Poster: Lay the Egg

First lay the egg, then cackle.

(Estonian proverb)

The source for the proverb is David Crystal's book, As They Say in Zanzibar: Proverbial Wisdom from Around the World (Oxford University Press: 2006).

The image is by randomtruth at Flickr.

The poster is made with AutoMotivator.

Poster: Cats and Kings

A cat may look on a king.
(English proverb)

The saying famously shows up also in Heywood's 16th-century proverbial poem (a treasure-trove for proverb hunters):

Some hear and see him whom he heareth nor seeth not
But fields have eyes and woods have ears, ye wot
And also on my maids he is ever tooting.
Can ye judge a man, (quoth I), by his looking?
What, a cat may look on a king, ye know!
My cat's leering look, (quoth she), at first show,
Showeth me that my cat goeth a caterwauling;
And specially by his manner of drawing
To Madge, my fair maid.

It also famously appears in Alice in Wonderland.

You can also find the proverb in English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (Google Books). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is of the Cheshire Cat by John Tenniel at Wikipedia.

Poster: Belling the Cat

No one will bell the cat.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by Bartlett Jere Whiting (Amazon). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is Milo Winter, illustrating Aesop's fable of the cat, the mice, and the bell (Flickr).

Poster: Mouse Hole

A mouse cannot trust just one hole.
Mus non uni fidit antro.

Compare Chaucer's Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale: "I think that a mouse's heart is not worth a leek if the mouse has but one hole to run to; and if that one fails, then all is over." The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by Zak Malik at Flickr.

Poster: Bees

Bees gather honey from every flower.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by Bartlett Jere Whiting (Amazon). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by ndboy (Flickr).

Poster: Spurs

A running horse has no need of spurs.
Equo currenti non opus calcaribus.

You can find this in the sayings of Publilius Syrus. The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by Tsutomu Takasu at Flickr.

Poster: The Hedgehog

Deck a hedgehog, and he will seem a lord.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (GoogleBooks). And here is Hazlitt's note: “So said of a base Boure that will ranke himselfe out of his ranke.”—W. MS. Rawlinson, c. 86, fol. 31, quoted by Mr. Furnivall (Babees Book, &c., 1868). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by Krissy Venosdale at Flickr.

Proverb: An Ape's an Ape

An ape's an ape, a varlet's a varlet,
though they be clad in silk or scarlet.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (GoogleBooks). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The painting "The Monkey Who Had Seen the World" is by Edwin Henry Landseer at Wikipedia.

Poster: Landing

A cat always lands on its feet
(French: Un chat retombe toujours sur ses pattes.)

The source for the proverb is A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs by Henry G. Bohn (GoogleBooks). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is from Cheezburger.

Poster: Beards

An old goat is never the more reverend for his beard.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (GoogleBooks). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by Eliya Selhub at Flickr.

Poster: Cats

Better have cats' good will than their ill will.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by Bartlett Jere Whiting (Amazon). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by 12story (Flickr).

Poster: Cat's Paw

Be not made a cat's paw.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by Bartlett Jere Whiting (Amazon). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is an illustration of the fable of the monkey, the cat's paw, and the chestnuts: The Monkey and the Cat.

Poster: The Old Ox

An old ox makes a straight furrow.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (GoogleBooks). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image shows a pair of oxen in Turkey Wikipedia.

Poster: Cows

All is not butter that comes from the cow.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (GoogleBooks). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is a cow from Wikipedia.

Poster: Two Crocodiles

Two crocodiles don’t live in one pond.
(Proverb from Ghana)

The source for the proverb is David Crystal’s book, As They Say in Zanzibar: Proverbial Wisdom from Around the World (Oxford University Press: 2006).
The image is by aacool at Flickr.
The poster is made with AutoMotivator.

Poster: Claws

Cats hide their claws.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by William Carew Hazlitt (Google Books). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by tanakawho at Flickr.

Poster: Birds of a Feather

Birds of a feather flock together.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is David Crystal's book, As They Say in Zanzibar: Proverbial Wisdom from Around the World (Oxford University Press: 2006).
The image is by mikebaird at Flickr.
The poster is made with AutoMotivator.

Poster: The Camel

A camel, even a mangy one, bears the load of many a donkey.
Camelus vel scabiosa plurium gestat asinorum onera.

This is one of the proverbs collected by Erasmus in his Adagia. The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by Christophe at Flickr.

Polish: Not My Monkeys

Not my monkeys, not my circus.
(Polish: Nie moje małpy, nie mój cyrk.)

The source for the proverb is Denise Morgan Kalicki and Zbyszek Cholewa at Google+. The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is from snapshotsofthepast (Flickr).

And here's a beautiful follow-up:

Poster: Bearskin

Don't sell the bearskin before the bear is caught.
(English proverb)

The source for the proverb is Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases by Bartlett Jere Whiting (Amazon). The poster is made with AutoMotivator. The image is by Kristi (Flickr).