Pa janm mete chat veye bè

Never set a cat to guard the butter

Do not hand something to whoever most wants to take it.

Also recorded as Yo pa janm mete chat veye mantèg

The proverb belongs to the Haitian people. The translation and the note are our own.

Same themes

It is the household rat that eats the house

Your neighbour's beard catches fire, you soak your own

Never cut the finger of the one feeding you

Before you climb the tree, look whether you can come down

A pot you did not put on the fire, you do not take down

The eye sees, the mouth keeps quiet