proVERBS

:
Because the stone rolls often it will never cultivate moss

:
A rolling stone gathers no moss

:
Always moving from place to place or job to job stops a person from accumulating much
(A proverb that is of little relevance, in these days of job insecurity and short-term work contracts)

:
One swallow does not make springtime

:
One swallow does not make a summer

:
In the languages of southern Europe, the equivalent proverb usually has 'spring' rather than 'summer', because migrating swallows arrive earlier there than they do in northern Europe

:
You cannot infer a general rule or norm from just a single case

:
One should not inspect the teeth of a horse that's given

:
Look not a gift horse in the mouth

:
You should accept gifts willingly and without highlighting their shortcomings

:
He who can, should beware of a child and a fool

:
Children and fools speak the truth

:
People unable to think or conceal their feelings, either because of youth or mental infirmity, speak out loud what they feel and see.

:
One needs more than one stroke to fell a tree

:
An oak is not felled at one stroke

:
A major project needs many things to be done before it is completed

:
Help!

:
Walls have ears

:
The wolf may lose its fur but its vives never

:
The wolf may lose his teeth, but never his nature

:
Someone can try and hide his true nature, but it always comes out and reveals itself, either by actions or by words

:
One in the bag is worth more than three in flight

:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

:
The word 'bush' has two meanings, both a small round tree and an unfarmed unpopulated area of land with many trees and bushes.

:
Something you have for certain now is of more value than something better you may get, especially if you risk losing what you have in order to get it.

:
Where there is smoke there is fire

:
No smoke without some fire

:
If you see the effect of something, somewhere will be the thing that caused it

:
To talk about selling the skin before having the animal

:
Don't sell the bear's skin before you have caught him

:
It is unwise to be over-optimistic and to assume that a difficult or dangerous task will be successful

:
When the cats aren't there the mice dance

:
When the cat's away, the mice will play

:
This suggests that, in the absence of an organisation's superior, many liberties are taken

:
Every dog that barks does not bite

:
Barking dogs seldom bite

:
The people who threaten you angrily are often just blustering

:
All that shines is not gold

:
All is not gold that glitters

:
Be wary of appearances, because not everything that looks good really is so