‘A stitch in time Saves Nine’ is a well-known proverb and is most widely used. It means that a cloth which is torn must be stitched at once. The delay may increase the size of the torn portion and consequently many more stitches may be required. But this is not the only meaning that the above proverb explains.
It has hidden many more meanings in itself. We can also say that evil should be nipped in the bud to avoid future troubles. If it is not put down in the very beginning, it may become out of control and may prove disasterous. Hence, the proverb has much truth and wisdom and we should not ignore them otherwise our life may be hell.
In our day to day life the truth of the proverb will be cleared. Just take the example of a small child. The child is innocent. He does not know what is good and what is bad. Hence he may acquire bad habits along with good ones in the process of growth. Now it becomes the duty of the parents to check the evils then and there.
If the parents overtook them thinking that their child is very small they would grow and would give rise to many other, evil habits. If a growing child steals something in the school and brings it at home, he should be at once taken to otherwise the habit of stealing will take its root with the growth of the child. And then it will be difficult for the parents to uproot that evil. Similarly if a child tells a lie, his parents, without waiting for another lie, must put down this bad habit on the very moment.
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This is the right way and by going through right way we will never be in the grip of any trouble. Hence we must keep it in mind that time is the most important factor and if we fail to do any work at the right time, it may be very troublesome for us.
We can prove the truth of the proverb through the well- known story of the boy who acquires the bad habit of stealing due to his mother’s carelessness. His mother, overpowered by greed, never discouraged him for this evil act and became happy to get valuable things one after another.
As a result petty thefts soon led on to much greater thefts and ultimately he was sentenced to be hanged till he was dead on the charge of dacoity and murder. But before going to be hanged, he wished to say a few words to his mother. When his mother came he pretended as if he wanted to whisper something in her ears. But when she came nearer, he cut off her ears and told her that it was she who made him embrace such a disgreacetful death. If she had taught him a lesson of good habits, he would have never become a dacoit and murderer.
Nowadays we see many evils have got their roots in the society. As a result there are cases of murder, kidnapping, chain-snatching, smuggling, etc. These activities are in existence because they were not nipped in the very beginning.