ទន្សាយក៏រួច ត្រីរស់ក៏រួច
Tonsay kâ ruoch, trey ros kâ ruoch
“The rabbit escapes, and the snakehead fish also slips away”
The Khmer proverb “When the rabbit escapes and the fish slips away” warns that when greed and foolishness take over, we can struggle hard and still end up with nothing at all.
The Khmer proverb “When the rabbit escapes and the fish slips away” comes from a well‑known folk story. A clever rabbit suggests a plan to a fish: the fish will pretend to be dead so that humans will handle it carelessly, giving it a chance to escape back into the pond.
Later, a husband thinks the fish is dead and leaves it by the water. Following the rabbit’s plan, the fish suddenly jumps back into the pond, sometimes floating belly‑up and then diving again. The man jumps into the cold water to catch it and calls his wife to bring a net. Both of them splash around in the chilly pond, get soaked and shiver, but never manage to catch the fish.
In the end, the fish disappears into deeper water, the rabbit is long gone, and the couple returns home cold, wet, and empty‑handed. Only then do they remember the fortune‑teller’s warning that there would be “no gain today.” From this bitter experience comes the saying “The rabbit escapes, and the snakehead fish also slips away,” reminding us that greed, carelessness, and ignoring good advice can make us lose everything we hoped to gain.
