- English translation
Pregnant, breastfeeding, four of her children in her arms, she still climbs the mountain for a pregnancy remedy and sighs, "Alas, I have so few children!"
- Literal wording
Pregnant and nursing, and carrying four, and going up to the mountain, to fetch a remedy for pregnancy, and saying: "Oh, the scarcity of offspring!"
- Meaning and lesson
The saying sketches a woman whose hands are already full. She is pregnant, nursing an infant and carrying four of her children, yet she climbs a mountain to fetch a remedy for pregnancy and then laments how few offspring she has. The piling up of details makes her complaint plainly absurd.
Applied to people, it targets greed that blinds someone to abundance. The person has a great deal but, driven by wanting more, treats it as too little. They may even go to great lengths pursuing further gains while still grumbling about scarcity.
- When it is used
Use this to tease or criticize someone who has plenty yet keeps complaining and chasing more, especially when the extra effort is absurd. The long list of burdens works as humorous exaggeration, so it suits mocking banter more than formal speech.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Pregnant, breastfeeding, four of her children in her arms, she still climbs the mountain for a pregnancy remedy and sighs, "Alas, I have so few children!"