Animal Planet
A frog in a well does not know the deep sea.
—Japanese
When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
—Kikuyu
A cat in mittens won’t catch mice.
—Gaelic
Use your enemy’s hand to catch the snake.
—Persian
Legs feed the wolf.
—Russian
Hunger will lead a fox out of a forest.
—Polish
If the goat had a longer tail he could wipe the stars clean.
—Czech
The cat was created when the lion sneezed.
—Arabic
A cat may look at a king.
—English
The cat can’t out-swim its own shadow.
—Nepalese
All cows are black in the dark.
—Hungarian
To slice the wolf’s throat, use a knife.
—Russian
The animal doesn’t feel its own nudity.
—French
The egg thinks it’s smarter than the hen.
—Polish
The whale does not see through its ears.
—Icelandic
The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.
—Sioux
A termite walks into a bar and says, “is the bar tender here?”
—American
“We don’t get many elephants here,” the bartender says.
“At these prices, I can see why,” says the elephant.
—American
The cow has no owner.
—Maasai
When the sugarcane flowers, the octopus appears.
—Hawaiian
Don't die like a octopus, die like a hammerhead shark.
—Maori
You never know how the cow catches a rabbit.
—Dutch
When we say “elephant,” we treat elephant as a representational name and point out the external content it designates. However, when we say, “this is an elephant,” we thereby confer upon an object its symbolic identity; we add to the bundle of real properties a symbolic unifying feature that changes this bundle into One, a self-identical object. The paradox of symbolization resides in the fact that the object is constituted as One, through a feature that is radically external to the object itself, to its reality; through a name that bears no resemblance to the object.
—German
You master, I master, who’s milking the cow?
—Turkish
My circus, my monkeys.
—Polish
To climb a tree to catch a fish is talking much and doing nothing.
—Chinese
It is a bare moor that he goes over—and gets not a cow.
—Scottish
Cows forget they were calves.
—Russian
Who wants yogurt in winter must carry a cow in his pocket.
—Turkish
If am a prince and you are a prince, who will lead the donkeys?
—Arabic
At high tide fish eat ants; at low tide ants eat fish.
—Thai
Don't sell the fur until the bear has been shot.
—Swedish
If you are an elephant, don’t offend the cat.
—Tajikistani
I gave an order to a cat and the cat gave it to its tail.
—Chinese
It is the octopus who says sitting is working.
—Maori
Fear the goat from the front, the horse from the rear, and a man from all sides.
—Russian
The bear and the bear hunter have different opinions.
—Norwegian
When you flee from the wolf, you run into a bear.
—Finnish
There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail.
—Navajo
Men eat fish thanks to the sauce.
—French
Fight the bear, or do not. It will not matter.
—Russian
There is no doubt that a dog is loyal. But does that mean we should emulate him? After all, he is loyal to people, not to other dogs.
—Austrian
An idiot will cross an ox with an elephant.
—Cameroonian
The lion basks in the rays of the giraffe’s sun.
—Nigerian
After dark all cats are leopards.
—Zuni
Throw a lucky man in the sea and he will come out with a fish in his mouth.
—Arabic
Fish and guests start to stink after three days.
—Danish (among other things)
A fish wouldn’t get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut.
—Korean
Better a living donkey than a dead doctor.
—Italian
Better half a donkey than half a camel.
—Egyptian
A monkey is a gazelle in its mother's eyes.
—Arabic
The cat on a stove is a lion in winter.
—Russian
Though the lion and the antelope happen to live in the same forest, the antelope still has time to grow up.
—Ghanian
The worst kind of dog is the one who does not want to bite.
—Corsican
A bear that dances in your neighbor’s house might soon dance in yours.
—Macedonian
Everyone knows the bear, but the bear knows no one.
—Finnish
A drunken donkey will not remember the monkey’s bite.
—Afghani
A reindeer cannot pee and run at the same time.
—Finnish
When an elephant is in trouble even a frog will kick him.
—Indian
When the frog is in trouble the elephant farts.
—Thai
The world flatters the elephant and tramples the ant.
—Indian
Only a monkey understands a monkey.
—Sierra Leonean
If you're short of trouble take a goat.
—Finnish
Two bears in one cave will not end up well.
—Mongolian
In time, even a bear can learn to dance.
—Yiddish
Only chained bears dance.
—Russian
A gentle hand can lead even the elephant by a single hair.
—Persian
The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong.
—Inuit
The bearskin does not bite.
—Swedish
A dog bitten by a snake is afraid of sausages.
—Brazilian
When the shark laughs with the dolphin, there is a devilish spirit at play.
—Tahitian
Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry.
—Navajo
When the wiliwili tree blooms, the sharks bite.
—Hawaiian
It is mysterious if a baboon falls from a tree.
—Shona
The dog will bite you, but cats also bite.
—Russian
Are you a dugong, you cannot bear a wound?
—Swahili
Animals regard man as the absurd, crying, unfortunate animal.
—German
The way you treat your dog in this life determines your place in heaven.
—Chukchi
Outside of an elephant, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of an elephant, it’s too dark to read.
—Indian
We are at war with the animals.
—French
All kind of fish eat man, only shark get blame.
—Jamaican
Man is the only animal who can be skinned twice.
—American
Man is the only animal who can be killed several times.
—Russian
You don’t even live once.
—Austrian
