“The weakest is always in the wrong.”--[_Martinique._]
241. * Piti à piti, zozo fait son nid. (Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son
nid.)
“Little by little the bird builds its nest.”--[_Louisiana._]
242. Piti pas coûté so moman, li ka mori gran solé midi. (Petit qui
n’écoute pas sa maman meurt au grand soleil de midi).
“Little boy who won’t listen to his mother dies under the noonday
sun.”[101]--[_Guyana._]
[101] All Creole mothers are careful to keep their children from
reckless play in the sun, which is peculiarly treacherous in those
latitudes where the dialect is spoken. Hence the proverb, applicable
to any circumstance in which good advice is reluctantly received.
243. Plis vaut mié vous pitit gagne larhime qui vous arrace son nez. (Il
vaut mieux laisser votre enfant morveux que de lui arracher le nez).
“Better let your child be snotty, than pull his nose
off.”--[_Mauritius._]
244. Pou manje, tou bon; pou pâlé pas tou parole. (Pour manger, tout est
bon; pour parler, pas toute parole).
“Anything is good enough to eat; but every word is not good enough to
be spoken.”[102]--[_Guyane._]
[102] In the Martinique dialect: _Toutt mangé, toutt paaule pas bon
pou di._--[_Turiault._]
245. Poule pas ka vanté bouillon yo. (Les poules ne vantent pas leur
[propre] bouillon.)
“The chickens don’t brag about their own soup;” i.e.
_chicken-soup_.--[_Martinique._]
246. Poule qui çanté ça méme qui fine pondé. (La poule qui chante est
celle-là même qui a pondu).
“It’s the cackling hen that has laid the egg.”--[_Mauritius._]
247. Poule qui fére dè[103] dizèfs zamés touyé. (La poule qui fait deux
œufs n’est jamais tuée).
“The hen that lays two eggs is never killed.”--[_Mauritius._]
[103] The sound of the French _eu_ is rarely preserved in Creole.
_L’heure_ becomes _lhère_; _peu_, becomes _pè_. The Creole-speaking
negro says, _Yonne_, _dé_, _tois_, _quate_, _nèf_, instead of “un,
deux, trois, quatre, neuf.”
248. * Pranne garde vaut miè passé mandé pardon. (Prendre garde vaut
mieux que demander pardon.)
“It is better to take care beforehand than to ask pardon
afterward.”--[_Louisiana._]
249. Ptit lasoif ptit coco, grand lasoif grand coco. (Petite soif, petit
coco; grande soif, grand coco.)
“Little thirst, a little cocoa-nut; big thirst, a big
cocoa-nut.”[104]--[_Mauritius._]
[104] Like the old country saying: “Big horse, big feed.” The
cocoa-nut shell was formerly the slave’s drinking cup in Mauritius.
250. Ptit mie tombe, ramassé li; Chrétien tombe, pas ramassé li. (Quand
une petite mie tombe, on la ramasse; quand un Chrétien tombe, on ne le
ramasse pas [i.e., on ne l’aide pas à se relever].)
“If a little crumb falls, it is picked up; if a Christian falls, he is
not picked up.”--[_Hayti._]
251. * Quand bois tombé, cabri monté. (Quand l’arbre tombe, le cabri
monte.)
“When the tree falls, the kid can climb it.”--[105][_Louisiana._]
[105] This saying has quite a variety of curious applications. The
last time I heard it, a Creole negress was informing me that the
master of the house in which she worked was lying at the point of
death: “_pauve diabe!_” I asked after the health of her mistress.
“_Ah! Madame se porte bien; mais . . . quand bois tombé cabri monté_,”
she replied, half in French, half in her own patois; signifying that
after the husband’s death, wife and children would find themselves
reduced to destitution.
252. Quand boudin mòdè, cé pas épi bell plimm[106] yo ka plein li.
(Quand le ventre crie, ce n’est pas avec de beaux habits qu’on le
remplit.)
“When your stomach gnaws you, it isn’t with fine clothes that you can
fill it.”--[_Martinique._]
[106] Literally “feathers”--“_plimm_,” _plumes_. Adopted from a Creole
version of one of Lafontaine’s fables.
253. * Quand boyaux grogné, bel évite pas fait yé pé. (Quand les boyaux
grognent, un bel habit ne leur fait pas se taire; lit., ne leur fait pas
paix.)
“When the bowels growl a fine coat won’t make them hold their
peace.”[107]--[_Louisiana._]
[107] The words _pè_, _pé_, in Creole are distinguishable only by
their accentuation. _Peur_ (fear); _peu_ (a little); _paix_ (peace, or
“hush”); _peut_ (can), all take the form _pè_ or _pé_ in various
Creole dialects. _Ipas ni pè sépent_: “he is not afraid of snakes.”
Sometimes one can guess the meaning only by the context, as in the
Martinique saying: _Pè bef pè caca bef_. “Few oxen, little ox-dung;”
i.e. “little money, little trouble.” The use of “_pè_” for _père_
(father), reminds us of a curious note in the Creole studies of the
brothers Saint-Quentin (See BIBLIOGRAPHY). In the forests of Guiana
there is a bird whose song much resembles that of our Louisiana
mocking-bird, but which is far more sonorous and solemn. The Creole
negroes call it ZOZO MONPÉ (_l’oiseau mon-père_), lit., “The my-father
bird.” Now _monpè_ is the Creole name for a priest; as if we should
say “a my-father” instead of “a priest.” The bird’s song, powerful,
solemn, far-echoing through the great aisles of the woods by night,
suggested the chant of a _monpè_, a “ghostly father;” and its name
might be freely translated by “the priest-bird.”
254. Quand cannari pas bouï pou ou, ou donè janmain découvri li. (Quand
le pôt ne bout pas pour vous, vous ne devez jamais le découvrir.)
“When the pot won’t boil for you, you must never take the lid
off.”[108]--[_Martinique._]
[108] “Watched pot never boils.” The _canari_ was a clay pot as the
following Creole refrain testifies:
Ya pas bouillon pou vous, macommère;
Canari cassé dans difé (bis).
Bouillon renvèrsé dans difé
Ya pas bouillon pou vous, macommère
Canari cassé dans difé.
[“There’s no soup for you, my gossipping friend; the pot’s broken in
the fire; the soup is spilled in the fire,” etc.]
255. Quand canon causé, fisil honté. (Quand le canon parle, le fusil a
honte.)
“When the cannon speaks, the gun is ashamed.”--[_Mauritius._]
256. Quand diabe alle lamesse li caciétte so laquée. (Quand le diable va
à la messe, il cache sa queue.)
“When the Devil goes to mass he hides his tail.”--[_Mauritius._]
257. Quand diabe voulé prend vous li cause bondié av vous. (Quand le
diable veut vous prendre il vous parle de Bon Dieu.)
“When the devil wants to get hold of you, he chats to you about God.”
Lit.: “He talks _Good God_ to you.”--[_Mauritius._]
258. Quand done vous bourique vous pas bisoin guétte so labride. (Quand
on vous donne un âne, vous ne devez pas regarder sa bride.)
“When somebody gives you a donkey, you musn’t examine the
bridle.”--Never look a gift-horse in the mouth.--[_Mauritius._]
259. Quand femme léve so robe diabe guétte so lazambe. (Quand une femme
relève sa robe le diable regarde sa jambe.)
“When a woman lifts her dress, the devil looks at her
leg.”--[_Mauritius._]
260. Quand gagne larmoire napas quétte côffe. (Quand on a l’armoire on
ne regarde pas le coffre.)
“As soon as one gets a clothes-press, one never looks at the
trunk.”[109]--[_Mauritius._]
[109] A wooden chest or trunk is the first desideratum of the negro
housewife. As soon as the family is able to purchase a clothes-press,
or (as we call it in Louisiana) “armoire,” it is considered quite a
prosperous household by Mauritian colored folk. The chest, Baissac
tells us, is the clothes-press of the poor. “After the bed comes the
chest, and next the accordeon!”
261. Quand lamôrt vini, vous pense vous lavie. (Quand la mort vient,
vous pensez à vôtre vie.)
“It’s when death comes that you think about your
life.”--[_Mauritius._]
262. Quand lébras trop courte, napas zoinde. (Quand les bras son trop
courts, ils ne se rejoignent pas.)
“When one’s arms are too short, they won’t go
round.”[110]--[_Mauritius._]
[110] It is needless to undertake what we have not ability to carry
out.
263. Quand lécie tombé, tout mouces va maillé. (Quand le ciel tombera,
toutes les mouches seront prises.)
“When the sky falls all the flies will be
caught.”[111]--[_Mauritius._]
[111] Said to those who talk hopefully of impossibilities.
264. * Quand li gagnin kichose dans so latête, cé pas dans so lapiè.
(Quand il a quelque chose dans sa tête, ce n’est pas dans son pied.)
“When he gets something into his head, it isn’t in his
foot.”[112]--[_Louisiana._]
[112] Refers to obstinacy. A man may be compelled to move his feet,
but not to change his resolve.
265. Quand lipièd glissé, restant sivré. (Quand le pied glisse, le reste
suit.)
“When the foot slips the rest follows.”--[_Mauritius._]
266. Quand maite chanté, nègue dansé; quand ’conome sifflé, nègue sauté.
(Quand le maître chante, le nègre danse; quand l’économe siffle, le
nègre saute.)
“When the master sings the negro dances; but when the overseer only
whistles, the negro jumps.”--A relic of the old slave-day Creole
folklore.--[_Louisiana._]
267. Quand milatt tini yon vié chouvral yo dit nègress pas manman yo.
(Quand les mulâtres ont un vieux cheval ils disent que les négresses ne
sont pas leurs mères.)
“As soon as a mulatto is able to own an old horse, he will tell you
that his mother wasn’t a nigger.”--[_Martinique._]
268. * Quand napas maman, tété grand-maman. (Quand on n’a pas sa mère,
on tete sa grand-mère.)
“When one has no mother, one must be suckled by one’s
grandmother.”--[_Louisiana._]
269. Quand ou tini malhé sépent mòdé ou pa lakhè. (Quand vous êtes dans
le malheur le serpent vous mord par la queue.)
“When you’re in ill-luck, a snake can bite you even with its
tail.”--[_Martinique._]
270. Quand ou mangé evec guiabe, quimbé cuillè ou longue. (Quand vous
mangez avec le diable, tenez votre cuillère longue.)
“When you eat with the devil, see that your spoon is
long.”--[_Martinique._]
271. * Quand patate tchuite, faut mangé li. (Quand la patate est cuite,
il faut la manger.)
“When the sweet potato is cooked, it must be
eaten.”[113]--[_Louisiana._]
[113] This differs a little from the spelling adopted by Gottschalk in
his _Bamboula_--“_Quand patate-la couite ma va mangé li._” The proverb
is used in the sense of our saying: “Strike the iron while it’s hot.”
272. Quand poul ou tini zé, pas mette li dans canari. (Quand votre poule
pond des œufs, ne la mettez pas dans le pot.)
“When your hen is laying, don’t put her in the
pot.”[114]--[_Martinique._]
[114] Like our saying about killing the goose that laid the golden
eggs.
273. Quand prend trop boucoup, li glissé. (Quand on prend trop [lit.:
“trop beaucoup”], cela glisse.)
“Grab for too much, and it slips away from you.”--[_Mauritius._]
274. Quand vente crié zoréyes sourde. (Quand le ventre crie, les
oreilles sont sourdes.)
“When the belly cries, the ears are deaf.”--[_Mauritius._]
275. Quand vente faim, siprit vini. (Quand le ventre a faim, l’esprit
vient.)
“An empty stomach brings wit;”--lit.: When the stomach is empty, wit
comes.[115]--[_Mauritius._]
[115] _Wit_, that is, “mother-wit”--common-sense.
276. Quand vous guétte làhaut vous liziés vine pitit. (Quand vous
regardez en haut, vos yeux rapetissent.)
“When you look overhead, your eyes become small.”--[_Mauritius._]
277. Quand yo baille ou tête bef pou mangé, n’a pas peur zieux li.
(Quand on vous donne une tête de bœuf à manger n’ayez pas peur de ses
yeux.)
“When you are given an ox’s head to eat, don’t be afraid of his
eyes.”--[_Hayti._]
278. Quiquefois wou plante zharicots rouze; zharicots blancs qui poussé.
(Quelquefois vous plantez des haricots rouges, et ce sont des haricots
blancs qui poussent.)
“Sometimes you sow red beans, and white beans grow.” “The best-laid
plans of mice and men gang aft a-gley.”--[_Mauritius._]
279. Quand yon bâtiment cassé ça pas empêché les zautt navigué. (Quand
un bâtiment est cassé, ça n’empêche pas les autres de naviguer.)
“When a ship is broken (_wrecked_), the accident does not prevent
others from sailing.”[116]--[_Martinique._]
[116] There is a Portuguese proverb to the same effect: “Shipwrecks
have never deterred navigation.”
280. Qui mêlé zefs nans calenda oûoches? (Qui a mêlé (mis) des œufs dans
la calinda des roches [pierres.]?)
“What business have eggs in the calinda--_i.e._ dance--of stones?”
(_Calinda_, said to be derived from the Spanish _que linda!_--“how
beautiful!”)[117]--[_Trinidad._]
[117] The author of _Les Bambous_ mentions the _bèlè_, _caleinda_,
_guiouba_ and _biguine_, slave-dances of Martinique. _Dansé yon
caleinda marré_ (to dance the _calinda_ or _caleinda_ tied up) meant
to receive a whipping.