- English translation
One hen for you, plus three hundred henhouses to keep her in.
- Literal wording
He gives you (woman) a hen and three hundred coops.
- Meaning and lesson
The image sets a single hen beside three hundred chicken coops. With only one bird to shelter, almost every coop stays vacant, and their sheer number contributes nothing of value, since the space exists without anything to occupy it.
Applied beyond poultry, the saying describes any situation where the means of holding or housing something far exceed what there actually is to hold. Abundant room becomes worthless when the substance that would justify it is missing.
- When it is used
Fitting when someone wants to point out that ample space, capacity, or provision serves no purpose because there is little or nothing to put in it, picturing one hen amid many empty coops. The original wording addresses a female listener.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: One hen for you, plus three hundred henhouses to keep her in.