Slovene Proverbs and Sayings A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Slovene Proverbs and Sayings

Bolje vrabec v roki kot golob na strehi![≈ A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush]

The saying “less is more” is well known throughout the world. Slovene proverbial lore contains a number of variants of this saying, which has a distinctly moral and educational significance.

Modern society, full of excess and the pursuit of material goods, often loses itself in dissatisfaction when its efforts to climb the ladder of life are unsuccessful. The proverb “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” (or “Better a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof” as the Slovene version literally has it) has a clearly moral character. Or, to put it another way: “He who is not content with less is not worthy of more!”

Janez Bogataj