A log does not become a crocodile...

A log does not become a crocodile.

No matter how long a log stays in the water it doesn't become a crocodile.

In daily use this proverb is used to make the point that you can’t be something you’re not and thus stress the importance of just being yourself. This proverb from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) says… Wood may remain ten years in the water, but it will never become a crocodile. When you see a log floating in the river, you know it doesn’t belong there and that it got there by accident. It can stay in the river for a long time, but it will not become a fish or a crocodile. A log it was and a log it will remain.

Thus this proverb tries to say that we should be ourselves and not try to behave like others. There is a famous story of the cat in Tamil literature. One day the cat heard from somebody that he is a distant cousin of the tiger and so he went to the tiger saying he was his relative. The tiger on hearing this from the cat got angry and chased him away. The cat in this story did not understand that it is nothing more than a household cat and is in no way a match for the tiger.

Similarly there is another where the cat pretending to be the tiger took a hot iron and drew nine black lines on its body to imitate the tiger. Similarly we all try to be somebody whom we are not, sometimes we try to behave like our film heroes and sometimes like cricketers but we never try to behave as ourselves. This is always dangerous and it has been said by Ralph Waldo Emerson that Imitation is a suicide.

No matter how hard it may get, a way out or eventual comfort will be provided. = After hardship comes relief. = Calm after Storm.

This Proverb is used to illustrate the point after many a hardship there will be eternal comfort for people. We should not always keep on worrying about our hardships. When these hardships are ceased we will have comfort in our life. This proverb is equivalent to the other proverb CALM AFTER STORM and AFTER HARDSHIP COMES RELIEF.

There is a story in Indian literature in which the King Harischandra took a vow never to speak a lie in his life. He went into various hardships because of this. He sold his wife and child into slavery and worked in the graveyard as an undertaker. Then finally the gods were all pleased with him and so they restored him to his kingdom and gave him back his wife and his child and lot of riches.

There is also a similar story of Nala and Damayanthi where the king undergoes a lot of hardships and finally he is blessed by the gods for maintaining his virtue.

In count Leo Tolstoy’s story the protagonist gets arrested for a murder and stealing money which he did not do. He pleads his ignorance and he is sentenced to jail. He lives in the jail and finally the real thief is caught and he is let off. He comes out and starts a new business and makes a lot of money and leads-a comfortable life. So in all these stories, we see that if we a live a life of virtue we can sail through all our difficulties and we will come out of it stronger.

A log does not become a crocodile.

A log does not become a crocodile.


A log does not become a crocodile. To HOME PAGE

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