Domestic goats, like their wild relatives, are herbivores, but are especially famous for their love for various gifts of gardens. It is believed that cabbage is a favorite treat for these small artiodactyls. So why not let the goat into the garden? Let him eat horned in the wild. But no! Folk wisdom strictly prohibits goats from entering the reserved space.
Do you want to quarrel with a neighbor - get a goat
Domestic goats are bred for wool, milk and meat. Providing owners with these natural products is the prerogative of females. But you can’t do without a goat either. He is the leader of the herd, without his participation the goat will not have offspring, which means that there is no way to wait for milk from it. However, regardless of gender, these animals have a rather obstinate character, increased agility and a tendency to act hooligan.
There is even such a proverb: let the goat into the garden, he will devour all the cabbage. First, consider this phrase in the literal sense. The thing is that the goat who got to the beds is not satisfied with two or three heads of delicious vegetable. Even if fed, a goat will do a lot of trouble in the garden. All that cannot be eaten is gnawing and ruining, trampling the well-groomed earth with sharp hooves, even swallowing the bark from the trees.
On this account, there is another continuation of the famous proverb: let the goat into the garden - you can’t save the apple trees from fear. In general, from the naughty goat to the owners sheer losses. Well, if a malicious animal makes its way to someone else's site, then hostility between neighbors cannot be avoided.
The figurative meaning of the proverb about the goat and cabbage
Imagine that our goat is not an animal at all, but a pretty decent person. And then this citizen came to visit someone and, taking advantage of the good location of the owners, began to restore order there, acting in a rude and unceremonious manner. In this case, the saying "let the goat into the garden" takes almost the same meaning as in the phrase "got to free." That is, a person was trusted, and he behaved rudely.
Even worse, if such an individual is admitted to financial affairs in a state or private company. Here, too, “cabbage” will come in handy in the form of bank rustling pieces of paper. Hoping for the honesty of an unprincipled comrade is the same as letting a goat into the garden, ─ the damage from its activities will have to be scooped up for a long time.
Do not trust the person who has stained yourself
The proverb also contains a warning that it is impossible to entrust any work to a person who has been noticed in unseemly acts. Sometimes they say this: "let the goat into the garden, and put the wolf to guard the sheep." It is clear that nothing good will come of such events. The garden will be hopelessly ruined, and horns and legs will remain from the sheep herd.
Of course, there are times when people, once stumbled, embark on a righteous path, but still you need to be careful and not believe the words, but the actions of the repentant attacker. This is what folk wisdom teaches us.
Obviously, all variants of the proverb have a similar meaning. Putting a goat in the garden means being in a serious loss and making big trouble on your head.