations;--it were\ntherefore very difficult to define rules of pronounciation applicable to\nthe patois spoken in all parts of one island like Guadaloupe, or one\ncolonial province like Guyana. Not so in regard to grammar. In all forms\nof the patois (whether the musical and peculiarly picturesque Creole of\nMartinique, or the more fantastic Creole of Mauritius, adulterated with\nMalgache and Chinese words)--the true article is either suppressed or\ntransformed into a prefix or affix of the noun, as in _femme-la_ \u201cthe\nwoman,\u201d or _yon lagrimace_, a grimace;--there is no true gender, no true\nsingular and plural; verbs have rarely more than six tenses--sometimes\nless--and the tense is not indicated by the termination of the verb;\nthere is a remarkable paucity of auxiliaries, and in some dialects none\nwhatever; participles are unknown, and prepositions few. A very fair\nknowledge of comparative Creole grammar and pronunciation may be\nacquired, by any one familiar with French, from the authors cited at the\nbeginning of this volume. I would also recommend those interested in\nsuch folklore to peruse the Creole novel of Dr. Alfred Mercier--_Les\nSaint-Ybars_, which contains excellent examples of the Louisiana\ndialect; and Baissac\u2019s beautiful little stories, \u201cRecits Cr\u00e9oles,\u201d rich\nin pictures of the old French colonial life. The foreign philological\nreviews and periodicals, especially those of Paris, have published quite\na variety of animal fables, proverbs, stories in various Creole\ndialects; and among the recent contributions of French ethnologists to\nscience will be also discovered some remarkable observations upon the\nactual formation of various patois--strongly resembling our own\nCreole--in the French African colonies.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNeedless to say this collection is far from perfect;--the most I can\nhope for is that it may constitute the nucleus of a more exhaustive\npublication to appear in course of time. No one person could hope to\nmake a really complete collection of Creole proverbs--even with all the\nadvantages of linguistic knowledge, leisure, wealth, and travel. Only a\nsociety of folklorists might bring such an undertaking to a successful\nissue; but as no systematic effort is being made in this direction, I\nhave had no hesitation in attempting--not indeed to fill a want--but to\nset an example. _Gou\u00efe pass\u00e9, difil sivr\u00e9_:--let the needle but pass,\nthe thread will follow.\n\n  L. H.\n\n\n\n\nCREOLE BIBLIOGRAPHY.\n\n\n\u261e The selection of Haytian proverbs in this collection was made by\nkindly permission of Messrs. Harper Bros., from the four articles\ncontributed by Hon. John Bigelow, to HARPER\u2019S MAGAZINE, 1875. The\nfollowing list includes only those works consulted or quoted from in the\npreparation of this dictionary, and comprises but a small portion of all\nthe curious books, essays, poems, etc., written upon, or in the Creole\npatois of the Antilles and of Louisiana.--L. H.\n\n  BRUY\u00c8RE (LOYS)--\u201cProverbes Cr\u00e9oles de la Guyane Fran\u00e7aise.\u201d (In\n  l\u2019Almanach des Traditions Populaires, 1883. Paris: Maisonneuve et\n  Cie.)\n\n  BAISSAC (M. C.)--\u201c\u00c9tude sur le Patois Cr\u00e9ole Mauricien.\u201d Nancy:\n  Imprimerie Berger-Levrault & Cie., 1880.\n\n  MARBOT--\u201cLes Bambous.\u201d Fables de La Fontaine travesties en Patois\n  Cr\u00e9ole par un Vieux Commandeur. Fort-de-France, Martinique: Librairie\n  de Frederic Thomas, 1869. (Second Edition. Both editions of this\n  admirable work are now unfortunately out of print.)\n\n  THOMAS (J. J.)--\u201cThe Theory and Practice of Creole Grammar.\u201d Port of\n  Spain, Trinidad: The Chronicle Publishing Office, 1869.\n\n  TURIAULT (J.)--\u201c\u00c9tude sur le Langage Cr\u00e9ole de la Martinique.\u201d\n  (Extrait du Bulletin de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Acad\u00e9mique.) Brest: Lefournier,\n  1869.\n\n  DE ST.-QUENTIN (AUGUSTE)--Introduction \u00e0 l\u2019Histoire de Cayenne, suivie\n  d\u2019un Recueil de Contes, Fables, et Chansons en Cr\u00e9ole. Notes et\n  Commentaires par Alfred de St.-Quentin. \u00c9tude sur la Grammaire Cr\u00e9ole\n  par Auguste de St.-Quentin. Antibes: J. Marchand, 1872.\n\n  BIGELOW (HON. JOHN)--\u201cThe Wit and Wisdom of the Haytians.\u201d Being four\n  articles upon the Creole Proverbs of Hayti, respectively published in\n  the June, July, August and September numbers of HARPER\u2019S MAGAZINE,\n  1875.\n\n\n\n\nLittle Dictionary of Creole Proverbs.\n\n\n[_Most of the proverbs quoted in Martinique are current also in\nGuadeloupe, only 90 miles distant. All proverbs recognized in Louisiana\nare marked by an asterisk (*). The indications,_ MAURITIUS, GUYANA,\nMARTINIQUE, HAYTI, _etc., do not necessarily imply origin; they refer\nonly to the dialects in which the proverbs are written, and to the works\nfrom which they are selected._]\n\n\n1. Acoma tomb\u00e9 toutt mounn di: C\u2019est bois pourri. (Quand l\u2019Acoma est\ntomb\u00e9, tout le monde dit: C\u2019est du bois pourri.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the Acoma has fallen everybody says: \u2018It\u2019s only rotten\n  wood.\u2019\u201d[1]--[_Mart._]\n\n  [1] The Acoma, says Turiault, is one of the grandest trees in the\n  forests of the Antilles. The meaning of the proverb appears to be,\n  that a powerful or wealthy person who meets with misfortune is at once\n  treated with contempt by those who formerly sought his favor or\n  affected to admire his qualities.\n\n2. A f\u00f2ce macaque caress\u00e9 yche li ka touff\u00e9 li. (\u00c0 force de caresser son\npetit le macaque l\u2019\u00e9touffe.)\n\n  \u201cThe monkey smothers its young one by hugging it too much.\u201d--[_Mart._]\n\n3. Asp\u00e8re[2] i\u00e9ve dans marmite avant caus\u00e9. (Attendez que le li\u00e8vre soit\ndans la marmite avant de parler.)\n\n  \u201cWait till the hare\u2019s in the pot before you talk.\u201d--Don\u2019t count your\n  chickens before they\u2019re hatched.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [2] Evidently a creolization of the Spanish _esperar_.\n\n4. Avant bois[3] d\u2019Inde t\u00e9 p\u00f2t\u00e9 graine, macaque t\u00e9 nouri yche yo. (Avant\nque l\u2019arbre d\u2019Inde port\u00e2it des graines, les macaques nourissaient leurs\npetits.)\n\n  \u201cBefore the Indian tree (?) bore seed the monkeys were able to nourish\n  their young.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [3] The word bois (wood) is frequently used in Creole for the tree\n  itself; and pi\u00e9-bois (\u201cfoot of the wood\u201d) for the trunk or stump. \u201cYon\n  gou\u00f2s pi\u00e9-bois plis facile d\u00e9racin\u00e9 qu\u2019mauvais l\u2019habitude\u201d (A big\n  stump is easier to uproot than a bad habit), is a Martinique Creole\n  dictum, evidently borrowed from the language of the white masters. I\n  am sorry that I do not know which of the various trees to which the\n  name bois d\u2019Inde has been given by the Creoles, is referred to in the\n  proverb--whether the mango, or China-berry. No tree is generally\n  recognized by that name in Louisiana.\n\n5. Avant zabocat macaque ka nouri yche li. (Avant qu\u2019il y e\u00fbt des\navocados, les macaques nourissaient leurs petits.)\n\n  \u201cThe monkey could nourish its young, before there were any\n  avocadoes.\u201d[4]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [4] The Avocado was the name given by the Spanish conquistadores to\n  the Persea gratissima, whose fruit is the \u201calligator pear.\u201d But M.\n  Turiault again traces the Spanish word back to the Carib word\n  Aouacate.\n\n6. Azourdi casse en fin; dimain tape langouti. (Aujourd\u2019hui bien mis;\ndemain en langouti.)\n\n  \u201cWell dressed to-day; only a langouti[5] tomorrow.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [5] The langouti was the garment worn about the loins by male slaves\n  in Mauritius--who were wont to labor otherwise naked. In Creole both\n  _caser_ and _taper_ signify \u201cto put on,\u201d with the difference that\n  _caser_ generally refers to good clothes. In colloquial French _tap\u00e9_\n  means \u201cstylishly dressed,\u201d \u201cwell-rigged-out,\u201d etc.\n\n7. Azourdi so\u00fble bon temps, dimain pagay\u00e9. (Aujourd\u2019hui so\u00fbl de plaisir,\ndemain la pagaye.)\n\n  \u201cTo-day drunk with fun, to-morrow the paddle.\u201d Allusion to slavery\n  discipline.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n8. Azourdi tout marmites dibout l\u00e0haut dif\u00e9. (Aujourd\u2019hui toutes les\nmarmites sont debout sur le feu.)\n\n  \u201cAll the cooking-pots are on the fire now.\u201d One man is now as good as\n  another:--this proverb evidently refers to the abolition of\n  slavery.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n9. Azourdi tout femmes alle confesse, m\u00e9s lh\u00e9re zautes tourne l\u00e9glise\nd\u00ecabe z\u00e9tte encore p\u00e9c\u00e9 av zautes. (Aujourd\u2019hui toutes les femmes vont \u00e0\nconfesse; mais quand elles reviennent de l\u2019\u00e9glise le diable leur jette\nencore des p\u00e9ch\u00e9s.)\n\n  \u201cAll the women go to confession now-a-days; but they no sooner return\n  from church, than the devil piles more sins upon\n  them.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n10. Babe canmarade ou pris dif\u00e9, rous\u00e9 ta ou. (Quand la barbe de ton\ncamarade br\u00fble, arrose la tienne.)\n\n  \u201cIf you see your neighbor\u2019s beard on fire, water your\n  own.\u201d[6]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [6] \u201cTake example by the misfortune of others.\u201d I much doubt the\n  Creole origin of any proverb relating to the _beard_. This one, like\n  many others in the collection, has probably been borrowed from a\n  European source; but it furnishes a fine sample of patois. In\n  Louisiana Creole we would say _to quenne_ instead of _ta ou_. The\n  Spanish origin of the Creole _quenne_ is obvious.\n\n11. Babiez mouche, babiez viande. (Grondez les mouches, grondez la\nviande.)\n\n  \u201cScold the flies, scold the meat.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n12. Badn\u00e8n bien \u00e8pis macaque; main pou\u00e8ng\u00e2de many\u00e8n lakh\u00e9 li. (Badinez\nbien avec le macaque; mais prenez garde de ne pas manier sa queue.)\n\n  \u201cJoke with the monkey as much as you please; but take good care not to\n  handle his tail.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n13. Bagg\u00efe qui fair ziex fair nez. (Les choses qui font [mal aux] yeux,\nfont [mal au] nez.)\n\n  \u201cWhat troubles the eyes affects the nose.\u201d[7]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [7] I believe there is an omission in Thomas\u2019 version, and that the\n  Creole ought to read: \u201c_Baggaie qui fair mal ziex fair mal nez._\u201d\n  _Baggaie_ has a hundred meanings: \u201cthing,\u201d \u201caffair,\u201d \u201cbusiness,\u201d\n  \u201cnonsense,\u201d \u201cstuff,\u201d etc.\n\n14. Bagasse boucoup, flangourin piti morceau. (Beaucoup de bagasse, peu\nde jus.)\n\n  \u201cMuch bagasse and little juice.\u201d (The bagasse is the refuse of the\n  cane, after the sap has been extracted.)--[_Mauritius._]\n\n15. Baign\u00e8n iches moune; main pas lavez d\u00ea\u00efer zore\u00eees yeaux. (Baignez\nles enfants des autres [lit: du monde]; mais ne les lavez pas derri\u00e8re\nles oreilles.)\n\n  \u201cBathe other people\u2019s children; but don\u2019t wash behind their\n  ears.\u201d--That is to say: Do not be servile in obsequiousness to\n  others.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n16. Bali\u00e9 nef, bali\u00e9 prope. (Un balai neuf, un balai propre.)\n\n  \u201cA new broom\u2019s a clean broom.\u201d--This is a Creolization of our\n  household phrase: \u201cA new broom sweeps clean.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n17. Bardeaux[8] couvert tout. (Les bardeaux couvrent tout.)\n\n  \u201cShingles cover everything.\u201d--Family roofs often cover a multitude of\n  sins. [_Mauritius._]\n\n  [8] The sarcasm of this proverb appears to be especially levelled at\n  the rich. In other Mauritian proverbs the house of the rich man is\n  always spoken of as the house covered with shingles, in\n  contradistinction to the humble slave cabins, thatched with straw.\n\n18. B\u00e1ton pas f\u00f2 pass\u00e9[9] sabe. (Le b\u00e2ton n\u2019est pas plus fort que le\nsabre.)\n\n  \u201cThe stick is not stronger than the sabre.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [9] _Pass\u00e9_--_lit_: \u201cpast\u201d--therefore synonymous with \u201cbeyond.\u201d Word\n  for word the translation would be:--\u201cThe stick is not strong beyond\n  the sword.\u201d But the Creole generally uses \u201cplis....pass\u00e9\u201d instead of\n  the French plus....que (\u201cmore than\u201d). \u201cVictorine li plis zolie pass\u00e9\n  Alphonsine\u201d--Victorine is more pretty than Alphonsine. The Creole\n  _pass\u00e9_ is really adverbial; bearing some semblance to the old English\n  use of the word \u201cpassing,\u201d as in \u201c_passing_ strange,\u201d \u201c_passing_\n  fair.\u201d\n\n19. Batt\u00e9 rend\u00e9 zam\u00e9s f\u00e9re mal. (Les coups rendus ne font jamais de\nmal.)\n\n  \u201cBlows returned never hurt.\u201d--Vengeance is sweet.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n20. Bef pas bousoin lakh\u00ea li yon sel fois pou chass\u00e9 mouche. (Le b\u0153uf\nn\u2019a pas besoin de sa queue une fois seulement pour chasser les mouches.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t one time only that the ox needs his tail to drive the flies\n  away.\u201d--Ironical expression for \u201cyou will have need of me\n  again.\u201d[10]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [10] This proverb may be found in all the Creole dialects of the West\n  Indies. We have in the South a proverb to the same effect in English:\n  _Flytime will come again_, and the ox will want his tail.\n\n21. Bef pas jamain ka d\u00eee savane, \u201cMe\u00e7i!\u201d (Le b\u0153uf ne dit jamais \u00e0 la\nsavane, \u201cMerci!\u201d)\n\n  \u201cOx never says \u2018Thank you,\u2019 to the pasture.\u201d[11]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [11] A proverb current in Martinique, Louisiana, etc., with slight\n  variations. Favors or services done through selfish policy, or\n  compelled by necessity, do not merit acknowledgment.\n\n22. B\u00e9fs laqu\u00e9e en l\u00e9re, mauv\u00e9s temps napas loin. (Les b\u0153ufs ont la\nqueue en l\u2019air, le mauvais temps n\u2019est pas loin.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the oxen lift their tails in the air, look out for bad\n  weather.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n23. * Bel tignon[12] pas fait bel n\u00e9gresse. (Le beau tignon ne fait pas\nla belle negresse.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t the fine head-dress that makes the fine\n  negress.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [12] The Louisiana _tiyon_ or _tignon_ [_tiyon_ is the true Creole\n  word] is the famously picturesque handkerchief which in old days all\n  slave women twisted about their heads. It is yet worn by the older\n  colored folk: and there are several styles of arranging it--_tiyon\n  chinoise_, _tiyon Cr\u00e9ole_, etc. An old New Orleans ditty is still\n  sung, of which the refrain is:--\n\n    Madame Caba!\n      Tiyon vous tomb\u00e9!\n    Madame Caba,\n      Tiyon vous tomb\u00e9!\n\n  \u201cMadame Caba, your tiyon\u2019s falling off!\u201d\n\n24. B\u00e9n\u00e9fice ratt, c\u2019est pou s\u00e8pent. (Le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice du rat, c\u2019est pour le\nserpent.)\n\n  \u201cThe rat\u2019s gains are for the serpent.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n25. Bon bagout \u00e7appe la vie. (Bon bagou sauve la vie.)\n\n  \u201cGood gab saves one\u2019s life.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n26. Bon blanc mouri; mauvais r\u00eat\u00e9. (Le bon blanc meurt; le mauvais\n[m\u00e9chant] reste.)\n\n  \u201cThe good white man dies; the bad remains.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n27. Bon-bouche ka gagnin chouvals \u00e0 cr\u00e9dit. (La bonne bouche[13] obtient\ndes chevaux \u00e0 credit.)\n\n  \u201cFair words buy horses on credit.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [13] That is to say: _la bonne langue_;--\u201cthe good tongue gets horses\n  on credit.\u201d\n\n28. * Bon chien pas janmain trapp\u00e9 bon zo. (Jamais un bon chien\nn\u2019obtient un bon os.)\n\n  \u201cA good dog never gets a good bone.\u201d--Creole adaptation of an old\n  French proverb.--[_Martinique._]\n\n29. Bon coq chant\u00e9 dans toutt pouleill\u00e9. (Un bon coq chante dans tout\n[n\u2019importe quel] poulailler.)\n\n  \u201cA good cock crows in any henhouse.\u201d--Meaning that force of character\n  shows itself under all circumstances.--[_Martinique._]\n\n30. Bondi\u00e9 baille nou\u00e8sett pou \u00e7a qui pas ni dent. (Le Bon Dieu donne\ndes noisettes \u00e0 celui qui n\u2019a pas de dents.)\n\n  \u201cGod gives nuts to people who have no teeth.\u201d Originally an Oriental\n  proverb; adopted into Creole from the French. As we say: \u201cA fool for\n  luck.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n31. Bon-Gu\u00e8 ka baille ti zou\u00e8seau dans bois mang\u00e9, jig\u00e9 s\u00ec li pas k\u00e9\nbaille chritien mang\u00e9. (Le Bon Dieu donne \u00e0 manger aux petits oiseaux\nqui sont dans les bois; jugez s\u2019il ne donnera pas \u00e0 manger \u00e0 un\nchr\u00e9tien.)[14]\n\n  \u201cGod gives the little birds in the wood something to eat; judge for\n  yourself, then, whether he will not give a Christian something to\n  eat.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [14] Such a conversation as the following may not unfrequently be\n  heard among the old colored folk in New Orleans:--\n\n  --\u201cEh! Marie! to pap\u00e9 trava\u00ef jordi?\u201d\n\n  --\u201cMoin?--non!\u201d\n\n  --\u201cEh, ben! comment to f\u00e9 pou vive, alors?\u201d\n\n  --\u201c_Ah!....ti zozo li ka boi, li ka mang\u00e9, li pas trava\u00ef toujou!_\u201d\n\n  [\u201cHey, Marie!--Ain\u2019t you going to work to-day?\u201d \u201cI?--no!\u201d \u201cWell then,\n  how do you manage to live?\u201d \u201c_Ah!....little bird drinks, little bird\n  eats, little bird doesn\u2019t work all the same!_\u201d]\n\n32. Bon lilit, bon m\u00e9naze. (Bon lit, bon m\u00e9nage.)\n\n  \u201cWhere there\u2019s a good bed, there\u2019s good housekeeping.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n33. Bon pi\u00e8 sauv\u00e9 mauvais c\u00f2. (Un bon pied sauve un mauvais corps.)\n\n  \u201cA good (swift) foot saves a bad (weakly) body.\u201d--Like our proverbial\n  refrain: \u201cHe that fights and runs away,\u201d etc.[15]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [15] Or like the Old Country saying \u201cBetter a good run than a bad\n  stand.\u201d\n\n34. * Bon-temps fait crapaud manqu\u00e9 bounda. (Le bon temps fait manquer\nde derri\u00e8re au crapaud.)\n\n  \u201cIdleness leaves the frogs without buttocks.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n35. * Bon-temps pas bosco. (Le bon temps n\u2019est pas bossu.)\n\n  \u201cGood fortune is never hunch-backed.\u201d (Same proverb in Martinique\n  dialect, and in that of Louisiana.)[16]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [16] In Creole _bon temps_ most generally signifies \u201cidleness,\u201d and is\n  not always used in a pleasant sense. Prov. 35 is susceptible of\n  several different applications.\n\n36. Bon valett ni lakh\u00e9 coup\u00e9. (Le bon valet a la queue coup\u00e9e.)\n\n  \u201cThe good servant\u2019s tail is cut off.\u201d--Reference to the condition of a\n  dog whose tail is cut off: he can\u2019t wag his tail, because he has no\n  tail to wag![17]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [17] The good servant does not fawn, does not flatter, does not affect\n  to be pleased with everything his master does--he may emulate the dog\n  in constant faithfulness, not in fawning.\n\n37. * Bouche li pas ni dimanche. (Sa bouche n\u2019a pas de dimanche.)\n\n  \u201cHis mouth never keeps Sunday\u201d--lit: \u201chas no Sunday\u201d--no day of\n  rest.--[_Mart._]\n\n38. Boucoup disic dans cannes, m\u00e9s domaze marmites napas nous. (Beaucoup\nde sucre dans les cannes, mais par malheur nous ne sommes pas les\nmarmites.)\n\n  \u201cPlenty of sugar in the canes; but unfortunately we are not the\n  boilers.\u201d--Said when dishonesty is discovered in the management of\n  affairs.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n39. Boudin pas tini zoreies. (Le ventre n\u2019a pas d\u2019oreilles.)\n\n  \u201cThe belly has no ears.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n40. * Bouki fait gombo, lapin mang\u00e9 li. (Le bouc fait le gombo, le lapin\nle mange.)\n\n  \u201cHe-goat makes the gombo; but Rabbit eats it.\u201d[18]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [18] This proverb is founded upon one of the many amusing Creole\n  animal-fables, all bearing the title: _Comp\u00e8 Bouki \u00e9pis Comp\u00e8 Lapin_\n  (\u201cDaddy Goat and Daddy Rabbit\u201d.) The rabbit always comes out\n  victorious, as in the stories of Uncle Remus.\n\n41. \u00c7a ou j\u00e9t\u00e9 j\u00f2di \u00e9pis pi\u00e8, ou ramass\u00e9 li dimain \u00e9pis lanmain. (Ce que\nvous rejetez aujourd\u2019hui avec le pied, vous le ramasserez demain avec la\nmain.)\n\n  \u201cWhat you push away from you to-day with your foot, you will pick up\n  to-morrow with your hand.\u201d[19]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [19] \u201cWaste not, want not.\u201d\n\n42. \u00c7a ou p\u00e9di nen f\u00e8 ou va trouv\u00e9 nen sann. (Ce que vous perdez dans le\nfeu, vous le retrouverez dans la cendre.)\n\n  \u201cWhat you lose in the fire, you will find in the ashes.\u201d--Meaning that\n  a good deed is never lost. \u201cCast your bread upon the waters,\u201d\n  etc.--[_Martinique._]\n\n43. * \u00c7a qui bon pou zoie, bon pou canard. (Ce qui est bon pour l\u2019oie,\nest bon pour le canard.)\n\n  \u201cWhat is good for the goose is good for the duck.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n44. \u00c7a qui boud\u00e9 manze boudin. (Celui qui boude mange du boudin.)\n\n  \u201cHe who sulks eats his own belly.\u201d That is to say, spites himself. The\n  pun is untranslatable.[20]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [20] _Boudin_ in French signifies a pudding, in Creole it also\n  signifies the belly. Thus there is a double pun in the patois.\n\n45. \u00c7a qui dourmi napas pens\u00e9 manz\u00e9. (Qui dort ne pense pas \u00e0 manger.)\n\n  \u201cWhen one sleeps, one doesn\u2019t think about eating.\u201d[21]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [21] \u201c_Qui dort, dine_,\u201d is an old French proverb.\n\n46. \u00c7a qui fine go\u00fbt\u00e9 larac zam\u00e9s perdi son go\u00fbt. (Celui qui a go\u00fbt\u00e9\nl\u2019arac n\u2019en oublie jamais le go\u00fbt.)\n\n  \u201cHe who has once tasted arrack never forgets the\n  taste.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n47. \u00c7a qui gagn\u00e9 piti mil dehors, veill\u00e9 laplie. (Celui qui a un peu de\nmil dehors veille la pluie.)\n\n  \u201cHe who has [would raise] a little millet out of doors, watches for\n  rain.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n48. \u00c7a qui gagne zoli fille gagne coude\u00e7apeau. (Celui qui a une jolie\nfille re\u00e7oit des coups de chapeau.)\n\n  \u201cHe who has a pretty daughter receives plenty of\n  salutes.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n49. \u00c7a qui mang\u00e9 z\u00e9 pas save si bonda poule fait li mal. (Ceux qui\nmangent des \u0153ufs ne savent pas si le derri\u00e8re de la poule lui fait mal.)\n\n  \u201cThose who eat eggs don\u2019t know whether the chicken\n  suffered.\u201d[22]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [22] A little too vulgar for literal translation. Those who profit by\n  the misfortunes of others, never concern themselves about the\n  suffering which they take advantage of.\n\n50. \u00c7a qui ni bon pi\u00e8 prend douvant. (Celui qui a bon pied prend le\ndevant.)\n\n  \u201cHe who is swift of foot takes the lead.\u201d Force of character always\n  brings its possessor to the front.--[_Mart._]\n\n51. \u00c7a qui pas bon pou sac pas bon pour maconte. (Ce qui n\u2019est pas bon\npour le sac, n\u2019est pas pour le maconte.)\n\n  \u201cWhat is not fit for the bag, is not fit for the\n  maconte.\u201d[23]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [23] _Wa\u00ef\u00e1_ in Trinidad Creole. _Maconte_ is probably from the Spanish\n  _mac\u00f3na_, a basket without handles. The Haytian maconte is a sort of\n  basket made of woven grass, and used for carrying all kinds of\n  articles. It is strapped to the shoulders.\n\n52. \u00c7a qui prend zassoci\u00e9 prend maite. (Celui qui prend un associ\u00e9 prend\n(se donne) un ma\u00eetre.)\n\n  \u201cHe who takes a partner takes a master.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n53. \u00c7a qui ti bien f\u00e9re, zam\u00e9s ti mal f\u00e9re. (Ce qui est bien fait, n\u2019est\njamais mal fait.)\n\n  \u201cWhat\u2019s rightly done is never wrongly done.\u201d--That is to say: Never\n  regret anything done for a good motive.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n54. \u00c7a qui tine po\u00e9lon qui cone so prix lagresse. (C\u2019est celui qui tient\nle po\u00ealon qui conna\u00eet le prix de la graisse.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the one who holds the skillet that knows the cost of\n  lard.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n55. \u00c7a qui touy\u00e9 son lecorps travaille pour lev\u00e9res. (Celui qui tue son\npropre corps, travaille pour les vers.)\n\n  \u201cHe who kills his own body, works for the worms.\u201d Applicable to those\n  who injure their health by excesses.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n56. \u00c7a qui vl\u00e9 couv\u00e9, couv\u00e9 su z\u00e8 yo. (Ceux qui veulent couver, qu\u2019elles\ncouvent leurs propres \u0153ufs.)\n\n  \u201cLet those who want to hatch hatch their own eggs.\u201d--That is, let\n  everybody mind his or her own business.--[_Martinique._]\n\n57. * \u00c7a va riv\u00e9 dans semaine quatte zheudis. (Cela va arriver dans la\nsemaine de quatre jeudis.)\n\n  \u201cThat will happen in the week of four Thursdays.\u201d[24]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [24] Ironically said to those who make promises which there is no\n  reason to believe will ever be fulfilled.\n\n58. \u00c7a zi\u00e8 pas vou\u00e8 kh\u00e8 pas f\u00e8 mal. (Ce que les yeux ne voient pas, ne\nfait pas de mal au c\u0153ur.)\n\n  \u201cWhat the eyes don\u2019t see never hurts the heart.\u201d[25]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [25] _Ce que yex ne voit, cuer ne deut_, is a French proverb of the\n  13th century, from which was probably derived our own saying: \u201cWhat\n  the eye doesn\u2019t see, the heart doesn\u2019t grieve after.\u201d\n\n59. Cabritt[26] bou\u00e9, mouton sou. (Quand la ch\u00e8vre boit, c\u2019est le mouton\nqui est so\u00fbl.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the goat drinks, they say the sheep is drunk.\u201d--Meaning that the\n  innocent are made to suffer for the guilty.--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [26] _Cabri_ in French signifies a kid; in Creole it signifies either\n  a kid or a goat--more generally the latter. The word was originally\n  spelled with a final _t_; and the Creoles of the Antilles have\n  generally preserved the letter, even in pronunciation. I have\n  purposely retained the various spellings given by various authors.\n\n60. Cabritt li ka mont\u00e9 roche, li descende. (Ch\u00e8vre qui a mont\u00e9 un\nrocher doit en descendre.)\n\n  \u201cThe goat that climbs up the rocks must climb down\n  again.\u201d--[_Guyana._]\n\n61. Cabritt pas connaitt goum\u00e9,[27] mais cui li batte la charge. (La\nch\u00e8vre ne sait pas le battre; mais son cuir [sa peau] bat la charge.)\n\n  \u201cThe goat does not know how to fight; but his hide beats the\n  charge.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [27] _Goum\u00e9_, or in some dialects, _goumein_, is said by Turiault to\n  be a verb of African origin--_\u00c9tude sur la langage Cr\u00e9ole_, page 142.\n  Still we have the French word _gourmer_, signifying to curb a horse,\n  also, to box, to give cuffs.\n\n62. Cabritt qui pas malin pas gras. (La ch\u00e8vre qui n\u2019est pas maligne\nn\u2019est pas grasse.)\n\n  \u201cThe goat that isn\u2019t cunning never gets fat.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n63. Cabrite qui pas malin mang\u00e9 nen pi\u00e9 morne. (La ch\u00e8vre qui n\u2019est pas\nmaligne, mange au pied du morne.)\n\n  \u201cThe foolish goat eats at the foot of the hill.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n64. Canari vl\u00e9 r\u00eee ch\u00f4dier. (Le canari [le pot] veut rire de la\nchaudi\u00e8re [la marmite].)\n\n  \u201cThe clay-pot wishes to laugh at the iron pot.\u201d[28]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [28] \u201cPot calls the kettle black.\u201d The clay pot (_canari_) has almost\n  disappeared from Creole kitchens in Louisiana; but the term survives\n  in a song of which the burthen is: \u201c_Canari cass\u00e9 dans dif\u00e9._\u201d\n\n65. Cancrelat sourti dans la farine. (Le cancrelat [ravet] sort de la\nfarine.)\n\n  \u201cThe roach has come out of the flour-barrel.\u201d--Said to women of color\n  who whiten their faces with rice-powder.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n66. Canna pa ni d\u2019leau pou l\u00ec baingnein i l\u00e8 trouv\u00e9 pou l\u00ec nag\u00e9. (Le\ncanard n\u2019a pas de l\u2019eau pour se laver, et il veut trouver assez pour\nnager.)\n\n  \u201cThe duck hasn\u2019t enough water to wash with, and he wants enough to\n  swim in.\u201d--Refers to those who live beyond their\n  means.--[_Martinique._]\n\n67. * Capon vive longtemps. (Le capon vit longtemps.)\n\n  \u201cThe coward lives a long time.\u201d[29]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [29] The word _capon_ is variously applied by Creoles as a term of\n  reproach. It may refer rather to stinginess, hypocrisy, or\n  untruthfulness, than to cowardice. We have in New Orleans an ancient\n  Creole ballad of which the refrain is:\n\n    Alc\u00e9e Leblanc\n    Mo di toi, ch\u00e8re,\n    _To trop capon\n    Pou pay\u00e9 menage!_\n    C\u2019est qui di \u00e7a,--\n    \u00c7a que di toi ch\u00e8re,\n    Alc\u00e9e Leblanc!\n\n  In this case the word evidently refers to the niggardliness of\n  _Alc\u00e9e_, who did not relish the idea of settling $500 or perhaps\n  $1,000 of furniture upon his favorite quadroon girl. The song itself\n  commemorates customs of slavery days. Those who took to themselves\n  colored mistresses frequently settled much property upon them--the\n  arrangement being usually made by the mother of the girl. Housekeeping\n  outfits of this character, constituting a sort of dowry, ranged in\n  value from $500 to even $2,500; and such dowries formed the foundation\n  of many celebrated private lodging houses in New Orleans kept by\n  colored women. The quadroon housekeepers have now almost all\n  disappeared.\n\n68. * \u00c7aqu\u00e9ne senti so doul\u00e9re. (Chacun sent sa douleur.)\n\n  \u201cEverybody has his own troubles.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n69. \u00c7arbon zam\u00e9s va done la farine. (Le charbon jamais ne donnera de\nfarine.)\n\n  \u201cCoal will never make flour.\u201d--You can\u2019t wash a negro\n  white.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n70. \u00c7atte boire dilhouile enbas latabe. (Le chat boit l\u2019huile sous la\ntable.)\n\n  \u201cCat\u2019s drinking the oil under the table.\u201d--People are making fun at\n  your expense, though you don\u2019t know it.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n71. \u00c7atte noir ap\u00e9le larzent.[30] (Un chat noir pr\u00e9sage [appelle] de\nl\u2019argent.)\n\n  \u201cA black cat brings money (good luck.)\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [30] This is certainly of English origin.\n\n72. \u00c7atte qui \u00e9na matou f\u00e9re lembarras. (La chatte qui a un matou fait\nses embarras.)\n\n  \u201cThe she-cat who has a tom-cat, puts on airs.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n73. \u00c7atte qui fine bourle av dif\u00e9 p\u00e9re lacende. (Le chat qui s\u2019est br\u00fbl\u00e9\navec le feu, a peur de la cendre.)\n\n  \u201cWhen a cat has been once burned by fire, it is even afraid of\n  cinders.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n74. Causer c\u00e9 manger zore\u00eees. (Causer, c\u2019est le manger des oreilles.)\n\n  \u201cConversation is the food of the ears.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n75. C\u2019est bon kh\u00e9 cr\u00e2be qui lacause li pas tini t\u00eate. (C\u2019est \u00e0 cause de\nson bon c\u0153ur que le crabe n\u2019a pas de t\u00eate.)\n\n  \u201cIt is because of his good heart that the crab has no\n  head.\u201d[31]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [31] Implies that excessive good nature is usually indicative of\n  feeble reasoning-power.\n\n76. * C\u2019est couteau qui connaite \u00e7a qui dans c\u0153ur geomon. (C\u2019est le\ncouteau qui sait ce qu\u2019il y a dans le c\u0153ur du giromon.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the knife that knows what\u2019s in the heart of the\n  pumpkin.\u201d[32]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [32] This proverb exists in five Creole dialects. In the Guyana patois\n  it is slightly different: _Couteau o\u00fbnso connain quior iniam_ (le\n  couteau seul conna\u00eet le c\u0153ur de l\u2019igname.) \u201cIt\u2019s only the knife knows\n  what\u2019s in the heart of the yam.\u201d\n\n77. C\u2019est cuiller qui all\u00e9 lacail[33] gamelle; gamelle pas jamain all\u00e9\nlacail cuiller. (C\u2019est la cuiller qui va \u00e0 la maison de la gamelle;\njamais la gamelle ne va \u00e0 la maison de la cuiller.)\n\n  \u201cSpoon goes to bowl\u2019s house; bowl never goes to spoon\u2019s\n  house.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [33] _Ca\u00efe_ or _Caille_, as sometimes written, is a Creole word of\n  Carib origin. In the cities of the Antilles _case_ is generally\n  substituted--probably derived from the Spanish _casa_, \u201chouse.\u201d\n\n78. C\u2019est douvant tambou nion connaitt Zamba. (C\u2019est devant le tambour\nqu\u2019on reconna\u00eet Zamba.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s before the drum one learns to know Zamba.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n79. C\u2019est langue crapaud[34] qui ka trah\u00ee crapaud. (C\u2019est la langue du\ncrapaud qui le trahit.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the frog\u2019s own tongue that betrays him.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [34] In some of the West Indies the French word _crapaud_ seems to\n  have been adopted by the Creoles to signify either a toad or a frog,\n  as it is much more easily pronounced by Creole lips than _grenouille_,\n  which they make sound like \u201cgwoonou\u00eflle.\u201d But in Louisiana there is a\n  word used for frog, a delightful and absolutely perfect onomatop\u0153ia:\n  OUAOUARON (wahwahron).\n\nI think the prettiest collection of Creole onomatop\u0153ia made by any\nfolklorist is that in Baissac\u2019s _\u00c9tude sur le Patois Cr\u00e9ole Mauricien_,\npp. 92-95. The delightful little Creole nursery-narrative, in which the\ncries of all kinds of domestic animals are imitated by patois phrases,\ndeserves special attention.\n\n80. C\u2019est lh\u00e9 vent ka vent\u00e9, moun ka ouer lapeau poule. (C\u2019est quand le\nvent vente qu\u2019on peut voir la peau de la poule--lit.: que le monde peut\nvoir.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s when the wind is blowing that folks can see the skin of a\n  fowl.\u201d--True character is revealed under adverse\n  circumstances.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n81. C\u2019est nans temps lapl\u00eee b\u00e9f biso\u00e8n lakh\u00e9 l\u00ec. (C\u2019est dans le temps de\npluie que le b\u0153uf a besoin de sa queue.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s in the rainy season that the ox needs his tail.\u201d--(See\n  Martinique proverb No. 20.) [_Trinidad._]\n\n82. C\u2019est pas toutt les-jou guiabe n\u2019emp\u00f2te you pauve nhomme. (Ce n\u2019est\npas tous les jours que le diable emporte un homme pauvre.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t every day that the devil carries off a poor\n  man.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n83. C\u00e9 souliers tout-s\u00eal qui save si bas tin\u00ee tous. (Ce sont les\nsouliers seuls qui savent si les bas ont des trous.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s only the shoes that know if the stockings have\n  holes.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n84. Chaque b\u00eat\u00e8-\u00e0-f\u00e8 clair\u00e9 pou n\u00e2nme yo. (Chaque mouche-\u00e0-feu \u00e9claire\npour son \u00e2me.)\n\n  \u201cEvery fire-fly makes light for its own soul;\u201d that is to say, \u201cEvery\n  one for himself.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n85. Chatt pas l\u00e0, ratt ka baill[35] bal. (Absent le chat, les rats\ndonnent un bal.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the cat\u2019s away the rats give a ball.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [35] _Ba\u00efll_ (to give) affords example of a quaint French verb\n  preserved in the Creole dialect,--_bailler_. It can be found in\n  MOLI\u00c8RE. Formerly a Frenchman would have said, \u201c_Bailler sa foi,\n  bailler sa parole._\u201d It is now little used in France, except in such\n  colloquialisms as, \u201c_Vous me la baillez belle!_\u201d\n\n86. * Chatte bril\u00e9 pair di feu. (Le chat br\u00fbl\u00e9 a peur du feu.)\n\n  \u201cA burnt cat dreads the fire.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n87. Chien connaitt comment li fait pou manger zos. (Le chien sait\ncomment il fait pour manger les os.)\n\n  \u201cThe dog knows how he manages to eat bones.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n88. Chien jamain mord\u00e9 petite li jusque nen zos. (La chienne ne mord\njamais ses petits jusqu\u2019\u00e0 l\u2019os.)\n\n  \u201cThe bitch never bites her pups to the bone.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n89. * Chien japp\u00e9 li pas mord\u00e9. (Le chien qui jappe ne mord pas.)\n\n  \u201cThe dog that yelps doesn\u2019t bite.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n90. Chien pas mang\u00e9 chien. (Les chiens ne mangent pas les chiens.)\n\n  \u201cDogs do not eat dogs.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n91. Chien qui f\u00e9 caca dans chimin li bli\u00e9, mais \u00e7a qui tir\u00e9 pas bli\u00e9.\n(Le chien qui fait caca sur le chemin, oublie; mais celui qui l\u2019en \u00f4te,\nn\u2019oublie pas.)\n\n  \u201cThe dog that dungs in the road forgets all about it, but the person\n  who has to remove it does not forget.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n92. Chien tini guiole f\u00f2te \u00e0 ca\u00efe mait\u00e8 li. (Le chien a la gueule forte\ndans la maison de son ma\u00eetre.)\n\n  \u201cThe dog is loud-mouthed in the house of his master.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n93. Chien tini quate patte, mais li pas capabe prend quate chimin. (Le\nchien a quatre pattes mais il ne peut pas [n\u2019est pas capable de] prendre\nquatre chemins.)\n\n  \u201cThe dog has four paws but is not able to go four different ways [at\n  one time].\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n94. Chouval r\u00e9t\u00e9 nen z\u00e9curie, milett nen savane. (Le cheval reste dans\nl\u2019\u00e9curie, le mulet dans la savane.)\n\n  \u201cThe horse remains in the stable, the mule in the\n  field.\u201d[36]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [36] Each one must be content with his own station. Here the mule\n  seems to represent the slave; the horse, the master or overseer.\n\n95. * Cila qui rit vendredi va pleur\u00e9 dimanche. (Celui qui rit le\nvendredi va pleurer le dimanche.)\n\n  \u201cHe who laughs on Friday will cry on Sunday.\u201d There is an English\n  proverb, \u201cSing at your breakfast and you\u2019ll cry at your\n  dinner.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n96. Ciramon[37] pas donne calabasse. (Le giraumon ne donne pas la\ncalebasse.)\n\n  \u201cThe pumpkin doesn\u2019t yield the calabash.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [37] I give the spelling _Ciramon_ as I find it in Mr. Bigelow\u2019s\n  contributions to _Harper\u2019s Magazine_, 1875. (See BIBLIOGRAPHY.)\n  Nevertheless I suspect the spelling is wrong. In Louisiana Creole we\n  say _Giromon_. The French word is _Giraumon_.\n\n97. * Cochon conn\u00e9 sir qui bois l\u2019ap\u00e9 frott\u00e9. (Le cochon sait bien sur\nquel arbre [bois] il va se frotter.)\n\n  \u201cThe hog knows well what sort of tree to rub himself\n  against.\u201d[38]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [38] In most of the Creole dialects several different versions of a\n  popular proverb are current. A friend gives me this one of proverb 97:\n  _Cochon-marron conn\u00e9 enhaut qui bois li frott\u00e9._ (\u201cThe wild hog knows\n  what tree to rub himself upon.\u201d) _Marron_ is applied in all forms of\n  the Creole patois to _wild_ things; _zh\u00e8bes marrons_ signifies \u201cwild\n  plants.\u201d The term, _couri-marron_, or _n\u00e8gue-marron_ formerly\n  designated a runaway slave in Louisiana as it did in the Antilles.\n  There is an old New Orleans saying:\n\n    \u201c_Apr\u00e8s y\u00e9 tir\u00e9 canon\n    N\u00e8gue sans passe c\u2019est n\u00e8gue-marron._\u201d\n\n  This referred to the old custom in New Orleans of firing a cannon at\n  eight P.M. in winter, and nine P.M. in summer, as a warning to all\n  slaves to retire. It was a species of modern curfew-signal. Any slave\n  found abroad after those hours, without a pass, was liable to arrest\n  and a whipping of twenty-five lashes. _Marron_, from which the English\n  word \u201cMaroon\u201d is derived, has a Spanish origin. \u201cIt is,\u201d says Skeats,\n  \u201ca clipt form of the Spanish _cimarron_, wild, unruly: literally,\n  \u201cliving in the mountain-tops.\u201d _Cimarron_, from Span. _Cima_, a\n  mountain-summit. The original term for \u201cMaroon\u201d was _negro-cimarr\u00f3n_,\n  as it still is in some parts of Cuba.\n\n98. Coment to tale to natte faut to dourmi. (Comment tu \u00e9tends ta natte\nil faut que tu te couches.)\n\n  \u201cAs you spread your mat, so must you lie.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n99. * Comp\u00e9 Torti va doucement; mais li riv\u00e9 cot\u00e9 b\u00eete pendant Comp\u00e9\nChivreil ap\u00e9 dormi. (Comp\u00e8re Tortue va doucement; mais il arrive au b\u00fbt\npendant que Comp\u00e8re Chevreuil dort.)\n\n  \u201cDaddy Tortoise goes slow; but he gets to the goal while Daddy Deer is\n  asleep.\u201d[39]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [39] Based upon the Creole fable of _Comp\u00e8re Tortue_ and _Comper\u00e8\n  Chevreuil_, rather different from the primitive story of the Hare and\n  the Tortoise.\n\n100. Complot plis fort pass\u00e9 ouanga.[40] (Le complot est plus fort que\nl\u2019ouanga.)\n\n  \u201cConspiracy is stronger than witchcraft.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [40]\n\n    Di moin si to gagnin nhomme!\n      Mo va f\u00e9 ouanga pou li;\n    Mo f\u00e9 li tourn\u00e9 fant\u00f4me\n      Si to vl\u00e9 mo to mari....\n\n  \u201cTell me if thou hast a man [a lover]: I will make a _ouanga_ for\n  him--I will change him into a a ghost if thou wilt have me for thy\n  husband.\u201d....This word, of African origin, is applied to all things\n  connected with the voudooism of the negroes. In the song, _Dipi mo\n  vou\u00e8, tou\u00e8 Ad\u00e8le_, from which the above lines are taken, the wooer\n  threatens to get rid of a rival by _ouanga_--to \u201cturn him into a\n  ghost.\u201d The victims of voudooism are said to have gradually withered\n  away, probably through the influence of secret poison. The word\n  _grigri_, also of African origin, simply refers to a charm, which may\n  be used for an innocent or innocuous purpose. Thus, in a Louisiana\n  Creole song, we find a quadroon mother promising her daughter a charm\n  to prevent the white lover from forsaking her; _Pou tchomb\u00e9 li na f\u00e9\n  grigri_--\u201cWe shall make a _grigri_ to keep him.\u201d\n\n101. Conseill\u00e9re napas pay\u00e9re. (Le donneur de conseil n\u2019est pas le\npayeur.)\n\n  \u201cThe adviser is not the payer.\u201d That is to say, the one who gives\n  advice has nothing to lose.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n102. Coq \u00e7ant\u00e9 divant la porte, doumounde vini. (Quand le coq chante\ndevant la porte quelqu\u2019un vient.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the cock crows before the door, somebody is\n  coming.\u201d[41]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [41] This is also a proverb of European origin. The character of\n  Creole folklore is very different from European folklore in the matter\n  of superstition.\n\n103. Couou\u00ec pas laide, temps laf\u00f4ce pas l\u00e0. (Ce n\u2019est pas laid de\ncourir, quand on n\u2019a pas de force.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t ugly to run, when one isn\u2019t strong enough to\n  stay.\u201d--[_Trin._]\n\n104. Coup de langue pis mauvais piq\u00fa s\u00e8pent. (Un coup de langue est plus\nmauvais qu\u2019une piq\u00fbre de serpent.)\n\n  \u201cA tongue-thrust is worse than a serpent\u2019s sting.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n105. Coudep\u00eced napas emp\u00e9\u00e7e coudecorne. (Les coups de pied n\u2019emp\u00eachent\npas les coups de corne.)\n\n  \u201cKicking doesn\u2019t hinder butting.\u201d There is more than one way to\n  revenge oneself.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n106. Coup\u00e9 son nenez, volor so figuire. (Couper son nez, c\u2019est voler sa\nfigure.)\n\n  \u201cCutting off one\u2019s nose is robbing one\u2019s face.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n107. * Coup\u00e9 zor\u00e9 milet fait pas choual. (Couper les oreilles au mulet,\nn\u2019en fait pas un cheval.)\n\n  \u201cCutting off a mule\u2019s ears won\u2019t make him a\n  horse.\u201d[42]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [42] This seems to me much wittier than our old proverb: \u201cYou can\u2019t\n  make a silk purse out of a sow\u2019s ear.\u201d\n\n108. Couroupas dans\u00e9, zaco r\u00ec\u00e9. (Le couroupas [colima\u00e7on] danse le singe\nrit.)\n\n  \u201cMonkey laughs when the snail dances.\u201d[43]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [43] Probably had its origin in a Creole _conte_. Same applications as\n  Proverbs 236, 263, 315.\n\n109. \u00c7ouval napas marce av bourique. (Le cheval ne marche pas avec\nl\u2019\u00e2ne.)\n\n  \u201cThe horse doesn\u2019t walk with the ass.\u201d--Let each keep his proper\n  place.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n110. Couyenade c\u2019est pas limonade. (Couillonade n\u2019est pas limonade.)\n\n  \u201cNonsense is not sugar-water\u201d (lemonade), says Thomas. The vulgarity\n  of the French word partly loses its grossness in the\n  Creole.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n111. Crabe pas m\u00e2ch\u00e9, li pas gras;--li m\u00e2che touop, et li tomb\u00e9 nans\nch\u00f4di\u00e9r. (Le crabe ne marche pas, il n\u2019est pas gras; il marche trop, et\nil tombe dans la chaudi\u00e8re).\n\n  \u201cThe crab doesn\u2019t walk, he isn\u2019t fat; he walks too much, and falls\n  into the pot.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n112. * Crach\u00e9 nen laire, li va tomb\u00e9 enhaut vou nez. (Crachez dans\nl\u2019air, il vous en tombera sur le nez).\n\n  \u201cIf you spit in the air, it will fall back on your own\n  nose.\u201d[44]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [44] Like our proverb about chickens coming home to roost. If you talk\n  scandal at random, the mischief done will sooner or later recoil upon\n  yourself. I find the same proverb in the Mauritian dialect.\n\n113. Crapaud pas tini ch\u00edmise, ous vl\u00e9 li p\u00f4te cane\u00e7on. (Le crapaud n\u2019a\npas de chemise, et vous voulez qu\u2019il porte cale\u00e7on).\n\n  \u201cThe frog has no shirt, and you want him to wear\n  drawers!\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n114. Cresson content boire dileau. (Le cresson aime \u00e0 boire l\u2019eau).\n\n  \u201cThe water cress loves to drink water.\u201d Used interrogatively, this is\n  equivalent to the old saw: \u201cDoes a duck like water?\u201d \u201cWill a duck\n  swim?\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n115. Croquez maconte ou oueti[45] main ou ka riv\u00e9. (Accrochez votre\nmaconte o\u00f9 vous pouvez l\u2019atteindre avec la main [lit. o\u00f9 v\u00f4tre main peut\narriver].)\n\n  \u201cHang up your _maconte_ where you can reach it with your\n  hand.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [45] The Martinique dialect gives both _oti_ and _outi_ for \u201co\u00f9\u201d:\n  \u201cwhere.\u201d Mr. Bigelow gives the curious spelling _croquez_. The word is\n  certainly derived from the French, _accrocher_. In Louisiana Creole we\n  always say _\u2019croch\u00e9_ for \u201chang up.\u201d I doubt the correctness of the\n  Haytian spelling as here given: for the French word _croquer_ (\u201cto\n  devour,\u201d \u201cgobble up,\u201d \u201cpilfer,\u201d etc.) has its Creole counterpart; and\n  the soft _ch_ is never, so far as I can learn, changed into the k or g\n  sound in the patois.\n\n116. D\u2019abord vous guett\u00e9 poux de bois mang\u00e9 bouteille, croquez calabasse\nvous haut. (Quand vous voyez les poux-de-bois manger les bouteilles,\naccrochez vos calabasses [en] haut).\n\n  \u201cWhen you see the woodlice eating the bottles, hang your calabashes\n  out of their reach.\u201d[46]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [46] Mr. Bigelow is certainly wrong in his definition of the origin of\n  the word which he spells _quet\u00e9_. It is a Creole adoption of the\n  French _guetter_, \u201cto watch:\u201d and is used by the Creoles in the sense\n  of \u201cobserve,\u201d \u201cperceive,\u201d \u201csee.\u201d Other authorities spell it _gu\u00eatte_,\n  as all verbs ending in \u201cter\u201d in French make their Creole termination\n  in \u201ct\u00e9.\u201d This verb is one of many to which slightly different meanings\n  from those belonging to the original French words, are attached by the\n  Creoles. Thus _\u00e7appe_, from _\u00e9chapper_, is used as an equivalent for\n  _sauver_.\n\n117. D\u2019abord vous guett\u00e9 poux de bois mang\u00e9 canari, calebasse pas capabe\nprend pied. (Quand que vous voyez les poux-de-bois manger les marmites,\nles calebasses ne peuvent pas leur r\u00e9sister).\n\n  \u201cWhen you see the wood-lice eating the pots, the calabashes can\u2019t be\n  expected to resist.\u201d[47]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [47] The saliva of the tropical woodlouse is said to be powerful\n  enough to affect iron.\n\n118. Dans mariaze liciens, t\u00e9moins gagne batt\u00e9. (Aux noces des chiens,\nles t\u00e9moins ont les coups.)\n\n  \u201cAt a dog\u2019s wedding it\u2019s the witnesses who get hurt.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n119. D\u00ea\u00ef\u00e8r chein, c\u00e9 \u201cchein\u201d; douvant chein, c\u00e9 \u201cMissier Chein.\u201d\n(Derri\u00e8re le chien, c\u2019est \u201cchien,\u201d mais devant le chien, c\u2019est \u201cMonsieur\nle Chien.\u201d)\n\n  \u201cBehind the dog\u2019s back it is \u2018dog;\u2019 but before the dog it is \u2018Mr.\n  Dog.\u2019\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n120. Dent mord\u00e9 langue. (Les dents mordent la langue.)\n\n  \u201cThe teeth bite the tongue.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n121. Dents pas ka p\u00f4t\u00e9 d\u00eb\u00ee. (Les dents ne portent pas le deuil.)\n\n  \u201cTeeth do not wear mourning.\u201d--meaning that, even when unhappy, people\n  may show their teeth in laughter or smiles.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n122. Dent pas kh\u00e9 (\u201cDents pas c\u0153ur\u201d--Les dents ne sont pas le c\u0153ur).\n\n  \u201cThe teeth are not the heart.\u201d A curious proverb, referring to the\n  exposure of the teeth by laughter.[48]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [48] The laugh or smile that shows the teeth does not always prove\n  that the heart is merry.\n\n123. * Di moin qui vous laimein, ma di vous qui vous y\u00e9. (Dites moi qui\nvous aimez, et je vous dirai qui vous \u00eates.)\n\n  \u201cTell me whom you love, and I\u2019ll tell you who you\n  are.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n124. Dileau dourmi touy\u00e9 dimounde. (L\u2019eau qui dort tue les gens.)\n\n  \u201cThe water that sleeps kills people.\u201d[49]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [49] \u201cStill waters run deep.\u201d The proverb is susceptible of various\n  applications. Everyone who has sojourned in tropical, or even\n  semi-tropical latitudes knows the deadly nature of stagnant water in\n  the feverish summer season.\n\n125. Dimounde qui f\u00e9re larzent, napas larzent qui f\u00e9re dimounde. (Ce\nsont les hommes qui font l\u2019argent, ce n\u2019est pas l\u2019argent qui fait les\nhommes.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the men who make the money; \u2019tisn\u2019t the money that makes the\n  men.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n126. Divant camrades capabe largu\u00e9 quilotte. (Devant des camarades on\npeut l\u00e2cher sa culotte.)\n\n  \u201cBefore friends one can even take off one\u2019s breeches.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n127. Divant tranz\u00e9s faut boutonn\u00e9 canne\u00e7on. (Devant des \u00e9trangers il\nfaut boutonner son cale\u00e7on.)\n\n  \u201cBefore strangers one must keep one\u2019s drawers\n  buttoned.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n128. Diz\u00e9fs canard pl\u00ec gros qui diz\u00e9fs poule. (Les \u0153ufs de cane sont\nplus gros que les \u0153ufs de poule.)\n\n  \u201cDucks\u2019 eggs are bigger than hens\u2019 eggs.\u201d--Quantity is no guarantee of\n  quality.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n129. Diz\u00e9fs coq, poule qui f\u00e9re. (Les \u0153ufs de coq, c\u2019est la poule qui\nles fait.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the hen that makes the cock\u2019s eggs.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n130. * Dolo toujou couri larivi\u00e8re. (L\u2019eau va toujours \u00e0 la rivi\u00e8re.)\n\n  \u201cWater always runs to the river.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n131. Doucement napas emp\u00e9ce arriv\u00e9r. (Aller doucement n\u2019emp\u00eache pas\nd\u2019arriver.)\n\n  \u201cGoing gently about a thing won\u2019t prevent its being\n  done.\u201d[50]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [50] Literally: \u201cGently doesn\u2019t prevent arriving.\u201d One can reach his\n  destination as well by walking slowly, as by making frantic haste.\n\n132. Fair pou fair pas mal. (Faire pour faire n\u2019est pas [mauvais]\ndifficile.)\n\n  \u201cIt is not hard to do a thing for the sake of doing\n  it.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n133. Faut janmain mett racounn[51] dans loge poule. (Il ne faut jamais\nmettre un raton dans la loge des poules.)\n\n  \u201cOne must never put a \u2019coon into a henhouse.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [51] A Creole friend assures me that in Louisiana patois, the word for\n  coon, is _chaoui_. This bears so singular a resemblance in sound to a\n  French word of very different meaning--_chat-huant_ (screech-owl) that\n  it seems possible the negroes have in this, as in other cases, given\n  the name of one creature to another.\n\n134. Faut jamais port\u00e9 d\u00e9il avant d\u00e9fint dans cerkeil. (Il ne faut\njamais porter le deuil avant que le d\u00e9funt soit dans le cercueil.)\n\n  \u201cNever wear mourning before the dead man\u2019s in his\n  coffin.\u201d[52]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [52] Don\u2019t anticipate trouble: \u201cNever bid the devil good morrow till\n  you meet him.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t cross a bridge until you come to it.\u201d\n\n135. Faut p\u00e1o\u00fboles m\u00f4r pou moune p\u00e8 vivre. (Il faut que les paroles\nmeurent, afin que le monde puisse vivre.)\n\n  \u201cWords must die that people may live.\u201d--Ironical; this is said to\n  those who are over-sensitive regarding what is said about\n  them.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n136. Faut pas cass\u00e9 so ma\u00efe avant li fine mir. (Il ne faut pas casser\nson ma\u00efs avant qu\u2019il soit m\u00fbr.)\n\n  \u201cMusn\u2019t pluck one\u2019s corn before it\u2019s ripe.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n137. * Faut pas marr\u00e9 tayau[53] avec saucisse. (Il ne faut pas attacher\nle chien-courant (ta\u00efant) avec des saucisses.)\n\n  \u201cMusn\u2019t tie up the hound with a string of sausages.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [53] Adopted from old French \u201c_ta\u00efaut_\u201d (tally-ho!) the cry of the\n  huntsman to his hounds. The Creoles have thus curiously, but forcibly,\n  named the hound itself.\n\n138. F\u00e9re \u00e9ne tourou pour bouc\u00e9 laute. (Il fait un trou pour en boucher\nun autre.)\n\n  \u201cMake one hole to stop another.\u201d \u201cBorrow money to pay a\n  debt.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n139. Gambette ous trouv\u00e9 gan chemin, nen gan chemin ous va p\u00e8de li. (Le\ngambette que vous trouvez sur le grand chemin, sur le grand chemin vous\nle perdrez.)\n\n  \u201cEvery jack-knife found on the high-road, will be lost on the\n  high-road.\u201d[54]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [54] I cannot discover the etymology of this word, according to the\n  meaning given by Mr. Bigelow. The ordinary French signification of\n  _gambette_ is \u201cred-shank\u201d--_Totanus caledris_.\n\n140. Gens bon-temps k\u00e1ll\u00e9 d\u00eee gouv\u00ean\u00e9r bon-jou. (Les gens [qui ont du]\nbon-temps vont dire bon-jour au gouverneur.)\n\n  \u201cFolks who have nothing to do (lit.: _who have a fine time_) go to bid\n  the Governor good-day.\u201d _Gens bon-temps_: \u201cfine-time\n  folks.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n141. * Gens f\u00e9gnants ka mand\u00e9 trav\u00e2\u00ef \u00e9p\u00ees bouche; main kh\u00e8rs yeaux ka\npouier Bondi\u00e9 pou yeaux pas touver. (Les gens fain\u00e9ants demandent avec\nleurs bouches pour du travail; mais leurs c\u0153urs prient le Bon Dieu\n[pour] qu\u2019ils n\u2019en trouvent point.)\n\n  \u201cLazy folks ask for work with their lips: but their hearts pray God\n  that they may not find it.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n142. Gens qui ka ba ous conse\u00ee gagnen chouval gouous-boudin nans\nlhouv\u00eana\u00efe, nans car\u00eame pas ka rider ous nouri li. (Les gens qui nous\ndonnent conseil d\u2019acheter un cheval \u00e0 gros-ventre pendant l\u2019hivernage,\nne veulent point vous aider \u00e0 le nourrir pendant le car\u00eame.)\n\n  \u201cFolks who advise you to buy a big-bellied horse in a rainy season\n  (when grass is plenty), won\u2019t help you to feed him in the dry season\n  when grass is scarce.\u201d[55]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [55] This is J. J. Thomas\u2019 translation, as given in his \u201cTheory and\n  Practice of Creole Grammar.\u201d _Lhouv\u00eana\u00efe_ is a word which does not\n  exist in our Louisiana patois. Does it come from the Spanish\n  _llover_--\u201cto rain\u201d? or is it only a Creole form of the French\n  _hivernage_? _Car\u00eame_, of course means Lent; whether the dry season in\n  Trinidad is concomitant with the Lenten epoch, or whether the Creoles\n  of the Island use the word to signify any season of scarcity, I am\n  unable to decide.\n\n143. Gou\u00efe pass\u00e9 difil sivr\u00e9. (O\u00f9 l\u2019aiguille passe, le fil suivra.)\n\n  \u201cWhere the needle passes thread will follow.\u201d[56]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [56] When a strong man has opened the way, feebler folks may safely\n  follow.\n\n144. Graisse pas tini sentiment. (La graisse n\u2019a pas de sentiment.)\n\n  \u201cFat has no feeling.\u201d[57]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [57] There may be some physiological truth in this proverb as applied\n  to the inhabitants of the Antilles, where stoutness is the exception.\n  Generally speaking phlegmatic persons are inclined to fleshiness.\n\n145. Haillons mi\u00e9 pass\u00e9 tout nu. (Les haillons sont mieux que de rester\ntout nu.)\n\n  \u201cRags are better than nakedness.\u201d \u201cHalf-a-loaf\u2019s better than no\n  bread.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n146. Ha\u00ef moune; main pas ba yeaux pa\u00f1\u00e8n pou ch\u00e2\u00efer dleau. (Hais les\ngens; mais ne leur donne pas des paniers pour charrier de l\u2019eau.)\n\n  \u201cHate people; but don\u2019t give them baskets to carry water in.\u201d--that is\n  to say: Don\u2019t tell lies about them that no one can believe--stories\n  that \u201cwon\u2019t hold water.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n147. * Jadin loin, gombo gat\u00e9. (Jardin loin, gombo g\u00e2t\u00e9.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the garden is far, the gombo is spoiled.\u201d[58]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [58] This appears to be a universal Creole proverb. If you want\n  anything to be well done, you must look after it yourself: to absent\n  oneself from one\u2019s business is unwise, etc.\n\n148. * Jamais di: Fontaine, mo va jamais boi to dolo. (Ne dis\njamais--Fontaine, je ne boirai jamais de ton eau.)\u201d\n\n  \u201cNever say--\u2018Spring, I will never drink your\n  water.\u2019\u201d[59]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [59] The loftiest pride is liable to fall; and we know not how soon we\n  may be glad to seek the aid of the most humble.\n\n149. Janmain guiabe ka d\u00f2mi. (Jamais le diable ne s\u2019endort.)\n\n  \u201cThe devil never sleeps.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n150. Janmain nous ne pas dou\u00e8 ladans quiou poule compt\u00e9 z\u00e8. (Il ne faut\njamais [nous ne devons jamais] compter les \u0153ufs dans la derri\u00e8re de la\npoule.)\n\n  \u201cWe should never count the eggs in the body of the hen.\u201d-(The Creole\n  proverb is, however, less delicate.)--[_Martinique._]\n\n151. Jou\u00e8 epis chatt ou trapp\u00e9 coup d\u2019patte. (Jouez avec le chat, et\nvous attrapperez un coup de patte.)\n\n  \u201cPlay with the cat, and you\u2019ll get scratched.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n152. * Jou\u00e9 \u00e9pis chien ou trapp\u00e9 pice. (Jouez avec les chiens, vous\naurez des puces.)\n\n  \u201cPlay with the dogs, and you will get fleas.\u201d[60]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [60] This seems to be a universal proverb. In Louisiana we say: _Jou\u00e8\n  evec, \u2018tichien_, etc.\n\n153. * Joudui pou ous, demain pou moin. (Aujourd\u2019hui pour vous, demain\npour moi.)\n\n  \u201cTo-day for you; to-morrow for me.\u201d[61]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [61] Current also in Louisiana: _Jordi pou vou_, etc.: \u201cYour turn\n  to-day; perhaps it may be mine to-morrow.\u201d\n\n154. La oti zou\u00e8seau ka f\u00e9 niche yo, c\u2019est la yo ka couch\u00e9. (O\u00f9 les\noiseaux font leur nids, l\u00e0 ils se couchent.)\n\n  \u201cWhere the birds build their nests, there they\n  sleep.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n155. Laboue moque lamare. (La boue se moque de la mare.)\n\n  \u201cThe mud laughs at the puddle.\u201d--Like our: \u201cPot calls kettle\n  black.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n156. Lacase bardeaux napas gu\u00e9tte la case vitiv\u00e9re. (La maison [couverte\nde] bardeaux ne regarde point la case couverte de vetiver.)\n\n  \u201cThe house roofed with shingles doesn\u2019t look at the hut covered with\n  vetiver.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n157. * Lagniappe c\u2019est bitin qui bon. (Lagniappe c\u2019est du bon butin.)\n\n  \u201cLagniappe is lawful booty.\u201d[62]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [62] _Lagniappe_, a word familiar to every child in New Orleans,\n  signifies the little present given to purchasers of groceries,\n  provisions, fruit, or other goods sold at retail stores. Groceries,\n  especially, seek to rival each other in the attractive qualities of\n  their _lagniappe_; consisting of candies, fruits, biscuits, little\n  fancy cakes, etc. The chief purpose is to attract children. The little\n  one sent for a pound of butter, or \u201ca dime\u2019s worth\u201d of sugar, never\n  fails to ask for its _lagniappe_.\n\n158. Laguer v\u00eati pas ka pouend vi\u00e9x n\u00e8gues nans cabarets. (La guerre\navertie ne prend pas de vieux n\u00e9gres dans les cabarets.)\n\n  \u201cThreatened war doesn\u2019t surprise old negroes in the\n  grog-shops.\u201d[63]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [63] Proverbs 158-9 are equivalent to our \u201cForewarned is forearmed.\u201d\n\n159. * Laguerre vertie pas tchu\u00e9 beaucoup soldats. (La guerre avertie ne\ntue pas beaucoup de soldats.)\n\n  \u201cThreatened war doesn\u2019t kill many soldiers.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n160. Lakh\u00e9 bef dit: Temps all\u00e9, temps vini. (La queue du b\u0153uf dit: Le\ntemps s\u2019en va, le temps revient.)\n\n  \u201cThe ox\u2019s tail says: Time goes, time comes.\u201d[64]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [64] See Proverb 22. Whether the swing of the tail suggested the idea\n  of a _pendulum_ to the deviser of this saying is doubtful. The meaning\n  seems to me that the motion of the ox\u2019s tail indicates a change not of\n  time, but of _weather_ (_temps_).\n\n161. Lalangue napas l\u00e9zos. (La langue n\u2019a pas d\u2019os).\n\n  \u201cThe tongue has no bones.\u201d This proverb has various applications. One\n  of the best alludes to promises or engagements made with the secret\n  determination not to keep them.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n162. * Lamis\u00e8re \u00e0 deux, Mis\u00e8re et Compagnie. (La mis\u00e8re \u00e0 deux, c\u2019est\nMis\u00e8re et Compagnie.)\n\n  \u201cMisery for two, is Misery & Co.\u201d[65]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [65] Refers especially to a man who marries without having made proper\n  provision for the future. The Creole does not believe in our reckless\n  proverb: \u201cWhat will keep one, will keep two.\u201d _Non, non, ch\u00e8r,\n  lamis\u00e8re \u00e0 deux, Mis\u00e8re & Cie.!_\n\n163. Lapauvet\u00e9 napas \u00e9ne vis, m\u00e9s li \u00e9ne bien gros coulou. (La pauvret\u00e9\nn\u2019est pas une vis [un vice]; mais c\u2019est un bien gros clou.)\n\n  \u201cPoverty isn\u2019t a screw; but it\u2019s a very big nail.\u201d The pun will be\n  obvious to a French reader; but _vice_ is not a true Creole word,\n  according to Baissac.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n164. Lapin dit: Bou\u00e9 toutt, mang\u00e9 toutt, pas dit toutt. (Le lapin dit:\nBuvez tout, mangez tout, ne dites pas tout.)\n\n  \u201cRabbit says: Drink everything, eat everything, but don\u2019t tell\n  everything.\u201d[66]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [66] Founded upon a celebrated Creole fable: see Prov. 40 (_note_).\n\n165. Laplie tomb\u00e9, couroupas va sourti. (La pluie tombe, les colima\u00e7ons\nvent sortir.)\n\n  \u201cIt is raining; snails will be out presently.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n166. * Laplie tomb\u00e9, ouaouaron chant\u00e9. (Quand la pluie va tomber, les\ngrenouilles chantent.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the rain is coming, the bull-frogs sing.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n167. Laqu\u00e9e bourique napas laqu\u00e9e \u00e7ouval. (Une queue d\u2019\u00e2ne n\u2019est pas une\nqueue de cheval.)\n\n  \u201cA donkey\u2019s tail is not a horse\u2019s tail.\u201d Can\u2019t make a silk purse out\n  of a sow\u2019s ear.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n168. Larzan bon, m\u00e9s li trop c\u00e8re. (L\u2019argent est bon, mais il est trop\ncher.)\n\n  \u201cMoney\u2019s good; but it\u2019s too dear.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n169. Larzan napas trouv\u00e9 dans lipied milet. (L\u2019argent ne se trouve pas\ndans le pied d\u2019un mulet.)\n\n  \u201cMoney isn\u2019t to be found in a mule\u2019s hoof.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n170. Larzan napas \u00e9na famille. (L\u2019argent n\u2019a pas de famille.)\n\n  \u201cMoney has no blood relations.\u201d--There is no friendship in\n  business.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n171. * La-tch\u00e9 chatte pouss\u00e9 avec temps. (La queue du chat pousse avec\nle temps.)\n\n  \u201cThe cat\u2019s tail takes time to grow.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n172. Lep\u00e9 dit aim\u00e9 ous pendant li ronge doighte ous. (La l\u00e9pre dit\nqu\u2019elle vous aime pendant qu\u2019elle vous ronge les doigts.)\n\n  \u201cThe leprosy says it loves you, while it is eating your\n  fingers.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n173. L\u2019h\u00e9re coq \u00e7ant\u00e9, li bon pour mari\u00e9. (Quand le coq chante, il est\nbon \u00e0 marier.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the cock begins to crow, he is old enough to get\n  married.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n174. Lh\u00e9re lamontagne bourl\u00e9, tout dimounde con\u00e9; lh\u00e9re l\u00e9qu\u00e9re bourl\u00e9,\nqui con\u00e9? (Quand la montagne br\u00fble, tout le monde le sait; quand le c\u0153ur\nbr\u00fble, qui le sait?)\n\n  \u201cWhen the mountain burns, everybody knows it; when the heart burns,\n  who knows it?\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n175. Li all\u00e9 l\u2019ecole cabritt, li ritoun\u00e9 mouton. (Il est all\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9cole\n[comme un] cabri; il est revenu mouton.)\n\n  \u201cHe went to school a kid, and came back a sheep.\u201d[67]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [67] The allusion to the overgrown and shy schoolboy, who has lost the\n  mischievous playfulness of his childhood, is easily recognizable.\n  Creole planters of the Antilles generally sent their sons to Europe to\n  be educated.\n\n176. Li fine vend\u00e9 so co\u00e7on. (Il a vendu son cochon.)\n\n  \u201cHe has sold his pig.\u201d[68]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [68] Said of one who unexpectedly disburses a considerable sum, or who\n  spends more money than his visible resources admit of.\n\n177. Li la\u00e7asse zozos pariaca. (Il chasse aux oiseaux \u00e0 paliaca.)\n\n  \u201cHe\u2019s hunting paliaca-birds.\u201d[69]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [69] _Paliaca_ is the Mauritian term for the brightly-colored kerchief\n  there worn by all young negresses in lieu of hats or bonnets, like the\n  old time Louisiana _tiyon_. \u201cHe is hunting for paliaca-birds\u201d\n  therefore means, \u201cHe is running after the colored girls.\u201d\n\n178. Li manque lagale pour gratt\u00e9. (Il [ne] manque [que] de gale pour se\ngratter. [Lit. In good French: Il ne lui manque que la gale, etc.])\n\n  \u201cHe only wants the itch so that he may scratch himself.\u201d Said of a man\n  who has all that his heart can wish for.[70]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [70] We have a singular expression in Louisiana: \u201c_Li mett\u00e9 mantec\n  dans so faillots._ (He puts lard in his beans.\u201d) That is to say, \u201cHe\n  is well off.\u201d _Mantec_ is a Creolised form of the Spanish _manteca_,\n  used in Spanish-America to signify lard.\n\n179. Li pour mari\u00e9; m\u00e9s qulquefois bague mariaze glisse dans l\u00e9doight.\n(Il doit se marier; mais quelquefois la bague de mariage glisse du\ndoigt.)\n\n  \u201cHe is to be married, they say; but sometimes the marriage-ring slips\n  from one\u2019s finger.\u201d[71]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [71] \u201cThere\u2019s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.\u201d\n\n180. Li soule bontemps. (Il se so\u00fble de bon temps.)\n\n  \u201cHe is drunk with doing nothing.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n181. Liane yame ka marr\u00e9 yame. (La liane du yam lie [lit. amarre] le\nyam.)\n\n  \u201cThe yam-vine ties the yam.\u201d[72]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [72] In Martinique Creole the proverb is: _C\u00f2de gn\u00e2me marr\u00e9 gn\u00e2me._\n  \u201cCode\u201d (_corde_) signifying the same as _liane_, the long cord-like\n  stalk of the creeper. Folks are sometimes caught fast in the snares\n  they set for others, just as the yam is tied with its own stalk.\n\n182. Lilit pour d\u00e9 napas lilet pour trois. (Un lit pour deux n\u2019est pas\nun lit pour trois.)\n\n  \u201cA bed for two isn\u2019t a bed for three.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n183. Lizi\u00e9 napas \u00e9na balizaze. (Les yeux n\u2019ont pas de fronti\u00e8re.)[73]\n\n  \u201cEyes have no boundary.\u201d Equivalent to the English saying: \u201cA cat may\n  look at a king.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [73] The Mauritian Creoles have adopted a marine word in lieu of the\n  French term _fronti\u00e8re_. \u201cBalizaze\u201d is the Creole form of the French\n  _balisage_, from _balise_, a sea mark, buoy--word adopted in our own\n  nautical technology. The term completely changes its meaning as well\n  as its spelling in Creole.\n\n184. Macaque caresser iche li touop, l\u00ec fourrer do\u00e8gt nans ziex li. (Le\nmacaque, en caressant trop son petit, lui a fourr\u00e9 le doigt dans l\u2019\u0153il.)\n\n  \u201cBy petting her young one too much, the monkey ends by poking her\n  finger into its eye.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n185. * Macaque dan calebasse. (Le macaque dans la calebasse.)\n\n  \u201cMonkey in the calabash.\u201d[74]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [74] Allusion to the old fable about the monkey, who after putting his\n  hand easily into the orifice of a gourd, could not withdraw it without\n  letting go what he sought to steal from within, and so got caught. In\n  the figurative Creole speech one who allows his passions to ruin or\n  disgrace him is a _macaque dans calebasse_.\n\n186. * Macaque dit si so croupion plim\u00e9 \u00e7as pas g\u00e0d\u00e9 lezautt. (Le\nmacaque dit que si son croupion est plum\u00e9, \u00e7a ne r\u00e9garde pas les\nautres.)\n\n  \u201cMonkey says if his rump is bare, it\u2019s nobody\u2019s\n  business.\u201d[75]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [75] Allusion to the callosities of the monkey. Plim\u00e9 literally means\n  \u201cplucked;\u201d but the Creole negroes use it to signify \u201cbare\u201d from any\n  cause. A negro in rags might use the above proverb as a hint to those\n  who wish to joke him about his personal appearance.\n\n187. * Macaque pas jamain ka d\u00eee \u00ecche li laide. (Le macaque ne dit\njamais que son petit est laid.)\n\n  \u201cMonkey never says its young is ugly.\u201d[76]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [76] A widely-spread proverb. In Louisiana we say _piti li_ or _so\n  piti_, instead of \u201cyche\u201d or \u201ciche li.\u201d In Martinique Creole: _Macaque\n  pas janmain trouve yche li laide._\n\n188. Macaque save qui bois li mont\u00e9; li pas mont\u00e9 zaurang\u00e9. (Le macaque\nsait sur quel arbre il doit monter; il ne monte pas sur l\u2019oranger.)\n\n  \u201cThe monkey well knows what tree to climb; he doesn\u2019t climb an orange\n  tree.\u201d[77]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [77] Because the orange tree is thorny.\n\n189. Magr\u00e9 s\u00e8pent ni ti zi\u00e8 li ka vou\u00e9 cl\u00e8 bien. (Bien que le serpent\nait de petits yeux, il voit tr\u00e8s-clair.)\n\n  \u201cThough the serpent has little eyes, he sees very\n  well.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n190. Maite cabrite mand\u00e9 li; ous pas capabe di li plainda. (Le ma\u00eetre du\ncabrit le demande; vous ne pouvez pas vous en plaindre.)\n\n  \u201cThe kid\u2019s owner asks for it; you can\u2019t blame him.\u201d[78]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [78] Mr. Bigelow, in _Harper\u2019s Magazine_, explains the use of this\n  proverb by a creditor to a debtor.\n\n191. Maladie vine l\u00e0haut i\u00e9ve; li alle l\u00e0haut tourtie. (La maladie vient\nsur le li\u00e8vre; elle part [s\u2019en va] sur la tortue.)\n\n  \u201cSickness comes riding upon a hare; but goes away riding upon a\n  tortoise.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n192. Mal h\u00e9 pas ka ch\u00e2ger con lapli\u00e8. (Lit: Le malheur ne se charge pas\ncomme la pluie.)\n\n  \u201cMisfortune doesn\u2019t threaten like rain.\u201d[79]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [79] _Le temps se charge_, in French signifies that it is clouding up,\n  threatening rain--lit: \u201cloading up.\u201d Misfortune does not threaten\n  before it falls.\n\n193. Mamans ka fair iches, main pas kh\u00e8rs yeaux. (Les m\u00e8res font les\nenfants, mais non pas leurs c\u0153urs.)\n\n  \u201cMothers make children; but not children\u2019s hearts.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n194. Manger yon fois pas ka r\u00ecser dents. (Manger une fois n\u2019use pas les\ndents.)\n\n  \u201cEating once doesn\u2019t wear out the teeth.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n195. Mari napas trouv\u00e9 dans v\u00e9tiv\u00e9re. (Un mari ne se trouve pas dans le\nv\u00e9tiver.)\n\n  \u201cYou won\u2019t find a husband in the _vetiver_.\u201d[80]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [80] The delightfully fragrant grass, well-known to pharmaceutists as\n  the _Andropogon muricatus_ or _Vetiveria odorata_ is used in Mauritius\n  to thatch cabins with. A broad border of this grass is usually planted\n  around each square of sugar-cane. It grows tall enough to conceal a\n  man, or a couple of lovers holding a rendezvous. Hence the wholesome\n  warning.\n\n196. Mariaze napas pariaze; m\u00e9naze napas badinaze. (Le mariage n\u2019est pas\nun pari; le m\u00e9nage n\u2019est pas un badinage.)\n\n  \u201cMarriage is no trifling wager, and housekeeping is no\n  sport.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n197. Mari\u00e9 \u00e9ne bout\u00e9ye vide. (Epouser une bouteille vide.)\n\n  \u201cMarry an empty bottle.\u201d--Meaning to marry a girl without a\n  dowry.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n198. * Maringouin perdi so temps quand li piqu\u00e9 ca\u00efman. (Le maringoin\nperd son temps quand il pique le ca\u00efman.)\n\n  \u201cThe mosquito loses his time when he tries to sting the\n  alligator.\u201d[81]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [81] Ripost to a threat--as we would say: \u201cAll that has as little\n  effect on me as water on a duck\u2019s back!\u201d\n\n199. Marr\u00e9 conm yon paqu\u00e9 crabe. (Amarr\u00e9 comme un paquet de crabes.)\n\n  \u201cTangled up, or tied up, like a bundle of crabs.\u201d--Said of people\n  notoriously clumsy.[82]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [82] Anyone who has ever seen a heap of live crabs in a basket, will\n  comprehend the fun of this saying--intimating that the sinews of the\n  gawkish person are tangled up as hopelessly as crabs in a\n  market-basket.\n\n200. M\u00e9gue coment \u00e7atte qui manze l\u00e9rats-misqu\u00e9. (Maigre comme un chat\nqui mange des rats musqu\u00e9s.)\n\n  \u201cThin as a cat that lives on musk-rats.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n201. M\u00eame baton qui batte chein nou\u00e8r-l\u00e0, p\u00e9 batte chein blanc-l\u00e0. (Le\nm\u00eame b\u00e2ton qui bat le chien noir peut battre le chien blanc.)\n\n  \u201cThe same stick that beats the black dog can beat the\n  white.\u201d[83]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [83] As one should observe: \u201cI\u2019ve whipped better men than you.\u201d\n\n202. Menti \u00e7a pas si mal conm pal\u00e9 mal moun. (Le mensonge n\u2019est pas si\nmauvais que de parler mal des autres.)\n\n  \u201cLying isn\u2019t as bad as speaking badly about people.\u201d--Lying is less\n  wicked than calumny.--[_Martinique._]\n\n203. * Merci pas cout\u00e9 arien. (\u201cMerci\u201d ne co\u00fbte rien.)\n\n  \u201cThanks cost nothing.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n204. * Mett\u00e9 mil\u00e2te enhaut choual, li va d\u00ee n\u00e9gresse pas so maman.\n(Mettez un mul\u00e2tre [en haut] sur un cheval--il [va dire] dira qu\u2019une\nn\u00e9gresse n\u2019est pas sa maman.)\n\n  \u201cJust put a mulatto on horseback, and he\u2019ll tell you his mother wasn\u2019t\n  a negress.\u201d[84]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [84] I usually give but one example of a proverb when it occurs in\n  several dialects; but the Martinique form of this proverb is too\n  amusing to omit. See Prov. 267.\n\n205. Mi\u00e9 vaut mang\u00e9 lamori ou, qu\u2019codeinne leszautt. (Il vaut mieux de\nmanger [de] la morue [qui est] \u00e0 vous que le coq-d\u2019Inde aux autres.)\n\n  \u201cBetter to eat one\u2019s own codfish than another person\u2019s\n  turkey-cock.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n206. Milatt ka batt, cabritt ka m\u00f2. (Les mul\u00e2tres se battent, ce sont\nles cabrits qui meurent.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the mulattoes get to fighting, the goats get\n  killed.\u201d[85]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [85] The feeling of the black to the mulatto is likewise revealed in\n  the following dicton:--N\u00e8gue p\u00f2t\u00e9 ma\u00efs dans so lapoche pou vol\u00e9\n  poule;--milatt p\u00f2t\u00e9 cordon dans so lapoche pou vol\u00e9 choual;--nhomme\n  blanc p\u00f2t\u00e9 larzan dans so lapoche pou tromp\u00e9 fille. (Le n\u00e8gre porte du\n  ma\u00efs dans sa poche pour voler des poules;--le mul\u00e2tre porte un cordon\n  dans sa poche pour voler des chevaux;--l\u2019homme blanc porte de l\u2019argent\n  dans sa poche pour tromper les filles.)\n\n  \u201cThe negro carries corn in his pocket to [help him to] steal chickens;\n  the mulatto carries a rope in his pocket to steal horses; the white\n  man carries money in his pocket to deceive girls.\u201d--[Louisiana.]\n\n207. Mis\u00e8 f\u00e8 macaque mang\u00e9 piment. (La mis\u00e8re force le macaque \u00e0 manger\ndu piment.)\n\n  \u201cMisery makes the monkey eat red pepper.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n208. * \u201cMo bien comm mo y\u00e9,\u201d parole rare. (\u201cJe me trouve bien comme je\nsuis\u201d--ces sont des paroles rares.)\n\n  \u201c\u2018I\u2019m well enough as I am,\u2019 are words one doesn\u2019t often\n  hear.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n209. * Mo va pas pr\u00eat\u00e9 vous b\u00e2ton pou cass\u00e9 mo lat\u00eate. (Je ne vais vous\npr\u00eater un b\u00e2ton pour me casser la t\u00eate.)\n\n  \u201cI\u2019m not going to lend you a stick to break my head\n  with.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n210. Moin ainmein plis yon balaou j\u00f2di l\u00e0 qu\u2019taza dimain. (J\u2019aime mieux\nun balaou aujourd\u2019hui qu\u2019un tazard demain.)\n\n  \u201cI\u2019d rather have horn-fish to-day, than mackerel\n  to-morrow.\u201d[86]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [86] \u201cA bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.\u201d The translation is\n  not literal. The _tazard_ or _thazard_, although belonging to the\n  scomber family, is not a true mackerel. _Balaou_ is one Creole name\n  for _l\u2019aiguillette de mer_, hornfish [?].\n\n211. Moin pas ka prend dith\u00e9 pou fi\u00e8ve li. (Je ne veux pas prendre du\nth\u00e9 pour sa fi\u00e8vre.)\n\n  \u201cI don\u2019t propose to drink tea for his fever.\u201d[87]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [87] Or better still: \u201cI don\u2019t intend to drink tea just because he has\n  the fever.\u201d In other words, \u201cI don\u2019t intend to bother myself with\n  other people\u2019s troubles.\u201d....The tea referred to is one of those old\n  Creole preparations taken during fevers--the _tisanes_ of the black\n  nurses: perhaps the cooling sassafras, or orange-leaf tea administered\n  to sufferers from _dengue_ in New Orleans.\n\n212. Montagnes zam\u00e9s zoinde, domounde zoinde. (Les montagnes ne se\nrencontrent jamais, les hommes se rencontrent.)\n\n  \u201cMountains, only, never meet; men meet.\u201d--We are certain to encounter\n  friends and enemies under the most unlikely\n  circumstances.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n213. Mounn ou\u00e8 d\u00e9faut les-zautt, yo pas ni zi\u00e9 pou ta yo. (Les gens\nvoient les d\u00e9fauts des autres, ils n\u2019ont pas d\u2019yeux pour les leurs.)\n\n  \u201cFolks see the faults of others; they have no eyes for their\n  own.\u201d[88]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [88] This proverb, not being of true Creole origin, receives a place\n  here as an illustration of effective patois. In Louisiana we never say\n  _ta yo_, but _so quenne_....Were all proverbs used by the\n  Creole-speaking people included in this collection, it would be\n  considerably longer. Nearly all familiar English proverbs have\n  received Creole adoption, with slight modifications; for example,\n  instead of \u201cputting the cart before the horse,\u201d the Mauritian negro\n  _mette \u00e7arette divant mil\u00e9t_, puts the cart before the _mule_--an\n  animal with which he is more familiar.\n\n214. Moustique pitit; m\u00e9s lh\u00e9re li \u00e7ant\u00e9 vous zor\u00e9ye plein. (Le\nmoustique est petit; mais quand il chante, votre oreille en est pleine.)\n\n  \u201cThe mosquito is little; but when he sings, your ears are full of\n  him.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n215. Napas \u00e9na fromaze qui napas trouve so macathia. (Il n\u2019y a pas de\nfromage qui ne trouve son pain bis.)\n\n  \u201cThere\u2019s no cheese but what can find brown bread.\u201d[89]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [89] That is to say, whoever has a bit of cheese can always find a bit\n  of brown bread to eat with it. There never was a girl so ugly that she\n  could not find a husband.\n\n216. Napas r\u00e9mi\u00e9 fimi\u00e9 sec. (Ne remuez pas le fumier sec.)\n\n  \u201cDon\u2019t stir up dry manure.\u201d--Said to those who desire to resurrect\n  forgotten scandal.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n217. Napas vous sangsie qui a mont\u00e9 l\u00e0haut moi. (Ce n\u2019est pas votre\nsangsue qui montera sur moi.)\n\n  \u201cYour leech isn\u2019t going to climb on me.\u201d That is: you shan\u2019t take\n  advantage of me.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n218. Napas vous laliane darzent qui a mont\u00e9 l\u00e0haut mo tonelle. (Ce n\u2019est\npas votre liane d\u2019argent qui montera sur ma tonnelle.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t your silver creeper that is going to climb over my summer\n  house.\u201d[90]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [90] Said by young girls to those whose advances are disagreeable.\n  _Kh\u00e8 lanmou pas ka saut\u00e9_ (\u201cheart-of-love does not yet leap\u201d) would be\n  the more polite response of a Martinique girl.\n\n219. * Napas zou\u00e9 av dif\u00e9; wou a boul\u00e9 vous \u00e7imise. (Ne jouez pas avec\nle feu; vous vous br\u00fblerez la chemise.)\n\n  \u201cPlay with the fire and you\u2019ll burn your shirt.\u201d This proverb appears\n  to be current wherever any form of the patois\n  prevails.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n220. N\u00eeon doight pas jamain mang\u00e9 calalou. (Avec un seul doigt on ne\npeut jamais manger du calalou.)\n\n  \u201cYou can\u2019t eat calalou with one finger.\u201d[91]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [91] The West Indian _calalou_ is made almost precisely like our\n  _gombo_-soup. The word is of African origin according to Turiault.\n\n221. Nhomme mort, zh\u00e8bes ka lever douvant lap\u00f4te li. ([Quand] un homme\n[est] mort, l\u2019herbe pousse [lit.: s\u2019\u00e9l\u00e8ve] devant sa porte.)\n\n  \u201cWhen a man is dead, the grass grows tall before his\n  door.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n222. Nououi chouval pou baille zoffici\u00e9 mont\u00e9. (Nourir des chevaux pour\nles donner \u00e0 monter aux officiers.)\n\n  \u201cFeed horses for officers to ride.\u201d To be the victim of one\u2019s own\n  foolish liberality.--[_Martinique._]\n\n223. * O\u00eemso souli\u00e9 sav\u00e9 si bas tini trou. (Le soulier seul sait si le\nbas a un trou.)\n\n  \u201cThe shoe only knows whether the stockings have\n  holes.\u201d[92]--[_Guyane._]\n\n  [92] In the Martinique dialect it is: _C\u2019est souli\u00e9 qui save si bas\n  tini trou_. In the Trinidad patois: _C\u00e9 soulier tout-s\u00e9l qui save si\n  bas tini trou_ (Thomas). In Louisiana Creole: _C\u2019est soulier nek\n  connin si bas gagnin trou_. \u201cNek,\u201d compound from French _ne ...\n  que_--\u201conly.\u201d\n\n224. Oti tini zos tini chien. (O\u00f9 il y a des os il y a des chiens.)\n\n  \u201cWherever there are bones, there are dogs.\u201d Meaning that when one is\n  rich, one has plenty of friends.--[_Martinique._]\n\n225. Ou fach\u00e9 avec gan chemin, que c\u00f4t\u00e9 ou va pass\u00e9? (Vous vous fachez\navec le grand chemin, de quel c\u00f4t\u00e9 irez-vouz?)\n\n  \u201cIf you get angry with the high road, what way will you\n  go?\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n226. Ou fait semblant mourir, moin fait semblant enterrer ou. (Faites\nsemblant de mourir, et moi je ferai semblant de vous enterrer.)\n\n  \u201cYou pretend to die; and I\u2019ll pretend to bury you.\u201d[93]--[_Hayti._]\n\n  [93] Said to those who relate improbable stories of woe.\n\n227. Ou saut\u00e9, ou tomb\u00e9 la menme. (Vous sautez, vouz tombez tout de\nm\u00eame.)\n\n  \u201cYou jump, but you come down all the same.\u201d[94]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [94] Just so high as you jump, so great the fall. The higher our\n  ambition, the greater the peril of failure.\n\n228. * O\u00f9 y\u2019en a charogne, y\u2019en a carencro. (O\u00f9 il a charogne, il y a\ndes busards.)\n\n  \u201cWherever there\u2019s carrion, there are buzzards.\u201d[95]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [95] This is one of several instances of the Creole adoption of\n  English words. The name \u201ccarrion-crow\u201d has been applied to the buzzard\n  in Louisiana from an early period of its American history.\n\n229. Ous p\u00f4ncor travesser l\u00e4iv\u00ef\u00e8r;--pas jirez maman ca\u00efman. (Vous n\u2019avez\npas encore travers\u00e9 la rivi\u00e8re--ne jurez [maudissez] pas la maman du\nca\u00efman.)\n\n  \u201cYou haven\u2019t crossed the river yet; don\u2019t curse at the crocodile\u2019s\n  mother.\u201d[96]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [96] \u201cDon\u2019t halloo till you\u2019re out of the wood!\u201d\n\n230. Padon pas ka gu\u00e9ri bosse. (\u201cPardon\u201d ne gu\u00e9rit pas la bosse.)\n\n  \u201cAsking pardon doesn\u2019t cure the bump.\u201d[97]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [97] In the Creole of Guyana this proverb exists in a very curious\n  form: _Ago pa gu\u00e9ri maleng_.--\u201cthe excuse doesn\u2019t cure the hurt.\u201d M.\n  Alfred de Saint-Quentin in his work upon this remarkably fantastic and\n  melodious Creole dialect, says that _Ago_ is the only word of purely\n  African origin he has been able to find in the Guyana patois. On the\n  Gold coast _ago_! is a warning cry: \u201cTake care!--clear the way!\u201d The\n  Guyana slaves retained the word in a different sense. The negro who\n  accidentally jostles anybody, still exclaims _Ago!_--but it now means\n  \u201cBeg pardon,\u201d or \u201cExcuse me!\u201d\n\n231. P\u00e2l\u00e9r pas rim\u00e8de. (Parler n\u2019est pas un rem\u00e9de.)\n\n  \u201cTalking is no remedy.\u201d In Creole the word signifies medicine as well\n  as _remedy_.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n232. P\u00e2ler touop ka lever chein nans d\u00f4mi. (Trop parler [c\u2019est ce qui]\n\u00e9veille le chien endormi.)\n\n  \u201cTalking too much arouses the dog from sleep.\u201d[98]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [98] Talking too freely about our projects helps our enemies to thwart\n  our hopes.\n\n233. P\u00e2o\u00fboles pas tini coul\u00e8r. (Les paroles n\u2019ont pas de couleur.)\n\n  \u201cWords have no color.\u201d--This is generally said to people who stare a\n  speaker out of countenance.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n234. P\u00e2o\u00fboles pas cout\u00e9 cher. (Les paroles ne co\u00fbtent pas cher.)\n\n  \u201cWords are cheap.\u201d In Martinique the phrase is _Pao\u00fb\u00f2les pas ch\u00e2ge_:\n  (\u201cWords are no weight to carry.\u201d)--[_Trinidad._]\n\n235. * Parole trop fort, machoir gonfl\u00e9. (Par la parole trop forte, la\nmachoir est gonfl\u00e9e.)\n\n  \u201cBy talking too loud the jaw becomes swelled.\u201d[99]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [99] Literally: \u201cWord too strong, jaw swelled up.\u201d Seems to imply the\n  _indirect_ rather than the direct consequence of using violent\n  language--viz., a severe beating from the person abused.\n\n236. Pas f\u00f4te langue qui fair bef pas sa p\u00e2ler. (Ce n\u2019est pas \u00e0 faute de\nlangue que le b\u0153uf ne sait pas parler.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t for want of tongue that the ox can\u2019t talk.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n237. Pas jou\u2019 moin bien chang\u00e9, moin ka rencontr\u00e9 n\u00e9nneine moins. (Ce\nn\u2019est pas le jour que je suis bien chang\u00e9 que je vais rencontrer ma\nmarraine.)\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t on the day I am greatly changed\u201d [when I am most\n  unfortunate] \u201cthat I am going to meet my godmother.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n238. Pas menme jou ou mang\u00e9 t\u00e8 ou vini enfl\u00e9. (Ce n\u2019est pas le m\u00eame jour\nque vous mangez que vous vous trouvez enfl\u00e9).\n\n  \u201cIt isn\u2019t the same day you eat that you find yourself puffed\n  up.\u201d[100]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [100] That is to say that the worst results of folly do not always\n  manifest themselves when expected.\n\n239. Pauve moune bail d\u00e9jeuner nans quior. (Les pauvres gens vous\ndonnent \u00e0 d\u00e9jeuner dans leurs c\u0153urs).\n\n  \u201cPoor folks give breakfast with their hearts.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n240. * Pis faibe toujou tini t\u00f2. (Le plus faible a toujours tort).\n\n  \u201cThe weakest is always in the wrong.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n241. * Piti \u00e0 piti, zozo fait son nid. (Petit \u00e0 petit, l\u2019oiseau fait son\nnid.)\n\n  \u201cLittle by little the bird builds its nest.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n242. Piti pas co\u00fbt\u00e9 so moman, li ka mori gran sol\u00e9 midi. (Petit qui\nn\u2019\u00e9coute pas sa maman meurt au grand soleil de midi).\n\n  \u201cLittle boy who won\u2019t listen to his mother dies under the noonday\n  sun.\u201d[101]--[_Guyana._]\n\n  [101] All Creole mothers are careful to keep their children from\n  reckless play in the sun, which is peculiarly treacherous in those\n  latitudes where the dialect is spoken. Hence the proverb, applicable\n  to any circumstance in which good advice is reluctantly received.\n\n243. Plis vaut mi\u00e9 vous pitit gagne larhime qui vous arrace son nez. (Il\nvaut mieux laisser votre enfant morveux que de lui arracher le nez).\n\n  \u201cBetter let your child be snotty, than pull his nose\n  off.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n244. Pou manje, tou bon; pou p\u00e2l\u00e9 pas tou parole. (Pour manger, tout est\nbon; pour parler, pas toute parole).\n\n  \u201cAnything is good enough to eat; but every word is not good enough to\n  be spoken.\u201d[102]--[_Guyane._]\n\n  [102] In the Martinique dialect: _Toutt mang\u00e9, toutt paaule pas bon\n  pou di._--[_Turiault._]\n\n245. Poule pas ka vant\u00e9 bouillon yo. (Les poules ne vantent pas leur\n[propre] bouillon.)\n\n  \u201cThe chickens don\u2019t brag about their own soup;\u201d i.e.\n  _chicken-soup_.--[_Martinique._]\n\n246. Poule qui \u00e7ant\u00e9 \u00e7a m\u00e9me qui fine pond\u00e9. (La poule qui chante est\ncelle-l\u00e0 m\u00eame qui a pondu).\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the cackling hen that has laid the egg.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n247. Poule qui f\u00e9re d\u00e8[103] diz\u00e8fs zam\u00e9s touy\u00e9. (La poule qui fait deux\n\u0153ufs n\u2019est jamais tu\u00e9e).\n\n  \u201cThe hen that lays two eggs is never killed.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [103] The sound of the French _eu_ is rarely preserved in Creole.\n  _L\u2019heure_ becomes _lh\u00e8re_; _peu_, becomes _p\u00e8_. The Creole-speaking\n  negro says, _Yonne_, _d\u00e9_, _tois_, _quate_, _n\u00e8f_, instead of \u201cun,\n  deux, trois, quatre, neuf.\u201d\n\n248. * Pranne garde vaut mi\u00e8 pass\u00e9 mand\u00e9 pardon. (Prendre garde vaut\nmieux que demander pardon.)\n\n  \u201cIt is better to take care beforehand than to ask pardon\n  afterward.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n249. Ptit lasoif ptit coco, grand lasoif grand coco. (Petite soif, petit\ncoco; grande soif, grand coco.)\n\n  \u201cLittle thirst, a little cocoa-nut; big thirst, a big\n  cocoa-nut.\u201d[104]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [104] Like the old country saying: \u201cBig horse, big feed.\u201d The\n  cocoa-nut shell was formerly the slave\u2019s drinking cup in Mauritius.\n\n250. Ptit mie tombe, ramass\u00e9 li; Chr\u00e9tien tombe, pas ramass\u00e9 li. (Quand\nune petite mie tombe, on la ramasse; quand un Chr\u00e9tien tombe, on ne le\nramasse pas [i.e., on ne l\u2019aide pas \u00e0 se relever].)\n\n  \u201cIf a little crumb falls, it is picked up; if a Christian falls, he is\n  not picked up.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n251. * Quand bois tomb\u00e9, cabri mont\u00e9. (Quand l\u2019arbre tombe, le cabri\nmonte.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the tree falls, the kid can climb it.\u201d--[105][_Louisiana._]\n\n  [105] This saying has quite a variety of curious applications. The\n  last time I heard it, a Creole negress was informing me that the\n  master of the house in which she worked was lying at the point of\n  death: \u201c_pauve diabe!_\u201d I asked after the health of her mistress.\n  \u201c_Ah! Madame se porte bien; mais .\u00a0.\u00a0. quand bois tomb\u00e9 cabri mont\u00e9_,\u201d\n  she replied, half in French, half in her own patois; signifying that\n  after the husband\u2019s death, wife and children would find themselves\n  reduced to destitution.\n\n252. Quand boudin m\u00f2d\u00e8, c\u00e9 pas \u00e9pi bell plimm[106] yo ka plein li.\n(Quand le ventre crie, ce n\u2019est pas avec de beaux habits qu\u2019on le\nremplit.)\n\n  \u201cWhen your stomach gnaws you, it isn\u2019t with fine clothes that you can\n  fill it.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [106] Literally \u201cfeathers\u201d--\u201c_plimm_,\u201d _plumes_. Adopted from a Creole\n  version of one of Lafontaine\u2019s fables.\n\n253. * Quand boyaux grogn\u00e9, bel \u00e9vite pas fait y\u00e9 p\u00e9. (Quand les boyaux\ngrognent, un bel habit ne leur fait pas se taire; lit., ne leur fait pas\npaix.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the bowels growl a fine coat won\u2019t make them hold their\n  peace.\u201d[107]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [107] The words _p\u00e8_, _p\u00e9_, in Creole are distinguishable only by\n  their accentuation. _Peur_ (fear); _peu_ (a little); _paix_ (peace, or\n  \u201chush\u201d); _peut_ (can), all take the form _p\u00e8_ or _p\u00e9_ in various\n  Creole dialects. _Ipas ni p\u00e8 s\u00e9pent_: \u201che is not afraid of snakes.\u201d\n  Sometimes one can guess the meaning only by the context, as in the\n  Martinique saying: _P\u00e8 bef p\u00e8 caca bef_. \u201cFew oxen, little ox-dung;\u201d\n  i.e. \u201clittle money, little trouble.\u201d The use of \u201c_p\u00e8_\u201d for _p\u00e8re_\n  (father), reminds us of a curious note in the Creole studies of the\n  brothers Saint-Quentin (See BIBLIOGRAPHY). In the forests of Guiana\n  there is a bird whose song much resembles that of our Louisiana\n  mocking-bird, but which is far more sonorous and solemn. The Creole\n  negroes call it ZOZO MONP\u00c9 (_l\u2019oiseau mon-p\u00e8re_), lit., \u201cThe my-father\n  bird.\u201d Now _monp\u00e8_ is the Creole name for a priest; as if we should\n  say \u201ca my-father\u201d instead of \u201ca priest.\u201d The bird\u2019s song, powerful,\n  solemn, far-echoing through the great aisles of the woods by night,\n  suggested the chant of a _monp\u00e8_, a \u201cghostly father;\u201d and its name\n  might be freely translated by \u201cthe priest-bird.\u201d\n\n254. Quand cannari pas bou\u00ef pou ou, ou don\u00e8 janmain d\u00e9couvri li. (Quand\nle p\u00f4t ne bout pas pour vous, vous ne devez jamais le d\u00e9couvrir.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the pot won\u2019t boil for you, you must never take the lid\n  off.\u201d[108]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [108] \u201cWatched pot never boils.\u201d The _canari_ was a clay pot as the\n  following Creole refrain testifies:\n\n    Ya pas bouillon pou vous, macomm\u00e8re;\n        Canari cass\u00e9 dans dif\u00e9 (bis).\n        Bouillon renv\u00e8rs\u00e9 dans dif\u00e9\n    Ya pas bouillon pou vous, macomm\u00e8re\n        Canari cass\u00e9 dans dif\u00e9.\n\n  [\u201cThere\u2019s no soup for you, my gossipping friend; the pot\u2019s broken in\n  the fire; the soup is spilled in the fire,\u201d etc.]\n\n255. Quand canon caus\u00e9, fisil hont\u00e9. (Quand le canon parle, le fusil a\nhonte.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the cannon speaks, the gun is ashamed.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n256. Quand diabe alle lamesse li caci\u00e9tte so laqu\u00e9e. (Quand le diable va\n\u00e0 la messe, il cache sa queue.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the Devil goes to mass he hides his tail.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n257. Quand diabe voul\u00e9 prend vous li cause bondi\u00e9 av vous. (Quand le\ndiable veut vous prendre il vous parle de Bon Dieu.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the devil wants to get hold of you, he chats to you about God.\u201d\n  Lit.: \u201cHe talks _Good God_ to you.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n258. Quand done vous bourique vous pas bisoin gu\u00e9tte so labride. (Quand\non vous donne un \u00e2ne, vous ne devez pas regarder sa bride.)\n\n  \u201cWhen somebody gives you a donkey, you musn\u2019t examine the\n  bridle.\u201d--Never look a gift-horse in the mouth.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n259. Quand femme l\u00e9ve so robe diabe gu\u00e9tte so lazambe. (Quand une femme\nrel\u00e8ve sa robe le diable regarde sa jambe.)\n\n  \u201cWhen a woman lifts her dress, the devil looks at her\n  leg.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n260. Quand gagne larmoire napas qu\u00e9tte c\u00f4ffe. (Quand on a l\u2019armoire on\nne regarde pas le coffre.)\n\n  \u201cAs soon as one gets a clothes-press, one never looks at the\n  trunk.\u201d[109]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [109] A wooden chest or trunk is the first desideratum of the negro\n  housewife. As soon as the family is able to purchase a clothes-press,\n  or (as we call it in Louisiana) \u201carmoire,\u201d it is considered quite a\n  prosperous household by Mauritian colored folk. The chest, Baissac\n  tells us, is the clothes-press of the poor. \u201cAfter the bed comes the\n  chest, and next the accordeon!\u201d\n\n261. Quand lam\u00f4rt vini, vous pense vous lavie. (Quand la mort vient,\nvous pensez \u00e0 v\u00f4tre vie.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s when death comes that you think about your\n  life.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n262. Quand l\u00e9bras trop courte, napas zoinde. (Quand les bras son trop\ncourts, ils ne se rejoignent pas.)\n\n  \u201cWhen one\u2019s arms are too short, they won\u2019t go\n  round.\u201d[110]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [110] It is needless to undertake what we have not ability to carry\n  out.\n\n263. Quand l\u00e9cie tomb\u00e9, tout mouces va maill\u00e9. (Quand le ciel tombera,\ntoutes les mouches seront prises.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the sky falls all the flies will be\n  caught.\u201d[111]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [111] Said to those who talk hopefully of impossibilities.\n\n264. * Quand li gagnin kichose dans so lat\u00eate, c\u00e9 pas dans so lapi\u00e8.\n(Quand il a quelque chose dans sa t\u00eate, ce n\u2019est pas dans son pied.)\n\n  \u201cWhen he gets something into his head, it isn\u2019t in his\n  foot.\u201d[112]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [112] Refers to obstinacy. A man may be compelled to move his feet,\n  but not to change his resolve.\n\n265. Quand lipi\u00e8d gliss\u00e9, restant sivr\u00e9. (Quand le pied glisse, le reste\nsuit.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the foot slips the rest follows.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n266. Quand maite chant\u00e9, n\u00e8gue dans\u00e9; quand \u2019conome siffl\u00e9, n\u00e8gue saut\u00e9.\n(Quand le ma\u00eetre chante, le n\u00e8gre danse; quand l\u2019\u00e9conome siffle, le\nn\u00e8gre saute.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the master sings the negro dances; but when the overseer only\n  whistles, the negro jumps.\u201d--A relic of the old slave-day Creole\n  folklore.--[_Louisiana._]\n\n267. Quand milatt tini yon vi\u00e9 chouvral yo dit n\u00e8gress pas manman yo.\n(Quand les mul\u00e2tres ont un vieux cheval ils disent que les n\u00e9gresses ne\nsont pas leurs m\u00e8res.)\n\n  \u201cAs soon as a mulatto is able to own an old horse, he will tell you\n  that his mother wasn\u2019t a nigger.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n268. * Quand napas maman, t\u00e9t\u00e9 grand-maman. (Quand on n\u2019a pas sa m\u00e8re,\non tete sa grand-m\u00e8re.)\n\n  \u201cWhen one has no mother, one must be suckled by one\u2019s\n  grandmother.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n269. Quand ou tini malh\u00e9 s\u00e9pent m\u00f2d\u00e9 ou pa lakh\u00e8. (Quand vous \u00eates dans\nle malheur le serpent vous mord par la queue.)\n\n  \u201cWhen you\u2019re in ill-luck, a snake can bite you even with its\n  tail.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n270. Quand ou mang\u00e9 evec guiabe, quimb\u00e9 cuill\u00e8 ou longue. (Quand vous\nmangez avec le diable, tenez votre cuill\u00e8re longue.)\n\n  \u201cWhen you eat with the devil, see that your spoon is\n  long.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n271. * Quand patate tchuite, faut mang\u00e9 li. (Quand la patate est cuite,\nil faut la manger.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the sweet potato is cooked, it must be\n  eaten.\u201d[113]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [113] This differs a little from the spelling adopted by Gottschalk in\n  his _Bamboula_--\u201c_Quand patate-la couite ma va mang\u00e9 li._\u201d The proverb\n  is used in the sense of our saying: \u201cStrike the iron while it\u2019s hot.\u201d\n\n272. Quand poul ou tini z\u00e9, pas mette li dans canari. (Quand votre poule\npond des \u0153ufs, ne la mettez pas dans le pot.)\n\n  \u201cWhen your hen is laying, don\u2019t put her in the\n  pot.\u201d[114]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [114] Like our saying about killing the goose that laid the golden\n  eggs.\n\n273. Quand prend trop boucoup, li gliss\u00e9. (Quand on prend trop [lit.:\n\u201ctrop beaucoup\u201d], cela glisse.)\n\n  \u201cGrab for too much, and it slips away from you.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n274. Quand vente cri\u00e9 zor\u00e9yes sourde. (Quand le ventre crie, les\noreilles sont sourdes.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the belly cries, the ears are deaf.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n275. Quand vente faim, siprit vini. (Quand le ventre a faim, l\u2019esprit\nvient.)\n\n  \u201cAn empty stomach brings wit;\u201d--lit.: When the stomach is empty, wit\n  comes.[115]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [115] _Wit_, that is, \u201cmother-wit\u201d--common-sense.\n\n276. Quand vous gu\u00e9tte l\u00e0haut vous lizi\u00e9s vine pitit. (Quand vous\nregardez en haut, vos yeux rapetissent.)\n\n  \u201cWhen you look overhead, your eyes become small.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n277. Quand yo baille ou t\u00eate bef pou mang\u00e9, n\u2019a pas peur zieux li.\n(Quand on vous donne une t\u00eate de b\u0153uf \u00e0 manger n\u2019ayez pas peur de ses\nyeux.)\n\n  \u201cWhen you are given an ox\u2019s head to eat, don\u2019t be afraid of his\n  eyes.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n278. Quiquefois wou plante zharicots rouze; zharicots blancs qui pouss\u00e9.\n(Quelquefois vous plantez des haricots rouges, et ce sont des haricots\nblancs qui poussent.)\n\n  \u201cSometimes you sow red beans, and white beans grow.\u201d \u201cThe best-laid\n  plans of mice and men gang aft a-gley.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n279. Quand yon b\u00e2timent cass\u00e9 \u00e7a pas emp\u00each\u00e9 les zautt navigu\u00e9. (Quand\nun b\u00e2timent est cass\u00e9, \u00e7a n\u2019emp\u00eache pas les autres de naviguer.)\n\n  \u201cWhen a ship is broken (_wrecked_), the accident does not prevent\n  others from sailing.\u201d[116]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [116] There is a Portuguese proverb to the same effect: \u201cShipwrecks\n  have never deterred navigation.\u201d\n\n280. Qui m\u00eal\u00e9 zefs nans calenda o\u00fboches? (Qui a m\u00eal\u00e9 (mis) des \u0153ufs dans\nla calinda des roches [pierres.]?)\n\n  \u201cWhat business have eggs in the calinda--_i.e._ dance--of stones?\u201d\n  (_Calinda_, said to be derived from the Spanish _que linda!_--\u201chow\n  beautiful!\u201d)[117]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [117] The author of _Les Bambous_ mentions the _b\u00e8l\u00e8_, _caleinda_,\n  _guiouba_ and _biguine_, slave-dances of Martinique. _Dans\u00e9 yon\n  caleinda marr\u00e9_ (to dance the _calinda_ or _caleinda_ tied up) meant\n  to receive a whipping.\n\n281. Rann s\u00e9vice ba\u00efll mal dos. (Rendre service donne mal au dos.)\n\n  \u201cDoing favors gives one the back-ache.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n282. * Ratte mang\u00e9 canne, zanzoli mouri innocent. (Le rat mange la\ncanne-[\u00e0-sucre], le l\u00e9zard en meurt.)\n\n  \u201c\u2019Tis the rat eats the cane; but the lizard dies for\n  it.\u201d[118]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [118] This proverb is certainly of West Indian origin, though I first\n  obtained it from a Louisianian. In consequence of the depredations\n  committed by rats in the West-Indian cane-fields, it is customary\n  after the crop has been taken off, to fire the dry cane tops and\n  leaves. The blaze, spreading over the fields, destroys many rats, but\n  also a variety of harmless lizards and other creatures.\n\n283. Ravett pas janmain ass\u00e9z fou pou li all\u00e9 lap\u00f2te pouleill\u00e9. (Le\nravet n\u2019est jamais assez fou pour aller \u00e0 la porte du poulailler.)\n\n  \u201cThe cockroach is never silly enough to approach the door of the\n  hen-house.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n284. * Ravette pas jamain tini raison douvant poule. (Le ravet n\u2019a\njamais raison devant la poule.)\n\n  \u201cCockroach is never in the right where the fowl is concerned\u201d--(lit.:\n  _before the fowl_.)[119]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [119] I find this proverb in every dialect I have been able to study.\n  In Martinique Creole the words vary slightly: \u201c_Douvant poule ravett\n  pas ni raison._\u201d\n\n285. Rasiers tini zore\u00efes. (Les [rosiers?] buissons ont des oreilles.)\n\n  \u201cBushes have ears.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n286. * Rend\u00e9 service, baille chagrin. (Rendre service donne du chagrin.)\n\n  \u201cDoing favors brings sorrow.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n287. Roce ent\u00e9t\u00e9, m\u00e9s quand t\u00e9ti cause av li, li r\u00e9pond\u00e9. (La roche est\nent\u00eat\u00e9e, mais quand le t\u00eatu lui parle, elle r\u00e9pond.)\n\n  \u201cThe rock\u2019s hard-headed; but when the stone-hammer speaks to him, he\n  answers.\u201d--[_T\u00eatu_ means an obstinate person, also a\n  stone-hammer.][120]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [120] This is another example of double-punning, of which we have\n  already had a specimen in Prov. 163.\n\n288. Sac vide pas ka tienne douboutt. (Un sac vide ne peut pas se tenir\ndebout.)\n\n  \u201cAn empty sack cannot stand up.\u201d One cannot work with an empty\n  stomach.--[_Martinique._]\n\n289. S\u00e8pent dit li pas rha\u00ef mounn-la qui cu\u00e9 li; c\u2019est \u00e7a qui dit, \u201cMi\ns\u00e8pent!\u201d (Le serpent dit qu\u2019il ne hait pas la personne qui le tue; que\nc\u2019est celle qui dit, \u201cVoil\u00e0 le serpent!\u201d)\n\n  \u201cThe snake says he doesn\u2019t hate the person who kills him, but the one\n  who calls out, \u2018Look at the snake!\u2019\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n290. Serin d\u00e9rob\u00e9; maille bengali. (Le serin se derobe; prenez le\nbengali.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the canary can\u2019t be found, take the bengalee.\u201d When you can\u2019t\n  find what you like, be content with what you can get.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n291. Si coulev o\u00fbl\u00e9 viv, li pas proumin\u00e9e grand-chimin. (Si la couleuvre\nveut vivre, elle ne se prom\u00e8ne pas dans le grand chemin).\n\n  \u201cIf the snake cares to live, it doesn\u2019t journey upon the\n  high-road.\u201d--[_Guyana._]\n\n292. Si coul\u00e8ve pas t\u00e9 font\u00e9,[121] femmes s\u00e9 pouend li fair ribans\njipes. (Si la couleuvre n\u2019\u00e9tait pas effront\u00e9e, les femmes la prendraient\npour en faire des rubans de jupes).\n\n  \u201cIf the snake wasn\u2019t spunky, women would use it for petticoat\n  strings.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [121] _Font\u00e9_ (for _effront\u00e9_) has quite an extensive meaning in\n  Creole. It may refer to the impudence of a badly-brought-up child, or\n  to the over-familiarity on the part of an adult; but it may also refer\n  to high spirit, pluck, independence of manner. A colored mother once\n  told me I should be surprised to see how _font\u00e9_ her son had become\n  since he had been going to school. She meant, of course, that the lad\n  was growing \u201csmart,\u201d active, plucky.\n\n293. Si crapaud d\u00eee ous ca\u00efman tini mal ziex, co\u00e8r-li. (Si le crapaud\nvous dit que le ca\u00efman a mal aux yeux, croyez-le).\n\n  \u201cIf the frog tells you the alligator has sore eyes, believe\n  him!\u201d[122]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [122] Similarity of habits and of experience is necessary to guarantee\n  the trustworthiness or testimony regarding those we do not know.\n\n294. Si jipon ou k\u2019all\u00e9 bien, pas chach\u00e9 mette kilott nhomme ou. (Si\nvotre jupon vous va bien, ne cherchez pas \u00e0 mettre la culotte de votre\nmari.)\n\n  \u201cIf your petticoat fits you well, don\u2019t try to put on your husband\u2019s\n  breeches.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n295. * Si lam\u00e8r t\u00e9 bouilli, poissons sr\u00e9 tchuite. (Si la mer bouillait,\nles poissons seraient cuits).\n\n  \u201cIf the sea were to boil, the fishes would be cooked.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n296. Si lasavane t\u00e9 ka pal\u00e9 nous s\u00e9 connaitt trop d\u00e9sigret. (Si la\nsavanne parlait, nous conna\u00eetrions trop de secrets).\n\n  \u201cIf the fields could talk, we should know too many\n  secrets.\u201d[123]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [123] \u201cIf walls had ears,\u201d etc.\n\n297. Si l\u00e9phant pas t\u00e9 sav\u00e9 boyaux li gouous, li pas s\u00e9 val\u00e9 calebasses.\n(Si l\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9phant n\u2019avait pas su qu\u2019il avait de gros boyaux, il n\u2019aurait\npas aval\u00e9 des cal\u00e9basses).\n\n  \u201cIf the elephant didn\u2019t know that he had big guts, he wouldn\u2019t have\n  swallowed calabashes.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n298. * Si-moin-t\u00e8-connaitt pas janmain douvant; li toujou de\u00ef\u00e8.\n(Si-je-l\u2019avais-su n\u2019est jamais devant; il vient toujours derri\u00e8re.)\n\n  \u201c\u2018_If-I-had-only-known_\u2019 is never before one; he always comes\n  behind.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n299. Si moin t\u00e9 gagnin moussa, moin t\u00e9 mang\u00e9 gombo. (Si j\u2019avais du\nmoussa, je mangerais du gombo).\n\n  \u201cIf I had some _moussa_[124] I would eat some gombo.\u201d If I had the\n  necessary I could enjoy the superfluous.--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [124] _Moussa_ is a word used in _Martinique_ for hominy, or a sort of\n  corn-mush which is used to thicken gombo-soup. In Louisiana boiled\n  rice is similarly used.\n\n300. Si t\u00e9 pas gagn\u00e9 soup\u00e9 nens moune, moune ka touff\u00e9. (S\u2019il n\u2019y avait\npas de soupirs dans le monde, le monde \u00e9toufferait).\n\n  \u201cIf there were no sighing in the world, the world would\n  stifle.\u201d[125]--[_Quoted by Alphonse Daudet._]\n\n  [125] I found this proverb cited in Daudet\u2019s article on Tourgu\u00e8neff in\n  the November _Century_ [1883]. The accentuation was incorrect. _Moun_,\n  or _moune_, Creole form of French _monde_, is generally used to\n  signify people in general--_folks_--not the world.\n\n301. Si zannoli t\u00e9 bon viann, li s\u00e8 pas ka driv\u00e9 lassous ba\u00efe. (Si le\nl\u00e9zard \u00e9tait bon \u00e0 manger [lit.: bonne viande], il ne se trouverait\npoint sous une baille.)\n\n  \u201cIf the lizard were good to eat, it would never be found under a\n  tub.\u201d[126]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [126] Thomas gives us a briefer Trinidad version: _Si zandoli t\u00e9 bon\n  vi\u00e2ne, le pas s\u00e9 ka driv\u00e9_ (il ne se trouverait pas): \u201cIf a lizard\n  were good meat, it wouldn\u2019t easily be found.\u201d\n\n302. Soleil couch\u00e9; malb\u00e8r pas jamain couch\u00e9. (Le soleil se couche; le\nmalheur ne se couche jamais.)\n\n  \u201cThe sun sets; misfortune never sets.\u201d--[_Hayti._]\n\n303. * Soleil lev\u00e9 l\u00e0; li couch\u00e9 l\u00e0. (Le soleil se l\u00e8ve l\u00e0; il se couche\nl\u00e0.)\n\n  \u201cSun rises there [pointing to the east]; he sets there.\u201d [pointing to\n  the west][127]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [127] A proverb common to all the dialects. In uttering it, with\n  emphatic gesture, the negro signifies that there is no pride which\n  will not be at last brought down, no grandeur which will not have an\n  end.\n\n304. Souliers faraud, m\u00e9s domage ziutes manze lipieds. (Les souliers\nsont elegants, mais c\u2019est dommage qu\u2019ils mangent les pieds.)\n\n  \u201cShoes are fine things; but it\u2019s a pity they bite one\u2019s\n  feet.\u201d[128]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [128] M. Baissac tells us, in a very amusing way, how this proverb\n  originated at the time of the negro emancipation in Mauritius, when\n  30,000 pairs of new shoes were distributed. Another saying, equally\n  characteristic, was--\u201c_Lh\u00e8re li entr\u00e9 dans vous lacase, souliers dans\n  lipieds; lh\u00e9re li dans grand cimin, souliers dans mou\u00e7oirs_\u201d:--(When\n  he enters your house, his shoes are on his feet; but once he is on the\n  public road, they are in his handkerchief.)\n\n305. * Tafia toujou d\u00eee la v\u00e9rit\u00e9. (Le tafia dit toujours la v\u00e9rit\u00e9.)\n\n  \u201cTafia always tells the truth.\u201d[129]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [129] _Tafia_ is the rum extracted from sugar-cane. \u201c_In vino\n  veritas_.\u201d\n\n306. Tambou tini grand train pace endidans li vide. (Le tambour va [lit:\ntient] grand train parcequ\u2019il est vide en dedans.)\n\n  \u201cThe drum makes a great fuss because it is empty\n  inside.\u201d[130]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [130] In Louisiana Creole, _faire di-train_ is commonly used in the\n  sense of making a great noise, a big fuss. An old negro-servant might\n  often be heard reproving the children of the house in some such\n  fashion as this:--\u201c_Ga!--pouki tap\u00e9 fait tou di-train la?--Toul\u00e9\n  p\u00e9?--pas fait tou di-train mo di toi!_\u201d (\u201cHere, what are you making\n  all that noise for?--are you going to keep quiet?--musn\u2019t make so much\n  noise, I tell you!\u201d)\n\n307. Tamp\u00e9e ka gagnen malh\u00e8rs ka doublons pas sa gueri. (Un \u2018tamp\u00e9e\u2019\nach\u00e8te des malheurs que les doublons ne peuveut pas guerir.)\n\n  \u201cA penny buys troubles that doubloons cannot cure.\u201d--[_Trinidad._]\n\n308. * \u201cTant-pis\u201d n\u2019a pas cabane. (\u201cTant-pis\u201d n\u2019a pas de cabane.)\n\n  \u201c\u2018So-much-the-worse\u2019 has no cabin.\u201d[131]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [131] This proverb is the retort for the phrase: \u201cSo much the worse\n  for you.\u201d Sometimes one might hear a colored servant for example,\n  warning the children of the house to keep out of the kitchen, which in\n  Creole residences usually opens into the great court-yard where the\n  little ones play: _Eh, pitis! faut pas rest\u00e9r l\u00e0: vous ka casser\n  tout!_ (\u201cHey! little ones, musn\u2019t stay there: you\u2019ll break\n  everything!\u201d) If the father or mother should then exclaim \u201c_Tant pis\n  pour eux!_\u201d--so much the worse for them if they do break everything,\n  you would hear the old woman reply: \u201c_Tant-pis n\u2019a pas\n  cabane!_\u201d--\u201cSo-much-the-worse has no cabin\u201d--_i.e._, nothing to lose.\n  She believes in an ounce of prevention rather than a pound of cure.\n\n309. Temps moune conna\u00eete l\u2019a\u00fbte nans grand jou, nans nou\u00eete yeaux pas\nbiso\u00e8n chandelle pou clair\u00e9r yeaux. (Quand on connait quelqu\u2019un [lit: un\nautre] dans le grand jour, dans la nuit on n\u2019a pas besoin d\u2019une\nchandelle pour s\u2019\u00e9clairer.)\n\n  \u201cWhen one person knows another by broad daylight, he doesn\u2019t need a\n  candle to recognize him at night.\u201d[132]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [132] When a person has once given us positive evidence of his true\n  character, we do not need any information as to what that person will\n  do under certain circumstances.\n\n310. * Temps present gagnin assez comme \u00e7a avec so quenne. (Le temps\npresent en a assez comme \u00e7a avec le sien.)\n\n  \u201cThe present has enough to do to mind its own\n  affairs.\u201d[133]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [133] Literally the proverb is almost untranslateable. It is cited to\n  those who express needless apprehension of future misfortune. \u201c_Mo va\n  gagnin malh\u00e9_\u201d--(I am going to have trouble.) \u201c_A\u00efe, a\u00efe!\n  ch\u00e8re!--temps present gagnin assez comme \u00e7a avec so quonne._\u201d (Ah, my\n  dear! the present has enough trouble of its own.)\n\n311. * Ti chien, ti c\u00f2don. (Petit chien, petit lien.)\n\n  \u201cA little string for a little dog.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n312. Ti hache coup\u00e9 gouaus bois. (Une petite hache coupe un grand\narbre.)\n\n  \u201cA little axe cuts down a big tree.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n313. Ti moun c\u00f2nnaitt couri, yo pas c\u00f2nnaitt serr\u00e9. (Les enfants--lit:\n\u201cle petit monde\u201d--savent courir; ils ne savent pas se cacher.)\n\n  \u201cChildren (little folk) know how to run; they do not know how to\n  hide.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n314. Tig m\u00f2, chien ka prend pays. (Quand le tigre est mort, le chien\nprend le pays.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the tiger is dead, the dog takes [rules] the\n  country.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n315. T\u00f2ti s\u00e9 vole si li t\u00e8 tini plimm. (Le tortue volerait si elle avait\ndes ailes.)\n\n  \u201cThe tortoise would fly if it had wings.\u201d[134]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [134] \u201cPigs might fly,\u201d etc.\n\n316.\n\n         Tout bois c\u00e9 bois;\n                Main mapou\n                Pas \u2018cajou.\n         (Tout bois c\u2019est du bois;\n                Mais le mapou\n                N\u2019est pas de l\u2019acajou.)\n\n  \u201cAll wood is wood; but mapou wood isn\u2019t mahogany\n  (cedar).\u201d[135]--[_Trinidad._]\n\n  [135] Thomas translates _cajou_, by \u201ccedar.\u201d _Acajou_ in French,\n  signifies mahogany, as it does also in Louisiana Creole. There is an\n  old song, of which the refrain is:\n\n    _Ch\u00e8r bijou\n    Dacajou,\n    Mo laimin vous_\n\n  (\u201cMy darling mahogany jewel, I love you!\u201d)\n\n317. * Tout \u00e7a c\u2019est commerce Man Lison. (Tout \u00e7a c\u2019est affaire de Maman\nLison.)\n\n  \u201cAll that\u2019s like Mammy Lison\u2019s doings.\u201d[136]--[_Louisiana._]\n\n  [136] Whenever a thing is badly done, this saying is used;--_commerce_\n  in the Creole signifying almost the reverse of what it does in French.\n  Who that traditional _Man Lison_ was, I have never been able to find\n  out.\n\n318. Tout \u00e7a qui pot\u00e9 z\u00e9pron pas maquignon. (Tout homme qui porte\n\u00e9perons n\u2019est pas maquignon.)\n\n  \u201cEverybody who wears spurs isn\u2019t a jockey.\u201d All is not gold that\n  glitters.--[_Martinique._]\n\n319. Toutt cabinett tini maringouin. (Tout cabinet contient des\nmaringouins.)\n\n  \u201cEvery bed-chamber has its mosquitoes in it.\u201d--Equivalent to our own\n  proverb: A skeleton in every closet.--[_Martinique._]\n\n320. * Toutt jou\u00e9 c\u2019est jou\u00e9; mais cass\u00e9 bois dans bonda macaque--\u00e7a pas\njou\u00e9. (Tout [fa\u00e7on de] jouer c\u2019est jouer; mais ce n\u2019est pas jouer que de\ncasser du bois dans le derri\u00e8re du macaque.)\n\n  .\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0[137]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [137] This ridiculous observation is unsuitable for translation.\n  Nevertheless we have an English, or perhaps an American, proverb\n  equally vulgar, which may have inspired, or been derived from, the\n  Creole one. In the English saying, the words \u201cjoking\u201d and \u201cprovoking\u201d\n  are used as rhymes. The moral is precisely similar to that of No. 322.\n\n  In old days the Creole story-teller would always announce his\n  intention of beginning a tale by the exclamation \u201c_Tim-tim!_\u201d\n  whereupon the audience would shout in reply, \u201c_Bois sec_;\u201d and the\n  story-teller would cry again, \u201c_Cassez-li_,\u201d to which the chorus would\n  add \u201c.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. _dans tchu_ (bonda) _macaque_.\u201d Thus the story-teller\n  intimated that he had no intention of merely \u201c_joking_,\u201d but intended\n  to tell the whole truth and nothing else--\u201ca real good story\u201d--_tois\n  fois bonne conte!_\n\n321. * Toutt jour c\u2019est pas dimanche. (Tous les jours ne sont pas le\ndimanche.)\n\n  \u201cEvery day isn\u2019t Sunday.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n322. Tou jw\u00e9 sa jw\u00e9; me bwa l\u00e0 z\u00f2r\u00e8 sa pa jw\u00e9. (Tout [fa\u00e7on de] jouer\nc\u2019est jouer; mais enfoncer du bois dans l\u2019oreille n\u2019est pas jouer.)\n\n  \u201cAll play is play; but poking a piece of wood into one\u2019s ear isn\u2019t\n  play.\u201d--[_Guyane._]\n\n323. * Tout macaque trouv\u00e9 so piti joli. (Tout macaque trouve son petit\njoli.)\n\n  \u201cEvery monkey thinks its young one pretty.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n324. Toutt milett ni grand zaureilles. (Tout les mulets ont des grandes\noreilles.)\n\n  \u201cAll mules have big ears.\u201d--Equivalent to our proverb; \u201cBirds of a\n  feather flock together.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n325. * Toutt mounn save \u00e7a qui ka bou\u00ef nens canari yo. (Toute personne\nsait ce qui bout dans son canari [marmite].)\n\n  \u201cEverybody knows what boils in his own pot\u201d--i.e., knows his own\n  business best.[138]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [138] In Thomas\u2019s Trinidad version: \u201c_Tout moune connaite \u00e7a qui ka\n  bou\u00ef nans canari yeaux_.\u201d In Louisiana Creole: \u201c_Chakin connin \u00e7a kap\u00e9\n  bouilli dans so chodi\u00e8re_.\u201d _Canari_ is sometimes used in our Creole,\n  but rarely. I have only heard it in old songs. The iron pot\n  (_chodi\u00e8re_) or tin utensil has superseded the _canari_.\n\n326. Trava\u00ef pas mal; c\u00e9 ziex qui capons. (Le travail ne fait pas du mal;\nc\u2019est les yeux qui sont capons [l\u00e2ches].)\n\n  \u201cWork doesn\u2019t hurt;--\u2018tis the eyes that are cowards.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n327. Trop gratt\u00e9 bourl\u00e9. (Trop gratter br\u00fble [cuit].)\n\n  \u201cToo much scratching brings smarting.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n328. Trop profi cr\u00e9v\u00e9 poche. (Trop de profit cr\u00e8ve la poche.)\n\n  \u201cToo much profit bursts one\u2019s pockets.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n329. Tropp bijou, g\u00e0de-mang\u00e9 vide. (Trop de bijoux, garde-manger vide.)\n\n  \u201cToo much jewelry, empty cupboard.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n330. Vente enfl\u00e9, mouces zaune t\u00e9 pique li. (Le ventre enfl\u00e9, les\nmouches jaunes l\u2019ont piqu\u00e9.)[139]\n\n  .\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [139] This proverb is scarcely suitable for English translation; but\n  the forcible and picturesque irony of it will be appreciated in M.\n  Baissac\u2019s explanatory note: \u201c_Comment se l\u2019expliquer autrement, en\n  dehors du mariage?_\u201d\n\n331. Vide \u00e9ne bout\u00e9ye pour rempli laute, qui li? (Vider une bouteille\npour en remplir une autre, qu\u2019est-ce?)\n\n  \u201cWhat\u2019s the good of emptying one bottle only to fill\n  another?\u201d[140]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [140] Same signification as Prov. 138.\n\n332. * Vie cannari ka f\u00e9 bon bouillon. (Les vieux pots font les bonnes\nsoupes.)\n\n  \u201cIt\u2019s the old pot that makes the good soup.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n333. Vi\u00e9 coq, z\u00e8ne poule. (Vieux coq, jeune poule.)\n\n  \u201cAn old cock, a young hen.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n334. Vol\u00e8 pas ainmein vou\u00e8 canmarade yo p\u00f2t\u00e9 sac. (Les voleurs n\u2019aiment\npas voir leurs camarades portant le sacs.)\n\n  \u201cThieves do not like to see their comrades carrying the\n  bags.\u201d[141]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [141] Probably truer to human nature than our questionable statement\n  concerning \u201chonor among thieves.\u201d Mr. Bigelow, in his contribution to\n  _Harper\u2019s Magazine_, cited a similar proverb in the Haytian dialect.\n\n335. Vous napas va montr\u00e9 vi\u00e9 zaco f\u00e8re grimaces. (Vous ne montrerez pas\n\u00e0 un vieux singe \u00e0 faire des grimaces.)\n\n  \u201cYou can\u2019t teach an old monkey how to make\n  faces.\u201d[142]--[_Mauritius._]\n\n  [142] \u201cTeach your granny to suck eggs.\u201d\n\n336. Voy\u00e9 chein, chein voy\u00e9 lakhe li. (Envoyez le chien, et le chien\nenvoie sa queue.)\n\n  \u201cSend dog, and dog sends his tail.\u201d--Refers to those who obey orders\n  only by proxy.--[_Trinidad._]\n\n337. Yo ka quimb\u00e9[143] chritiens pa langue yo, bef pa c\u00f2ne yo. (On prend\nles Chr\u00e9tiens par la langue, les b\u0153ufs par les cornes.)\n\n  \u201cChristians are known by their tongues, oxen by their horns.\u201d\n  (Literally, are taken by or caught by.)--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [143] _Quimb\u00e9_ is a verb of African origin. It survives in Louisiana\n  Creole as _tchomb\u00e9_ or _chombo_:\n\n    _Caroline, zolie femme,\n    Chombo moin dans collet._\n\n  [\u201cCaroline, pretty woman; put your arm about my neck!\u201d--lit.: \u201ctake me\n  by the neck.\u201d]\n\n  There are other African words used by the older colored women, such as\n  _macay\u00e9_, meaning to eat at all hours; and _Ouend\u00e9_, of which the\n  sense is dubious. But the Congo verb _fifa_, to kiss; and the verbs\n  _souy\u00e9_, to flatter; _pougal\u00e9_, to abuse violently; and such nouns as\n  _saff_ (glutton), _yche_ or _iche_ (baby), which are preserved in\n  other Creole dialects, are apparently unknown in Louisiana to-day.\n\n  In Chas. Jeannest\u2019s work, _Quatre Ann\u00e9es au Congo_ [Paris:\n  Charpentier, 1883], I find a scanty vocabulary of words in the Fiot\n  dialect, the native dialect of many slaves imported into Louisiana and\n  the West Indies. In this vocabulary the word _ouenda_ is translated by\n  \u201cpartir pour.\u201d I fancy it also signifies \u201cto be absent,\u201d and that it\n  is synonymous with our Louisiana African-Creole _ouend\u00e9_, preserved in\n  the song:\n\n    _Ouend\u00e9, ouend\u00e9, macaya_;\n        Mo pas, \u2019barass\u00e9, _macaya_!\n    _Ouend\u00e9, ouend\u00e9, macaya_;\n        Mo bois bon divin, _macaya_!\n    _Ouend\u00e9, ouend\u00e9, macaya_;\n        Mo mang\u00e9 bon poul\u00e9, _macaya_!\n    _Ouend\u00e9, ouend\u00e9, macaya_;..etc.\n\n  This is one of the very few songs with a purely African refrain still\n  sung in New Orleans. The theme seems to be that, the master and\n  mistress of a house being absent, some slave is encouraging a\n  slave-friend to eat excessively, to \u201cstuff himself\u201d with wine,\n  chicken, etc. \u201cThey are gone, friend: eat, fill yourself; _I\u2019m_ not a\n  bit ashamed; stuff yourself!--I\u2019m drinking good wine; stuff\n  yourself!--I\u2019m eating good chicken; gorge yourself,\u201d etc. Here\n  _ouend\u00e9_ seems to mean \u201cthey are out; they are gone away,\u201d--therefore\n  there is no danger.\n\n  There is another Creole song with the same kind of double refrain, but\n  the meaning of the African words I have not been able to discover.\n\n    Nicolas, Nicolas, Nicolas, ou dindin;\n    Nicolas, Nicolas, Nicolas march\u00e9 ouaminon:\n          Quand li march\u00e9\n              _Ouarasi, ouarasa!_\n          Quand li march\u00e9\n              _Ouarasi, ouarasa!_\n\n  [\u201cNicholas, etc., you are a turkey-cock! Nicholas walks _ouaminon_:\n  when he walks, it is _ouarasi, ouarasa_.\u201d] The idea is obvious enough;\n  viz.: that Nicholas struts like a turkey-cock; but the precise\n  signification of the three italicised words I have failed to learn.\n\n338. Yon do\u00e8gt pas sa pouend pice. (Un seul doigt ne peut pas attraper\ndes puces.)\n\n  \u201cOne finger can\u2019t catch fleas.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n339. * Yon lanmain dou\u00e8 lav\u00e9 laute. (Une main doit laver l\u2019autre.)\n\n  \u201cOne hand must wash the other.\u201d--You must not depend upon others to\n  get you out of trouble.--[_Martinique._]\n\n340. Yon mauvais pa\u00f2le ka bless\u00e9 plis qu\u2019coupd\u2019roche. (Une mauvaise\nparole blesse plus qu\u2019un coup-de-pierre.)\n\n  \u201cA wicked word hurts more than a blow from a stone.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n341. Zaco malin, li-m\u00e9me t\u00e9 montr\u00e9 noir coment voler. (La singe est\nmalin; c\u2019est lui qui a montr\u00e9 au noir comment on vole.)\n\n  \u201cThe monkey is sly; it was he that first taught the black man how to\n  steal.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n342. Zaco napas gu\u00e9tte so laqu\u00e9e; li gu\u00e9tte pour son camarade. (Le singe\nne regarde pas sa queue; il regarde celle de son voisin.)\n\n  \u201cMonkey never watches his own tail; he watches his\n  neighbor\u2019s.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n343. * Zaffaire \u00e7a qui sotte, chien mang\u00e9 d\u00ecn\u00e9 yo. (Des choses [qui\nappartiennent] aux sots les chiens font leur d\u00eener.)\n\n  \u201cDogs make their dinner upon what belongs to fools.\u201d--[_Louisiana._]\n\n344. * Zaff\u00e9 cabritt pa zaff\u00e9 mouton. (L\u2019affaire de la ch\u00e8vre n\u2019est pas\nl\u2019affaire du mouton.)\n\n  \u201cThe goat\u2019s business is not the sheep\u2019s affair.\u201d[144]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [144] Seems to be the same in all Creole dialects, excepting that the\n  rabbit is sometimes substituted for the sheep.\n\n345. Zaff\u00e9re qui fine pass\u00e9 narien; laute qui pour vint qui li!\n(L\u2019affaire pass\u00e9e n\u2019est rien; c\u2019est l\u2019affaire \u00e0 venir qui est le hic.)\n\n  \u201cWhat\u2019s past is nothing; it\u2019s what\u2019s to come that\u2019s the\n  rub.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n346. Zamais b\u00e9f senti so corne trop lourd. (Jamais le b\u0153uf ne sent ses\ncornes trop lourdes.)\n\n  \u201cThe ox never finds his horns too heavy to carry.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n347. Zam\u00e9s disel dire li sal\u00e9. (Le sel ne dit jamais qu\u2019il est sal\u00e9.)\n\n  \u201cThe salt never says that it is salty.\u201d True virtue never\n  boasts.--[_Mauritius._]\n\n348. Zaureille pas tini couv \u00e9ti. (Les oreilles n\u2019ont pas de\ncouverture.)\n\n  \u201cThere is no covering for the ears.\u201d--[_Martinique._]\n\n349. Zi\u00e9 bek\u00e9 bril\u00e9 zi\u00e9 n\u00e8g. (Les yeux du blanc br\u00fblent les yeux du\nn\u00e8gre.)\n\n  \u201cThe white man\u2019s eyes burn the negro\u2019s eyes.\u201d[145]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [145] _B\u00e9k\u00e9_ is translated by _blanc_ in Turiault\u2019s work; but the\n  witty author of _Les Bambous_ writes: _N\u00e8g_ se dit pour _esclave_, et\n  _b\u00e9k\u00e9_ pour ma\u00eetre. Therefore perhaps a more correct translation would\n  be: \u201cThe master\u2019s eyes burn the slave\u2019s eyes.\u201d The phrase recalls a\n  curious refrain which used to be sung by Louisiana field-hands:\n\n    _Tout, tout, pays blanc--Dani\u00e9 qui command\u00e9,\n          Dani\u00e9 qui command\u00e9 \u00e7a!\n          Dani\u00e9 qui command\u00e9._\n\n  [\u201cAll, all the country white\u201d (white-man\u2019s country); \u201cDaniel has so\n  commanded,\u201d etc.] I do not know whether the prophet Daniel is referred\n  to.\n\n350. Zi\u00e9 rouge pas boul\u00e9 savann. (Les yeux rouges ne br\u00fblent pas la\nsavane.)\n\n  \u201cRed eyes can\u2019t burn the savannah.\u201d A better translation might be:\n  \u201cRed eyes can\u2019t start a prairie-fire.\u201d The meaning is that mere anger\n  avails nothing.[146]--[_Martinique._]\n\n  [146] In the Guyane patois, they say: \u201c_\u00c7a qui gad\u00e9 gran boi y\u00e9 k\u00f4l\u00e9\n  pa br\u00fbl\u00e9 y\u00e9_.\u201d (_Celui qui regarde les grands bois avec des yeux\n  col\u00e8res ne les br\u00fble pas._)\n\n351. Zour\u00e9 napas ena lent\u00e9rement. (Les jurons n\u2019ont pas d\u2019enterrement.)\n\n  \u201cCurses don\u2019t make funerals.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n352. Zozo paillenqui cri\u00e9 l\u00e0-haut, coudevent vini. (Le paille-en-cul\ncrie la-haut, le coup de vent vient.)\n\n  \u201cWhen the tropic-bird screams overhead, a storm-wind is\n  coming.\u201d--[_Mauritius._]\n\n\n\n\nINDEX TO VARIOUS DIALECTS.\n\n\n  I.--PROVERBS IN THE CREOLE OF FRENCH GUYANA:--60, 223, 242, 244, 291,\n  322.\n\n  II.--IN THE CREOLE OF HAYTI:--11, 26, 47, 51, 61, 63, 77, 78, 87, 88,\n  96, 100, 115, 116, 117, 120, 139, 145, 153, 172, 190, 220, 225, 226,\n  239, 250, 277, 302.\n\n  III.--IN THE CREOLE OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA:--23, 34, 40, 57, 67,\n  86, 89, 90, 95, 97, 99, 107, 112, 123, 130, 134, 137, 147, 148, 157,\n  159, 162, 166, 171, 185, 186, 198, 203, 204, 208, 209, 228, 235, 241,\n  248, 251, 253, 264, 266, 268, 271, 282, 286, 295, 303, 305, 308, 310,\n  317, 321, 323, 343.\n\n  IV.--IN THE CREOLE OF MARTINIQUE:--1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 18, 20, 24, 28, 29,\n  30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43, 49, 50, 52, 56, 58, 59, 62, 66, 75,\n  76, 82, 84, 85, 91, 92, 93, 94, 104, 122, 133, 149, 150, 151, 152,\n  154, 160, 164, 175, 188, 189, 199, 202, 205, 206, 207, 210, 211, 213,\n  222, 224, 227, 230, 237, 238, 240, 245, 252, 254, 267, 269, 270, 272,\n  279, 281, 283, 288, 289, 294, 296, 298, 299, 301, 311, 312, 313, 314,\n  315, 318, 319, 320, 324, 325, 328, 329, 332, 334, 337, 338, 339, 340,\n  344, 348, 349, 350.\n\n  V.--IN THE CREOLE OF MAURITIUS:--3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22,\n  25, 32, 38, 44, 45, 46, 48, 53, 54, 55, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73,\n  98, 101, 102, 105, 106, 108, 109, 114, 118, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128,\n  129, 131, 136, 138, 143, 155, 156, 161, 163, 165, 167, 168, 169, 170,\n  173, 174, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183, 191, 195, 196, 197, 200,\n  212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 243, 246, 247, 249, 255, 256, 257,\n  258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 265, 273, 274, 275, 276, 278, 287, 290,\n  304, 326, 327, 330, 331, 333, 335, 341, 342, 345, 346, 347, 351, 352.\n\n  VI.--IN THE CREOLE OF TRINIDAD:--12, 13, 15, 21, 27, 35, 39, 64, 74,\n  79, 80, 81, 83, 103, 110, 111, 113, 119, 121, 132, 135, 140, 141, 142,\n  144, 146, 158, 181, 184, 187, 192, 193, 194, 201, 221, 229, 231, 232,\n  233, 234, 236, 280, 284, 285, 292, 293, 297, 306, 307, 309, 316, 336.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX TO SUBJECTS OF PROVERBS.\n\n\n  ACOMA-TREE.--1.\n  ADVISERS.--101, 142.\n  ALLIGATOR (or Crocodile).--198, 229, 293.\n  ARMS.--262.\n  ARRACK.--46, 305.\n  \u201cAVOCADO.\u201d--5.\n\n  BAG, SACK, \u201cMACONTE.\u201d--51, 115, 288.\n  BAGASSE.--14.\n  \u201cBALAOU.\u201d--210.\n  BEANS.--278.\n  BEARD.--10.\n  BED.--33, 182.\n  BELLY.--39, 44, 252, 253, 274, 275, 330.\n  BENGALEE.--290.\n  BIG AND LITTLE.--249, 311, 312.\n  BIRD.--154, 241.\n  BLOWS.--19.\n  \u201cBONDA.\u201d--34, 49, 320.\n  BORROWERS.--138, 190, 331.\n  BROOM.--16.\n  BOUNDARY.--183 (note).\n  BUZZARDS.--228.\n\n  \u201cCALALOU.\u201d--220 (note).\n  \u201cCALINDA.\u201d--280 (note).\n  CALABASH.--96, 116, 117, 297.\n  CANARY.--290.\n  CANNON.--255.\n  CAT.--70, 71, 72, 73, 85, 86, 151, 171, 200.\n  CHARACTER.--309.\n  CHEESE.--215.\n  CHEST.--260.\n  CHICKEN, OR HEN.--80, 125, 150, 245, 246, 247, 272, 283.\n  CHILDREN.--15, 48, 184, 187, 193, 242, 243, 313.\n  CHRISTIAN.--250, 337.\n  CLOTHES-PRESS.--260.\n  COAL.--69.\n  COCK.--29, 102, 129, 173, 333.\n  COCKROACH.--65, 283, 284.\n  CODFISH.--205.\n  COON.--133.\n  CONSPIRACY.--100.\n  CONTENTMENT.--208.\n  CORN.--136.\n  COWARD.--67, 132.\n  CURSES.--351.\n  CRAB.--75, 111, 199.\n\n  DEVIL.--9, 82, 149, 256, 257, 259, 270.\n  DOG.--28, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 118, 119, 137, 152, 201, 314,\n  336, 343.\n  DONKEY.--167, 258.\n  DUCK.--43, 66, 128.\n  DRAWERS.--113, 126.\n  DRUM.--61, 78, 306.\n\n  EARS.--74, 107, 285, 348.\n  EATING.--45, 194, 238.\n  EGGS.--13, 56, 128, 129, 150, 247, 280.\n  ELEPHANT.--297.\n  EYES.--58, 183, 276, 293, 326, 350.\n\n  FAT PEOPLE.--144.\n  FAULTS.--213.\n  FAVORS.--281, 286.\n  FEVER.--211.\n  FINE CLOTHES.--6, 23, 252, 253.\n  FIREFLY.--84.\n  FISHES.--295.\n  FLEAS.--328.\n  FLY.--11, 20, 263.\n  FLOUR.--65, 69.\n  FOOT.--33, 50, 264, 265.\n  FRIENDS.--127.\n  FROG.--34, 79, 113, 166, 293.\n\n  GAB.--25, 27.\n  GIFTS.--258, 277.\n  GOAT.--40, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 175, 190, 206, 251, 344.\n  GOD.--30, 31, 257.\n  GODMOTHER.--237.\n  GOMBO.--147, 299.\n  GOOD ACTIONS.--42, 53.\n  GOOD FORTUNE.--35.\n  GOOSE.--43.\n  GUN.--255.\n\n  HARE.--3, 191.\n  HEART.--58, 174, 212.\n  HIGHWAY.--139, 224, 226, 291.\n  HORSE.--94, 107, 109, 167, 204, 206, 222.\n  HOG.--97, 176.\n  HOUSEKEEPING.--32.\n  HUSBAND.--195, 294.\n\n  IDLENESS.--34, 35, 140, 141, 180.\n  \u201cIF-I-ONLY-KNEW.\u201d--298.\n  ITCH.--178.\n\n  JEWELRY.--329.\n\n  KICKS.--105.\n  KNIFE.--76, 139.\n\n  LAGNIAPPE.--157.\n  \u201cLANGOUTI.\u201d--6.\n  LARD.--53.\n  LEECH.--217.\n  LIANA.--218.\n  LIZARD.--282, 301.\n\n  \u201cMAN LISON.\u201d--317.\n  MANURE.--216.\n  MARRIAGE.--118, 179, 195, 196, 197, 215.\n  MASTER AND SLAVE.--266, 349.\n  MAT.--98.\n  MEADOWS.--21, 296, 350.\n  MILLET.--47.\n  MISERY.--162, 207.\n  MISFORTUNE.--192, 302.\n  MONEY.--125, 168, 169, 170, 307.\n  MONKEY.--2, 4, 5, 12, 108, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 207, 320, 323,\n  335, 341, 342, 350.\n  MOSQUITO.--198, 214, 319.\n  MOTHERS.--2, 4, 5, 184, 187, 193, 242.\n  MOUNTAINS.--174, 212.\n  MOURNING.--121, 124, 134.\n  MOUSSA.--299 (note).\n  MUD.--155.\n  MULATTO.--204, 206, 267.\n  MULE.--107, 169, 324.\n\n  NEEDLE AND THREAD.--143.\n\n  OUANGA.--100.\n  OX.--20, 21, 22, 81, 160, 236, 277, 346.\n\n  PADDLE.--6.\n  \u201cPALIACA BIRDS.\u201d--177.\n  PANTALOONS.--292.\n  PARTNERSHIP.--52.\n  PETTICOAT.--294.\n  PETTICOAT STRINGS.--292.\n  POT OR KETTLE.--3, 8, 64, 254, 325, 332.\n  POVERTY.--163, 239.\n  PRESENT AND THE FUTURE.--310, 344.\n  PUDDLE.--155.\n  PUMPKIN.--76, 96.\n\n  RABBIT.--40, 164.\n  RAGS.--145.\n  RAIN.--22, 81, 165, 166, 192, 352.\n  RAT.--85, 287, (musk-rat) 200.\n  RIGHT AND WRONG.--213, 240, 284.\n  RUNNING AWAY.--33, 103.\n\n  SABRE.--18.\n  SALT.--347.\n  SEA.--295.\n  SECRETS.--296.\n  SERPENT, OR SNAKE.--24, 189, 269, 289, 291, 292.\n  SHEEP.--59, 175.\n  SHINGLES.--17, 156.\n  SHOES.--83, 223, 304.\n  SIGHING.--300.\n  SKILLET.--53.\n  SLEEP.--45, 98.\n  SLOW AND SURE.--131, 241.\n  SNAILS.--108, 165.\n  \u201cSO MUCH THE WORSE.\u201d--308.\n  SPURS.--318.\n  SPOON.--77, 270.\n  SPRING.--148.\n  STARING.--235.\n  STICK.--18, 201, 209.\n  STRANGERS.--126.\n  SUGAR.--38.\n  SULKING.--44.\n  SUN.--302, 303.\n  SUNDAY.--95, 325.\n  SWEET POTATO.--271.\n\n  TAIL.--12, 20, 36, 81, 167, 336, 342.\n  TALKING.--37, 74, 104, 112, 120, 135, 146, 161, 164, 202, 231, 232,\n  234, 235, 244, 340.\n  TEETH.--30, 120, 121, 122, 194.\n  THANKS.--203.\n  \u201cTAZARD.\u201d--210.\n  TIGER.--314.\n  TIYON.--23.\n  TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW.--41, 153, 210.\n  TONGUE.--79, 104, 161, 236.\n  TOO MUCH OF A THING.--228, 229, 273, 327.\n  TORTOISE.--99, 191, 315.\n  TROPIC-BIRD.--352.\n  TURKEY.--205.\n\n  VALET.--36.\n  VETIVERIA.--156, 195.\n  VISITING.--77.\n\n  WANT (AND WASTE).--41.\n  WAR.--158, 159.\n  WATER.--114, 121, 130, 131, 148.\n  WEEK OF FOUR THURSDAYS.--57.\n  WHITE MAN.--26, 349.\n  WOMAN.--9, 23, 48, 65, 259, 294.\n  WOODLICE.--116, 117.\n  WORK.--132, 141.\n\n  YAM.--181.\n\n  ZAMBA.--78.\n\n\n\n\nLA CUISINE CREOLE.\n\n\nA compilation of many original Creole and other valuable recipes\nobtained from noted Southern housewives, with a number of _chefs\nd\u2019\u0153uvre_ from leading _chefs_, who have made New Orleans famous for its\ncuisine.\n\n\nPublished by WILL H. COLEMAN,\n\n70 ASTOR HOUSE, NEW YORK.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nInconsistent spelling and hyphenation have been retained.\n\nFootnote [38]: The last paragraph lacks a closing quote mark; this has\nnot been changed, since it is not clear where the quote ends.\n\nProv. 139: gambette may be a misspelling of jambette (jack-knife) in\nBigelow\u2019s work.\n\nProv. 177: zozos pariaca may be an error for zozos paliaca.\n\n\nChanges made to the text:\n\n  Footnotes have been moved to directly under the proverb they refer to.\n\n  Obvious punctuation errors and missing punctuation have been corrected\n  silently.\n\n  i.e. and i. e. have been standardised to i.e.\n\n  Introduction: gomo fil\u00e9 changed to gombo fil\u00e9\n\n  Bibliography: Academique changed to Acad\u00e9mique\n\n  Prov. 4: nourish it young changed to nourish its young\n\n  Footnote [12]: _tiyon_ the true changed to _tiyon_ is the true\n\n  Footnote [14]: little bird does\u2019nt changed to little bird doesn\u2019t\n\n  Prov. 49: Ceux qui mangent ne savent pas changed to Ceux qui mangent\n  des \u0153ufs ne savent pas\n\n  Prov. 54: le prix de la grasse changed to le prix de la graisse\n\n  Prov. 82: qui le diable emporte changed to que le diable emporte\n\n  Prov. 114: aime \u00e1 boire changed to aime \u00e0 boire\n\n  Footnote [45]: _oti and outi_ changed to _oti_ and _outi_\n\n  Prov. 117: resister changed to r\u00e9sister\n\n  Prov. 127: etrangers changed to \u00e9trangers\n\n  Prov. 172: li rouge changed to li ronge\n\n  Prov. 204: his mother was\u2019nt changed to his mother wasn\u2019t\n\n  Prov. 221: morte changed to mort\n\n  Prov. 248: demandre changed to demander\n\n  Prov. 253: \u2019evite changed to \u00e9vite\n\n  Prov. 260: les coffre changed to le coffre\n\n  Prov. 268: Quand n\u2019a pas changed to Quand on n\u2019a pas\n\n  Footnote [124]: Mousse changed to Moussa as in proverb\n\n  Footnote [125]: _Moun_, _or moune_ changed to _Moun_, or _moune_\n\n  Footnote [136]: _commeree_ changed to _commerce_\n\n  Footnote [139]: Comment se l\u2019expliquer autrement en dehors du mariage\n  changed to Comment se l\u2019expliquer autrement, en dehors du mariage? (as\n  in the original text by Baissac)\n\n  Footnote [143]: _ourasi, ouarasa_ changed to _ouarasi, ouarasa_ as in\n  verse\n\n  Prov. 344: Z ff\u00e9 changed to Zaff\u00e9\n\n  Prov. 349: br\u00fble changed to br\u00fblent\n\n  Index to Dialects, III.: 267 changed to 266; IV.: 147 and 329\n  inserted; V.: 333 inserted.","title":"\"Gombo Zh\u00e8bes.\" Little Dictionary of Creole Proverbs","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":20477}