Everyone undergoes one bad experience in life, particularly during their youth.
A long time ago I thought I’d walk the neighbour’s snarling cocker spaniel.
When I decided to forgo the hellhound,
my German neighbour grinned ein gebranntes Kind scheut das Feuer
a child who gets burnt avoids the fire.
My mother’s Turkish response was
sütten az yanan yourdu üfleyerek yer
he who has scalded himself with hot milk, will even blow on yoghurt.
Perplexing!
In Britain, my English teacher explained
that you learn quickly if you’ve already had a bad experience once
once bitten, twice shy.
The Russians are rather jumpy, fearing an alarmed crow in the bush.
Southern Europeans
use cats in their expression in order to learn a lesson from what happens to them.
A cat which has been scalded fears even cold water,
say both the French
chat échaudé craint l’eau froide
and the Spanish
gato escaldado del agua fría huye.
Catalans say that
a cat which has been scalded is happy only with lukewarm water
gat escladat, amb aigua tèbia en té prou.
– Source www.cafebabel.com
