Autumn is approaching its midpoint. It has already woven a colorful carpet across the earth; the clouds frown, seeing how nature has dressed up (they were so gray), and the rains weep for the passing summer. The harvest in the fields, gardens, and orchards is a joy to behold, and especially at the table. Many proverbs and sayings have been composed about autumn.
It is often compared to spring:
– Spring is red with flowers, and autumn with sheaves (bread);
– Spring is red, but hungry, autumn is rainy, but well-fed;
– In autumn there is kissel and pancakes, and in spring you just sit and watch. Another version is even more expressive: autumn is the mother: kissel and pancakes; and spring is the stepmother: sit and watch;
– Spring says: I'll dodge, autumn says: but I'll still have a look.
Sometimes, however, this comparison has the opposite meaning:
– Autumn will command, and spring will have its say.
– Autumn says – I will tend the fields; spring says – I will still have a look!
– Autumn is boastful, spring is fair.
In Korea, they say something completely different: “Spring is red with shellfish, and autumn with cuttlefish.” Azerbaijanis believe this: “Fear autumn—winter is behind it; don't fear winter—spring is behind it.”
Often, proverbs and sayings about autumn harvests contain apt expressions using zoomorphic images:
– In autumn even the sparrow is rich;
– In autumn even a sparrow has beer;
– In autumn even the crow has a haystack, not only the black grouse;
– In autumn even the cat has a pie.
The importance of the troubles associated with stockpiling until the next harvest is reflected both in edifying thoughts (autumn keeps track of everything; autumn is the stock-maker, winter is the gatherer; don’t be stingy in autumn, be rich by spring) and in half-joking ones:
– Don't cry, oats, which I took to sell in the fall, I'll pay three times the price and turn it over in the spring;
– Don't cry, rye, that you sold for a penny; spring will come – you will pay twice as much.
– In autumn the worker turns red and the owner turns pale.
The weather was not overlooked either:
– In the autumn bad weather there are seven types of weather in the yard: it sows, it blows, it whirls, it churns, it tears, it pours from above, and it sweeps from below;
– Autumn is coming and brings rain with it;
– Autumn – eight changes.
Moreover, each month is specially marked:
– September tears the caftan off her shoulders and puts on a sheepskin coat;
– The winds started blowing from midnight, oh, September!
– In October, everyone knows that from a big cloud comes a little rain;
– In October, it rains and snows at the same time;
– October cries cold tears;
– In October, say goodbye to the sun and get closer to the stove;
– November is September's grandson, October's son, winter's brother (option: father);
– October is cold, Father, and November has even chilled it.
And Pushkin's assertion that roads are one of Russia's two misfortunes was expressed in popular belief in this way:
– In September, a spoonful of water makes two swamps;
– October loves neither wheels nor runners.
But November was characterized differently: November loves both the wheel and the runner.
Phenological signs are also poetically presented in folk sayings:
– When the leaves fall early, winter comes early;
– Mushroom rain in autumn – winter with gray hair;
– Cranes fly early and high – winters are cold;
– Rowan berry harvest – warm your back better.
Autumn is remembered in philosophical allegories:
– There is no turning back from autumn to summer;
– Summer gives roots, and autumn gives seeds;
– The autumn fly bites more painfully.
When emphasizing the uselessness of something, the Japanese, unlike our “like an umbrella to a fish,” say, “like a fan in autumn.” Everyone has probably heard the expression “count your chickens in the fall”—it's a very common one. Incidentally, the German equivalent of the same idea is “not tied to autumn.”
“Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben,” say the Germans, which literally means: one should not praise the day until the evening.
But in Rus', the chicken proverb had relatives. For example, one that emphasizes the roles of the owners: “Count your chickens in the fall, woman, and measure your bread in the spring, man.” Or another, more transparent one: “In the fall, even your chickens will be hens.”
So, how are your chickens doing? Autumn is here. Time to count!
