ProverbPedia

“ കൊത്തിക്കൊണ്ടു പറക്കാനുംവയ്യ, വെച്ചുങ്കൊണ്ടു തിന്നാനുംവയ്യാ”
English Translation:
Unable to fly away with it in the beak, yet unable to set it down and eat in peace. (Trapped in an agonizing predicament with a prize too heavy to carry off and too exposed to enjoy.)

— Malayalam

Related Mantras

“ ഇരുന്നുണ്ടവൻ രുചിയറിയാ, കിളച്ചുണ്ടവൻ രുചിയറിയും”
English Translation:
The one who eats in idleness knows not the taste of rice; he who digs the soil with a hoe knows its true sweetness. (Labor sweetens food; things earned by hard sweat carry a satisfaction inherited wealth never knows.)

“ പാൽവിളമ്പിയെടത്തു പഞ്ചതാര; മോർവിളമ്പിയെടത്തുപ്പ്”
English Translation:
Sugar where sweet milk is poured, and salt where sour buttermilk is served. (Exercising proper discretion; providing the exact complementary accompaniment suited to each distinct occasion.)

“ കൊഞ്ചൻ തുള്ളിയാൽ മുട്ടോളം, ഏറെ തുള്ളിയാൽ ചട്ടിയോളം”
English Translation:
If a prawn leaps, it reaches knee-height; if it leaps too far, it lands squarely in the frying pan. (A weakling’s bravado has very narrow limits; reckless overreaching leads straight to self-destruction.)