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the world of the dead, a woman without children, dry ground that needs rain, and a fire burning out of control.
17
If you make fun of your father or despise your mother in her old age, you ought to be eaten by vultures or have your eyes picked out by wild ravens.
18
There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand:
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an eagle flying in the sky,
1 a snake moving on a rock, a ship finding its way over the sea, and a man and a woman falling in love.
20
This is how an unfaithful wife acts: she commits adultery, takes a bath, and says, "But I haven't done anything wrong!"
21
There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:
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a slave who becomes a king, a fool who has all he wants to eat,
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a hateful woman who gets married, and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.
24
There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:
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Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.
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Rock badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.