Friday, July 30th, 2010 German version


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Wolf sayings

Wolves always had an influence on Man's life. Since humans settled down and started to breed livestock, conflicts arouse from the formerly harmonic coexistence of wolf and Man. Until today, the negative attitude is transported by the languages of many different cultures.

Below, you find a small arrangement of sayings I obtained from various sources. I hope the sayings didn't lose too much by the translation from the native language to German, and then to English! :-)
At present, the following sayings are available:

 

"To howl with the wolves is an excuse of those who bleat with the sheep."
- Hans Reimann

"Sooner or later, a society of sheep must create a government of wolves."
- Bertrand de Jouvenel

It is better to die as a wolf than living like a dog.
- Herbert Wehner

 

ARMENIAN SAYINGS

Even the well-trained wolf won't become a lamb.

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ESTONIAN SAYINGS

He who believes in the wolf, becomes a snake.

He who is a wolf by mouth, is a bear at work.

He who helps the wolf kill, will be killed by the wolf later.

Who asks, if the wolf takes a sheep away.

He who fears the wolf, should not go to the forest.

How long shall the wolf sleep beside the dead sheep

Where to wolf obtains, there the wolf eats.

Where the wolf (is), there (are) the tracks.

Where there's no den, there's no wolf.

Where you talk of the wolf, there it is.

Where shall you lend a wolf meat

The wolf stays a wolf, even if you call it a devout lamb.

No fence will be built around the farm before the wolf ate the geese.

Help the wolf out of the hole - when he reaches the brink, he'll want to kill you

The wolf doesn't leave the flock before he took the last lamb.

The wolf is not as bad as he's gray.

The wolf doesn't get meat if he fears the fog.

No one scolds the wolf for nothing

Everyone scolds the wolf

The wolf's teeth are always hidden in sheep wool

In a wolf's track there's the blessing of the sheep but in a pig's track there's misfortune.

The fog is the wolf's grandpa, the rain its brother and the dew the cutthroat

Even the wolf loves its young.

The wolf has the strength of a man but the mind of nine men; the bear has the strength of nine men but the mind of one.

A wolf doesn't become a sheepdog.

One wolf doesn't desert the other.

The wolf is not as big as he's being scolded.

The wolf is not afraid if the sheep farts

The wolf changes its coat but not its way

The legs feed the wolf

The wolf is recognized by its pelt

Wolf and bear aren't as strange to a man as another man.

The wolf in the flock, the dog punished.

From a distance, the wolf is beautiful but nearby a predator.

The wolf is the dog's grandpa

The wolf doesn't kill a counted sheep.

The wolf leaves, the bear arrives.

The wolf kills until it dies.

The wolf is made to be a predator

The wolf goes to the flock until it sells its skin

The wolf is a very careful man, the old man (i.e. the bear) the head of the house.

The wolf eats and denies.

The wolf eats, the bear protects

The wolf eats the mother-in-law that praises the daughter-in-law

The wolf needs to be scolded, the money counted and the master invited.

The wolf, the haddock and the man from Tagamõisa are first in hell.

The wolf always carries away the gentle lamb.

The wolf always eats the best sheep of the flock

The wolf always takes the counted sheep.

They say, the wolf is the orphan's loaf of bread.

Crossing the fence, the wolf is bigger than the horse

Go and take back from the wolf's mouth.

When did a wolf ever become a sheep

Help a wolf and you will be bitten

If it's in the wolf's mouth, it's in its stomach.

Wolf or bear, both have their mind.

Make the wolf herd the sheep

Feed the wolf, the wolf always looks towards the forest.

Don't scold the wolf on another man's pasture - it'll come to your pasture.

Don't scold the wolf if it doesn't exist.

Humans look for the straight path; the wolf looks for the most secure.

Be the father a wolf or a bear, if only the man himself is a man.

The luck of the boozer never gets lost, even the wolf forgives him.

The courageous wolf finds a quick death.

Lord, shelter every mother's child from the anger of the Lord and from the evil of the forest (i.e. the wolf)

The rabbit told the wolf: "If I had your size and courage, I would cut off everyone's throat but I only dare to bite if someone attacks me"

An obstinate sheep is always made for the wolf.

The bear turns into a street-player, the wolf never will.

Don't run with the bear, rather jump upon the wolf's back

Raise seven wolf puppies or seven sons - it's all the same.

Even a gnat pulls a horse down, if the wolf helps

Don't praise the wolf behind the fence

The dog looks towards the forest, the wolf towards the house.

Many dogs are the wolf's death.

The court and debts - those fear like a mad wolf

A lazy wolf won't get a sheep

A sheep won't kill a wolf anyway

The sheep are on the open field, the wolf in the forest, under the bush.

A sheep's face, a wolf's teeth.

A sheep's look, a wolf's act

What has the sheep got to negotiate with the wolf

Why do you hunt the last year's wolf

Don't expect justice from the lord of the manor or mercy from the wolf pack

While the mare played on the mountain, the wolf killed the foal in the valley.

What is the women's wisdom? To avoid the wolf and stay at home.

Hunger drives the wolf into the town

A hungry wolf also bites a wolf

The dog barks until the wolf comes to the flock.

A blind wolf is always fortunate.

The fox is always more filled than the wolf

When the rye ear gets out, the wolf pups get out of the bushes for the first time too.

A German and a wolf are the same.

The wolf doesn't slaughter in its own pack either

When the wolf is at home, the wolf is not in the forest.

When the wolf comes to the flock, he'll get fed somehow.

So go fight for land against the wolf

Go hide from the wolf, the bear with two young is already waiting there.

The wolf has its way, the fox has its way.

The wolf has a front like oak, a rear like clay.

The wolf always has its own songs.

The wolf be full, the sheep unharmed

The wolf's blame, the shepherd's fault

The wolf's eyes are directed to one side (they stick together)

Even the wolf leaves a trace.

Even the wolf teaches its young.

Even the wolf doesn't eat offered food.

Even the wolf cries for its young.

The wolf is a wolf, the sheep a roast.

The wolf is killed while gnawing at the bones

The wolf will be fed, the flock will be looked after

The wolf shall eat this horse, that does not carry two men.

The wolf eats horse meat as well

The wolf forgets, the dog remembers.

The wolf eats raw and jumps far

Speaking like a wolf, working like a cripple

The stronger wolf takes the best bite

Don't speak of the wolf in a heatable house

Work is not a wolf, it doesn't run into the forest.

A devout sheep from the outside, a killing wolf at the inside.

A devout face, a wolf's teeth.

So teach a young wolf to kill

The wolf is not dreadful in a closed flock

The wolf is happier when it's alone

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FRENCH SAYINGS

When the wolf is killed, all dogs bite it.

You have to marry the wolf to tame it.

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DUTCH SAYINGS

Showing mercy to wolves is doing the sheep wrong

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LATIN SAYINGS

Man is another Man's wolf
Homo homini lupus

The wolf in the fable (Speak of the wolf...)
Lupus in Fabula

I see the wolf (Speak of the wolf...)
Video lupum

Holding a wolf by the ears
Auribus teneo lupum

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LATIVAN SAYINGS

Evil's talk equals the wolf's prayers.

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OTHERS

Even the best shepherd loses a sheep to the wolf

When the wolf got caught, it wanted to become religious.

The wolf eats the sheep from love.

You can't trust the flatterer and the wolf.

Only mad sheep confide in the wolf.

The wolf finds a reason easily, if he wants to eat the sheep.

The wolf is safe from wolves.

The wolf gets older but not better.

The wolves' death is the sheeps' living

A silly sheep that confesses to the wolf

It is dangerous to hold the wolf by the ears

"Thank you", said the goat, when the wolf invited her for lunch.

The more wolves, the less sheep.

The wolf has eaten everyone's donkey before the end of the year

You must howl with the wolves

One makes the wolf bigger than it is.

You have to catch the wolf before you can flay it.

Some are called wolf and are sheep.

Be patient, said the wolf to the donkey.

It's hard to choose among wolves.

The wolf doesn't care about statutes

When the wolf grows old, the crows ride it.

When the wolf is buried, the sheep dance.

The sheep mustn't bleat when the wolf is hungry

When the wolf is in the village, there's no time to feed the dogs.

If the wolf wants to, the lamb is wrong.

When the prey is consumed, one wolf eats the other.

When the shepherds argue, the wolf has won.

He who serves the wolf can't serve the flock.

He who spares the wolf, jeopardizes the sheep.

He who raises a wolf will get eaten for his reward.

He who has wolves as friends, needs a dog for a guard.

He who wants to eat with the wolves has to howl along with them.

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