Proverbs for Pern, chapter 2
"You know, Mnementh makes a point," Lessa said thoughtfully. "He changed the ancient saying, 'He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day' into 'He who stays and fights the Thread, helps keep Pern from being dead.' These old proverbs and sayings in the AIVAS databank don't apply to life on Pern anymore. But if we change the words here and there, some of them make more sense. Maybe we should try to adjust them so they are relevant to us."
"That kind of wordplay is something that the Harpers excel at," Jaxom replied. "It's too bad Menolly or Sebell isn't here to help us."
I think the eight of us can do a fairly good job without them, Mnementh suggested.
"Okay, let's try a few and see how it goes," F'lar replied. "Let's start with this one. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall.' What can we do with that one?"
The bigger they are, the harder they are to catch! Ramoth exclaimed.
I'll agree with that, Mnementh said, a bit smugly.
"You would," F'lar chuckled.
"Okay, that works," F'nor nodded. "How about this one? 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.'"
That is an easy one, Mnementh said. Do not count your bronzes before they hatch.
"That's good, that's very good. Maybe we don't need Menolly after all," Lessa reflected. "Here's one. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'"
Ramoth took that one. If the eggshell is not broken, do not crack it.
Unless the dragon inside needs help, Ruth cut in. In that case, please crack it.
"Yes, that one could go either way," Jaxom said, smiling at the memory. "How about 'If you play with fire, you'll get burned?' That makes sense for humans, but not for dragons."
I would adjust that to say, 'If you are not careful with your fire, someone will get burned.' That was Mnementh, remembering the accident that had claimed Larth and injured Lytol.
"I've got another one," Jaxom said. "'Pride goes before a fall.'"
"I've seen too many riders get proud of their Thread-fighting skills," F'lar commented, "and while they didn't actually fall, they had to learn humility the hard way. That's usually painful."
Then we will change it to say, 'Pride goes before a Threadscore,' Mnementh decided.
"That's almost poetic," F'nor said. "Here's one. 'That's a horse of another color.'"
That one is easy, Canth answered. It should say, 'That is a dragon of another color.' My version makes more sense because our colors make us so different from one another.
"Here's another one about horses," Lessa said. "'You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.' Horses must have been very important to the ancients."
"How about, 'You can lead a dragon to herdbeasts, but you cannot make him eat?'" That was F'lar.
No one ever had to make a dragon eat, Ramoth corrected him. We do that without any prodding, every chance we get. I would say, 'You can lead a dragon to firestone, but you cannot make him chew.'
Unless Thread is in the sky, Canth corrected her in turn. Then we need no prodding to chew. Perhaps this proverb cannot be fixed.
Perhaps it needs to be focused on Pern's humans and not on the dragons, Ruth mused. Suppose we say, 'You can lead a Harper to music, but you cannot make him sing.'
I have one, Ramoth added. 'You can lead a Smith to iron, but you cannot make him smelt.'
"They all smelt pretty bad to me," F'nor said with a hint of a chuckle.
I know a better one, Mnementh chimed in. 'You can lead a Lord Holder to marks, but you cannot make him greedy.'
"Hey!" Lord Jaxom protested.
Present company excepted, of course, Mnementh said quickly. He sounded embarrassed.
"Let's not pick on the Lord Holders, not even the ones who deserve it," F'lar admonished his bronze. "These proverbs are supposed to be for all Pern. We don't want to irritate anybody with them."
"Thank you," Jaxom nodded, relieved. "We'll try a different one. 'Caught between a rock and a hard place.' According to the notes, no one knows exactly what that means, but it refers to a situation with no easy way out."
Caught between between and a cold place? Ramoth wondered.
"That's quite vivid, dear heart," Lessa nodded in approval.
I think it should say, 'Caught between a clump and the leading edge,' Ruth suggested. Canth shuddered; he had been in that situation before.
"I think I like Ramoth's version better," F'lar said. He read from the screen, "'Politics makes strange bedfellows.' What can you do with that one?"
Proddy greens make strange bedfellows, the brown answered without a trace of self-consciousness. Don't they, F'nor? F'nor turned crimson as he remembered a few such incidents from his youth. He needed to change the subject quickly, before Lessa noticed and commented on it.
"'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,'" he recited. "Ramoth was right about scorching the greenery, but what should the proverb say?"
Ramoth answered easily. The grass is always greener after the Pass is over.
"We tried, 'There is no time like the present,' but that didn't apply to Lessa and Ramoth so well," F'lar said. "How can we fix that one?"
I can speak with some authority on that topic, Ruth said firmly. I will make a small change. 'When timing it, there is no time like the present.'
I will agree with that, Ramoth said. Our adventure in the past was fruitful, but it would have been useless if we had been unable to return to our own time.
"Okay, that one is settled," Lessa said. "Here's another one that makes little sense to me. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' It would help if I knew what Rome was."
It sounds like a strange, faraway place, Canth suggested. Maybe it should say, 'When in Southern, do as the Southerners do,'
"They do things differently in Southern, that's for sure," F'lar agreed. "Okay, how about 'Birds of a feather flock together?' We don't have birds on Pern."
Of course, it should say, 'Dragons of a hue fly together, it's true.' It rhymes! Ramoth was very pleased with herself to have come up with that one. See, Mnementh! I can do it too!
"I'm not sure I understand this one," Jaxom said hesitantly. "'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.'"
A wherry a day keeps the hunger away, Ruth answered immediately. That was an easy one.
"Okay, what can we do with this?" Lessa asked. "'Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer.'"
That is also an easy one, Mnementh commented. Ask a silly green dragon a question and you will get a silly answer.
"I'm not sure that will go over well with the green riders," F'lar said. "I'm not saying that you're wrong, only that it won't be popular, seeing how many greens there are. Let's set that one aside and try this one. 'Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.'"
Hmmm. Canth considered the proverb. I would change it to say, 'Better to flame one Thread than to curse the Fall.'
"I guess that works," Jaxom nodded after a moment. "I think I understand this one. 'If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.'"
You would understand a saying about runnerbeasts, Ruth said drily. Maybe it should say, 'If wishes were fire lizards, then drudges would have fairs.'
"It loses the rhythm of the original, but it conveys the meaning just fine," F'nor mused. "How about 'A rolling stone gathers no moss?'"
A standing stone should gather no moss during a Pass, Mnementh suggested. No one could disagree with that.
"That sounds a little bit awkward, but it works," F'lar said. "Here's a colorful one. 'If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas.' What can we do with that one?"
"Let me try," F'nor replied. "'If you lie down with watch-whers, you'll wake up –"
"Still alive," Lessa cut him off.
Jaxom objected. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It makes more sense for some than for others," F'lar said in a warning tone. "Let's move on."
"Okay. Ruth, this one puzzled you when we read it the first time," Jaxom said. "'No rest for the weary.'"
No rest for the Weyr, Canth cut in. It sounds like the original and it makes sense during a Pass.
"Then there's 'Slow and steady wins the race,'" Lessa recited. "That's the exact opposite of how Jaxom understands things, and to tell the truth, I don't get it, either. How can we make this one reflect life on Pern?"
Strong and steady wins the gold, Mnementh said.
No, swift and sneaky wins the green, Canth corrected him.
Why are you two so obsessed with mating flights? Ruth wondered.
You poor, sweet, innocent thing, Ramoth said kindly. If you only knew… but no, let us try another one.
"Mnementh, you didn't agree with this one earlier," F'lar said. "'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.'"
That is doing it the hard way, the big bronze said after a moment. We should change it to say, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins by going between.' That makes more sense to me.
"It's true, but it isn't very proverbial," F'nor decided. "Here's one. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'"
"Let me do this one," Lessa cut in. "All riders think that their own dragon is the most beautiful dragon ever, so let's change it to say, 'Beauty is in the eye of the rider.'"
"That would also apply to runnerbeast riders," Jaxom nodded. "We'll keep that one. How about 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you?'"
"We'll leave that one unchanged," F'lar decided, "but we'll only say it to newly-hatched dragons. Can we do anything with 'Look before you leap?'"
"The Harpers might say, 'Know the song before you play it,'" Jaxom suggested.
For dragons, it should say, 'Get the picture before you go between,' Canth said strongly.
"This last one is a poem," F'nor noted. "Mnementh, you seem to be our resident poet. What can you do with this one? 'Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.'"
That sounds horrible for a dragon, Mnementh answered. It should say, 'Early to eat and then sleeping all day, helps you be ready to burn Thread away.' That would be much better.
The humans found that one quite humorous. Mnementh didn't understand why, but he was happy that they liked his contribution.