λύκος ~ λύκου (noun m.): wolf
ᾠόν ~ ᾠοῦ (noun n.): egg
κόραξ ~ κόρακος (noun m.): crow
ὄνος ~ ὄνου (noun m.): donkey
γλαύξ ~ γλαυκός (noun f.): owl
These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):
Λύκων φιλία.
ᾨὸν τίλλεις.
Κόραξ ὑδρεύει.
Ὄνου παρακύψεως.
Τίς γλαῦκ' Ἀθήναζ' ἤγαγεν;
Λύκων φιλία.
The friendship of wolves.
This is not much of a friendship, since wolves have no loyalty whatsoever. You can also find this idea expressed as a single word: λυκοφιλία.
ᾨὸν τίλλεις.
You're plucking an egg.
In other words: you are wasting your time! Unlike a bird, which can be plucked, a bird's egg is completely smooth; there is nothing to pluck. This is another proverbial adynaton (impossibility).
Κόραξ ὑδρεύει.
The crow is drawing water.
This saying alludes to an anecdote told about a crow drinking from a bucket or vase of water by using stones to raise the level of the water. It also appears as an Aesop's fable: The Crow and the Pitcher. Actual crows have done this in modern experiments! You can see a video here: Clever crow uses physics to get its food.
Ἐξ ὄνου παρακύψεως.
Because of a donkey's peeking.
This is a proverb about how a tiny action can lead to disastrous consequences, and it can also be used to refer to a frivolous lawsuit. The proverb is based on a story about a donkey who out of curiosity stuck his nose into the window of a shop; this scared some birds in the shop, and, in their frenzy, the birds then broke all the clay pots in the shop. The owner of the shop then took the donkey's owner to court on a charge of "the donkey's peeping."
Τίς γλαῦκ' Ἀθήναζ' ἤγαγεν;
Who brought an owl to Athens?
This line comes from Aristophanes's Birds. The motif of "owls to Athens" is like the British equivalent of "coals to Newcastle." There's no reason to bring an owl to Athens because Athens is full of owls, both because of owls being the bird of Athena, and also because of the owls that appear on Athenian coins.
And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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