You may know the horse by his harness.
观马具可知马性。
A galled horse will not endure the comb.
擦伤的马不耐梳。
You can take a horse to the water,but you cannot make him drink.
牵马河边易,逼马饮水难;不要逼人做他不愿做的事。
Don,t swap horses when crossing a stream.
行至中流不换马;危难之时不宜作大变动。
Don,t ride the high horse.
勿摆架子。
A good horse cannot be of a bad colour.
好马不会毛色差。
A horse may stumble on four feet.
马有四条腿,亦有失蹄时。
A running horse needs no spur.
奔马无需鞭策。
Don,t put the cart before the horse.
不要将大车套在马前面;处理问题应按先后次序,不要本末倒置。
The common horse is worst shod.
公用之马,掌子最差。
A horse is neither better nor worse for his trappings.
相马不可凭马饰。
Lock the barn door after the horse is stolen.
失马之后锁马厩;亡羊补牢。
Don,t look a gift horse in the mouth.
馈赠之马,勿看牙口。
Hair by hair you will pull out the horse,s tail.
一根一根拔,拔光马尾巴;水滴石穿。
A colt you may break,but an old horse you never can.
小驹犹可练,老马最难驯。
A horse stumbles that has four legs.
人有失手日,马有失蹄时。
Donkey 驴
An ass endures his burden,but not more than his burden.
驴子能负重,过重也难负。
Wherever an ass falleth,there will he never fall again.
驴子绝不会在同样的地点跌倒两次。
The braying of an ass does not reach heaven.
驴子的叫声传不到天上。
The fault of the ass must not be laid upon the packsaddle.
驴子不乖,休怪驮鞍。
He who wants a mule without fault,must walk on foot.
指望驴子无缺点,只有自己徒步行。
Sheep 羊
One sheep follows another.
一羊跟一羊(指盲从)。
There is a black sheep in every flock.
败类处处有;害群之马处处有。
One scabbed sheep will mar a whole flock.
一羊生癣,群羊受害。
Every time the sheep bleats it loses a mouthful.
羊每叫一次,就少吃一口。
One butcher does not fear many sheep.
屠夫不怕羊多。
It is a foolish sheep that makes the wolf his confessor.
蠢羊才向狼忏悔。
The dust raised by the sheep does not choke the wolf.
羊踩起的灰尘挡不住狼。
Carrion crows bewail the dead sheep and then eat them.
乌鸦吃死羊,先要哭一场;猫哭老鼠假慈悲。
The life of the wolf is the death of the lamb.
有活的狼就有死的羔羊。
As soon goes the young lamb,s skin to the market as the old ewe,s.
老羊皮上了市,小羊皮也跟着来。
You have no goats,and yet you sell kids.
没有老山羊,还把小羊卖。
If the beard were all,the goat might preach.
如果长胡就好,山羊也可讲道。
A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy.
懒羊自觉羊毛重。
If one sheep leaps over the ditch,all the rest will follow.
榜样的力量是无穷的。
He that makes himself a sheep shall be eaten by the wolf.
甘心做绵羊,必然喂豺狼。
Hare 兔
He that will have a hare to breakfast must hunt overnight.
早餐想吃野兔肉,头晚就须去捕捉。
If you run after two hares,you will catch neither.
同时追两兔,一只也难捕。
One should not run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
不应两面讨好。
The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.
兔子睡大觉,乌龟跑第一。
First catch your hare then cook him.
要兔子肉,先要把兔捉;先抓兔子后烹调;勿谋之过早。
You cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
不能既和野兔一起跑又和猎狗一起追;人不应两面讨好。
Mouse 鼠
It is a poor mouse that has only one hole.
狡兔三窟。
The mouse that has but one hole is quickly taken.
只有一个洞的老鼠,很快就被抓住。
A speck of mouse dung will spoil a whole pot of porridge.
一粒老鼠屎,坏了一锅粥。
Wolf 狼
The wolf may lose his teeth,but never his nature.
狼牙会掉,狼性难改。
A thief knows a thief as a wolf knows a wolf.
小偷识小偷,正像狼识狼。
Hunger fetches the wolf out of the woods.
饥饿引狼出森林。
Give never the wolf the wether.
莫把阉羊送给狼。
Who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl.
与狼相结交,就会学狼嚎。
The lone sheep is in danger of the wolf.
孤羊逢狼,必然遭殃。
It is madness for a sheep to treat of peace with a wolf.
跟狼讲和平,此羊必癫狂。
By little and little the wolf eateth the sheep.
狼吃羊,一只一只进肚肠。
The death of wolves is the safety of the sheep.
群狼一死众羊安。
While you trust to the dog,the wolf slips into the sheepfold.
当你认为狗可信,狼已偷偷把羊圈进。
When the wolf grows old,the crows ride him.
狼老被鸦欺。
Man is to man either a god or a wolf.
人与人交往,不是上帝就是狼。
Man is a wolf to man.
人对人是狼;人心狠,人吃人。
A growing youth has a wolf in his belly.
青年成长时,食量大如狼。
Don,t trust a goat with the kitchengarden,or a wolf with sheepfold.
不能请羊管菜园,不能请狼管羊圈。
Lion 狮
The lion is known by his claws (paw).
狮以爪闻名。
The lion is not so fierce as he is painted.
狮子没有画上的凶猛。
A barking dog is better than a sleeping lion.
吠犬胜于睡狮。
It is not good to wake a sleeping lion.
睡狮莫惊。
The lion,s skin is never cheap.
狮皮从不贱。
Destroy the lion while he is yet but a whelp.
杀狮应在幼小时。
An army of stags led by a lion would be more formidable than one of lions led by a stag.
一只狮子率领的一群鹿,比一只鹿率领的一群狮子更难对付。
Tiger 虎
If you don,t enter a tiger,s den,you can,t get his cubs.
不入虎穴,焉得虎子。
The tiger that has once tasted blood is never sated with the taste of it.
一次尝到血,虎欲永难遏。
He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.
骑虎难下。
Bear 熊
Kings and bears often worry keepers.
国王和熊,常使守护人忧心忡忡。
He who share the honey with the bear hath the least part of it.
与熊分蜜糖,只得一点尝。
Do not sell the bear,s skin before you have caught the bear.
熊未到手休卖皮;勿过早乐观。