Proverb #2

“Awọ anaghị agba ọsọ ehihie na-nkịtị.”

Contributed By Kelechi Una Isiodu, Umunjam, Mbieri.
[Variants Posted x 1]
By Chukwumah Ugbene, onye ...

for iFaT at ifont@groups.facebook.com

© ifont 2011, as it appears here.

Sometimes, you get that odd situation, you have to get up and do something or lose the moment forever.          

It is not quite an emergency, but you can't ignore stuff either. So you drive yourself off the chair, bed or the office desk  and 'relocate'. You have to pay that bill, make that call or catch that bus / train / plane ... Sometimes on the plains of Africa or in the forest brushes of Igbo land too, you observe the frog (normally and properly nocturnal) hoping along and sometimes not at a leisurely pace ... maybe it has been surprised by some predator out of a cranny or a hole - 'what is it doing this afternoon' ?  And that's the crux of the proverb, paraphrased literally ' The frog does not hurry along in the afternoon sun, for nothing or in vain; ' - The pictured frog is of the African bull variety - ferocious looking, these frogs have expanded their diets beyond flies and fleas. Pictures abound on the Internet showing these reptiles swallowing whole birds and tiny rodents. The Ibos (Igbos) have used the proverb to make observations about odd occurrences or events  which strike them as peculiar or strange, calling for closer scrutiny or inspection. So next time you see a frog ambling along in the day - now, you know ...

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