59. Cabritt[26] boué, mouton sou. (Quand la chèvre boit, c’est le mouton qui est soûl.)
“When the goat drinks, they say the sheep is drunk.”—Meaning that the innocent are made to suffer for the guilty.—[Martinique.]
[26] Cabri in French signifies a kid; in Creole it signifies either a kid or a goat—more generally the latter. The word was originally spelled with a final t; and the Creoles of the Antilles have generally preserved the letter, even in pronunciation. I have purposely retained the various spellings given by various authors.
60. Cabritt li ka monté roche, li descende. (Chèvre qui a monté un rocher doit en descendre.)
“The goat that climbs up the rocks must climb down again.”—[Guyana.]
61. Cabritt pas connaitt goumé,[27] mais cui li batte la charge. (La chèvre ne sait pas le battre; mais son cuir [sa peau] bat la charge.)
“The goat does not know how to fight; but his hide beats the charge.”—[Hayti.]
[27] Goumé, or in some dialects, goumein, is said by Turiault to be a verb of African origin—Étude sur la langage Créole, page 142. Still we have the French word gourmer, signifying to curb a horse, also, to box, to give cuffs.
62. Cabritt qui pas malin pas gras. (La chèvre qui n’est pas maligne n’est pas grasse.)