proverb · Words worth keeping
Nothing falls into the mouth of a sleeping fox.
Nothing falls into the mouth of a sleeping fox.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Waiting without taking a necessary step may leave a need unmet. The sleeping fox’s empty mouth pictures the difference between wanting a result and doing something that could help obtain it.
What the words are saying
The image gives a fox food that will not simply arrive while it sleeps. As a human analogy, it can prompt someone to identify a practical next step rather than depend entirely on an opportunity appearing. It does not make rest wrong or prove that effort always supplies what is needed. People may face limits that action alone cannot remove. The useful question is whether an available, proportionate step has been overlooked, not whether every unmet need reflects insufficient work.
Everyday example
A group wanting a shared meeting space contacts the available venues instead of waiting for an offer to appear.
When to use it
Use it to distinguish an available next step from passive expectation.
What it does not mean
Rest and support matter; an unmet need is not proof of laziness.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 2; French section, paragraph 33; source wording: A goupil endormi rien ne lui chet en gueule.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.