“If you live in the river, you should make friends with the crocodile.”
Make peace with the powerful forces that share your environment, since you cannot avoid living alongside them.
— Traditional Comoros Wisdom, Comoros
Source: Traditional Comoros proverb, public-domain oral tradition; recorded in "African Proverbs in African Literature" (Comoros country profile, proverbsafricanliterature.wordpress.com)
More Proverbs from Comoros
You can win a woman with lies, but you cannot feed her with lies.
Deception may attract someone at first, but only real substance and honesty can sustain a relationship over time.
A beggar will not mind being insulted; a beggar who cannot take insults will go hungry.
Necessity requires humility — those in genuine need must set pride aside in order to survive.
A chicken with beautiful plumage does not sit in a corner.
Genuine quality or talent naturally draws attention and cannot remain hidden away.
A fool and water will go the way they are diverted.
A person without sound judgment is easily led wherever others choose to direct them.
A nose alone does not lead.
No single sense or ability is sufficient by itself; sound guidance needs more than one source.
A slippery person is not a king.
A leader who cannot be trusted or pinned down does not deserve authority over others.