“Cria cuervos y te sacaran los ojos.”

Breed crows and to you they will take out the eyes.

Breed crows and they will take out your eyes.

            Daniel explains that “He [his father] uses this to tell us that we reap what we sow, which is a common saying, I feel.” Specifically, if you do bad things, the products of those deeds will lead to your demise. Daniel was born in the United States and lives in Los Angeles. His parents are from Mexico. He studies occupational therapy at the University of Southern California.

            In this proverb, the crows, considered the product of a bad deed, play an active role in bringing about pain and suffering of their “breeder.”

            Similar to the expression “We reap what we sow,” this proverb involves the process of time as the facilitator of karma. In order for what is sown to be reaped, it must grow and change, as must a crow from infant to adulthood. This implies that bad deeds change before they grow harmful to their propagator.

            The Mexican proverb is different from the expression “We reap what we sow,” because it only warns against the harms of being bad without implying any benefit to doing good. It explains that if you raise something that has the potential to be dangerous, it will hurt you badly when it realizes that potential; however, doing something good may only keep the status quo. There’s no guarantee that raising some other kind of bird would bring you some type of joy, save the ability to keep your eyes.