--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A bird can roost but on one branch, a…" description: "\"A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not more than its fill from a river.\" — Chinese Proverbs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg" --- # A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not… ![“A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not more than its fill from a river.” quote by Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg) > “A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not more than its fill from a river.” [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses animal metaphors to teach limits: birds need a single branch, mice have a finite capacity. **In simple terms:** Know your limits and stay within them. Key Takeaway Set realistic boundaries for personal and professional pursuits. Themes self‑knowledge moderation balance Mood thoughtful practical inspirational Type advice proverbial When to use this quote - career planning - budgeting - time management - personal health Key Concepts metaphor resource management natural law Questions to Reflect On - What personal limits have you ignored? - How can you apply this principle to avoid overcommitment? A Different Perspective May be overly simplistic for complex modern challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Bird Roost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird-roost-2958032/) [Drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink/) [Drink River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink-river-599835/) [Mouse Drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse-drink-2958033/) [Roost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roost/) [Roost Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roost-branch-2958034/) ## Related quotes > [“Even a thirsty man will not drink at the river where a crocodile waits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-bax/even-a-thirsty-man-will-not-drink-at-the-river-where-a-crocodile-waits/) [Timothy Bax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-bax/) > [Why sip from a tea cup, when you can drink from the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/why-sip-from-a-tea-cup-when-you-can-drink-from-the-river/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Ah, drink again This river that is the taker-away of pain, And the giver-back of beauty! In these cool waves What can be lost?--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/ah-drink-again-this-river-that-is-the-taker-away-of-pain-and-the/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/only-when-you-drink-from-the-river-of-silence-shall-you-indeed-sing-2/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“Scriptures make it clear that we can drink of God’s river now, here, in this life, even if it’s only in a measure. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-sorge/scriptures-make-it-clear-that-we-can-drink-of-god-s-river-now-here-in/) [Bob Sorge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-sorge/) > [Life is A waterfall you drink from the river but then you turn around and put up a wall.Swimming through the core we heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/life-is-a-waterfall-you-drink-from-the-river-but-then-you-turn-around/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [A gourmet can tell from the flavor whether a woodcock's leg is the one on which the bird is accustomed to roost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-beebe/a-gourmet-can-tell-from-the-flavor-whether-a-woodcock-s-leg-is-the/) [Lucius Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-beebe/) > [“Unsettled, a bird lost from the flock -- Keeps flying by itself in the dusk. Back and forth, it has no resting place, Night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qian-tao/unsettled-a-bird-lost-from-the-flock-keeps-flying-by-itself-in-the/) [Qian Tao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qian-tao/) > [I've been so mistreated by male authority in my life that I had a terrible time in my marriage trying to be a submissive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-ve-been-so-mistreated-by-male-authority-in-my-life-that-i-had-a/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [The chickens are coming home to roost, and you happen to have just moved into the chicken house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/the-chickens-are-coming-home-to-roost-and-you-happen-to-have-just/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Curses, like chickens, always come home to roost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/english-proverb/curses-like-chickens-always-come-home-to-roost/) [English Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/english-proverb/) > [The structure of a play is always the story of how the birds came home to roost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-structure-of-a-play-is-always-the-story-of-how-the-birds-came/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [You watched and you saw what happened and in the accumulation of episodes you saw the pattern: Daddy ruled the roost, called the shots,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-taylor-fleming/you-watched-and-you-saw-what-happened-and-in-the-accumulation-of/) [Anne Taylor Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-taylor-fleming/) > [Gipsies, who every ill can cure, Except the ill of being poor Who charms 'gainst love and agues sell, Who can in hen-roost set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-churchill/gipsies-who-every-ill-can-cure-except-the-ill-of-being-poor-who/) [Charles Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-churchill/) > [Were floods of tears to be unloosed In tribute to my grief, The doves of Noah ne'er had roost Nor found an olive-leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/were-floods-of-tears-to-be-unloosed-in-tribute-to-my-grief-the-doves/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## More by Chinese Proverbs > [When you drink from the stream remember the spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/when-you-drink-from-the-stream-remember-the-spring/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [Only the man who crosses the river at night knows the value of the light of day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/only-the-man-who-crosses-the-river-at-night-knows-the-value-of-the/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/if-you-must-play-decide-on-three-things-at-the-start-the-rules-of-the/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [Beauty is the wisdom of women. Wisdom is the beauty of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/beauty-is-the-wisdom-of-women-wisdom-is-the-beauty-of-men/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [One never needs their humor as much a when they argue with a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/one-never-needs-their-humor-as-much-a-when-they-argue-with-a-fool/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [For the sake of one good action a hundred evil ones should be forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/for-the-sake-of-one-good-action-a-hundred-evil-ones-should-be/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/with-time-and-patience-the-mulberry-leaf-becomes-a-silk-gown/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [Only he that has traveled the road knows where the holes are deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/only-he-that-has-traveled-the-road-knows-where-the-holes-are-deep/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [Opportunities always look bigger going than coming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/opportunities-always-look-bigger-going-than-coming/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed during war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/the-more-you-sweat-in-peacetime-the-less-you-bleed-during-war/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [A bride received into the home is like a horse that you have just bought; you break her in by constantly mounting her and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/a-bride-received-into-the-home-is-like-a-horse-that-you-have-just/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [Love is blind, and greed insatiable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/love-is-blind-and-greed-insatiable/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [In the midst of great joy do not promise to give a man anything; in the midst of great anger do not answer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/in-the-midst-of-great-joy-do-not-promise-to-give-a-man-anything-in/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/if-you-are-planning-for-a-year-sow-rice-if-you-are-planning-for-a/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [To understand your parents' love you must raise children yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/to-understand-your-parents-love-you-must-raise-children-yourself/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) [Explore all 80 Chinese Proverbs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) [Nina Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-schuyler/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not more than its fill from a river.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chinese Proverbs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mouse-can-drink-not-more-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mouse-can-drink-not-more-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/chinese-proverbs-8380_bird_a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mou_311838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A bird can roost but on one branch, a mouse can drink not more than its fill from a river.” — Chinese Proverbs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chinese Proverbs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A bird can roost but on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mouse-can-drink-not-more-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/a-bird-can-roost-but-on-one-branch-a-mouse-can-drink-not-more-than/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```