Post No. 13,801
Date uploaded in London – 21 October 2024
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tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
xxxx
This proverb has been in vogue for over 2300 years in China. We have equivalent proverbs and stories in India.
In Chinese ,
Shou zhu dai yu守株待兔 To Stand by a Tree Stump Waiting for a Hare
The Chinese story for the proverb is as follows,
In the state of Song , a farmer once saw a hare running past him and breaking on a tree stump and fall dead. Abandoning his hoe ,he waited – in vain—by the tree all day long to get another hare in the same way.
In Japanese
Kabu wo mamorite usagi o matte iru
同じ切り株を守って別のウサギを待っている
Onaji kirikabu o mamotte betsu no usagi o matte iru
****
In Tamil we have some proverbs and stories similar to Chinese.
கொக்கின் தலையில் வெண்ணெய் வைத்து அது உருகிக் கண்ணில் வழியும் போது பிடித்துக் கொள்வேன் என்றானாம்.
An idiot has a beautiful idea of catching cranes or storks. He thought of putting butter (same colour as crane, stork) on the head of a white stork and catching it when it melts and blind its eyes.
இலவு காத்த கிளி போல
Another proverb about the parrot which was waiting – in vain— for days on the silk cotton tree. The fruits of the tree look red like ripe fruits; but when it is fully ripe and about to fall, it bursts open and only cotton comes out.
There is one more story about a fool who hid the treasure he found. He wanted to bury it in the forest in a place which he would only know. He got a strange idea when he saw a cloud shaped like an elephant. After looking around to make sure so one is there, he dug a pit and hid it under a tree. And above he saw a cloud that looked like an elephant . He made a note of it in the sand in his house. After some time, he went to the forest and all trees looked same. He waited for hours looking at the sky, waiting – in vain—for the elephant shaped cloud. A wayfarer was watching him and asked him whether he needed any help. He told him that he was waiting for the cloud that looked exactly like an elephant that he saw a week ago. And he wanted to see it again. That is the reason for hours long wait. Then the wayfarer laughed and said, oh idiot, the clouds wouldn’t look the same even in the same hour. The wind will change its shape or the rain would change it out of shape. He went home without the treasure.
This proverb and story is told anyone who waits unnecessarily for a long time. A lot of boys or girls wait for a suitable/ particular match like the parrot or the Chinese farmer.
In Indian languages we used to say ,
Can anyone wait on sea shore for taking a dip when the waves stop.
அலை ஓய்ந்து சமுத்திர ஸ்நானமா?
***
One more story about the same stork!
A stork which was very lazy was starving on the banks of tank which was full of fish.the lazy bird never tried to catch a fish thinking that the tank would be dry soon in the hot sun. when it dried there would be lot of dried fish குளம் வற்றிய பின் கருவாடு தின்னலாம் என்று காத்திருந்ததாம் கொக்கு
So, Tamils used to say like the stork that was waiting for dried fish in the tank.
—subham—
Tags- waiting in vain, stork, crane, fish, hare , same stump, Chinese, Tamil, Japanese proverbs. Parrot, silk cotton tree,WAVES
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