కుక్కను పెంచితే గండాయె, కూటికుండెలకెల్లా చేటాయె

This proverb describes a situation where someone or something brought in for protection or help ends up causing more damage and trouble than the benefit they provide. It is used when a solution backfires or when a person one nurtures turns out to be a liability.

Put a snake into your bosom and when it is warm it will sting you.

This expression refers to a situation where a person helps or supports someone who eventually turns against them or becomes the cause of their downfall. It is often used to describe ungrateful people or dangerous situations where the beneficiary becomes a threat to the benefactor, similar to the concept of 'nurturing a snake'.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone or something you supported or nurtured turns out to be a source of trouble or waste. It implies that the investment not only failed to provide protection but also resulted in the depletion of one's own resources.

This proverb describes a situation where things have turned out exactly the opposite of how they should be or used to be, often implying a loss of quality or a change for the worse. It is used to comment on a scenario where expectations are subverted and the resulting state is unsatisfactory or useless.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone helps or nurtures another person, only for that person to turn around and act ungratefully or maliciously toward their benefactor. It is similar to the expression 'biting the hand that feeds you.'

Evil men will injure their protectors. Foster a raven and it will peck out your eyes. (Spanish.)*

This expression is used to describe a person who is exceptionally firm and committed to their promises. It characterizes someone who values their word above all else and will never go back on a commitment or oath they have made.

This proverb highlights the importance of animal husbandry and long-term planning. A heifer (young female cow) eventually grows to provide milk and offspring, ensuring a source of livelihood and financial security for a household. It suggests that small, diligent investments in livestock can eliminate poverty.

This expression describes a situation where an outcome results in one of two extremes—either total success or complete subservience/failure. It is used to describe a high-stakes scenario or a person who finds themselves in a position where they must either be the master of a situation or its humble servant, with no middle ground.

This expression is used to describe a situation where something pure or useful becomes completely ruined, defiled, or unusable because of the interference of an unworthy or undesirable person. In traditional contexts, if a dog touched a cooking pot, the entire meal was considered polluted and had to be discarded.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where attempts to resolve a conflict or manage a complex situation backfire, leading to more grief and causing a permanent split or division (often referring to a family separation). It signifies that instead of a happy ending, the complications led to sorrow and fragmentation.