Bâlâoo adôdô fee ni ekâye gbee toi

It is by doing it bit by bit and softly that the housefly ate the dog's ear.

What it means

A housefly can't take on a dog's ear all at once. Small, quiet, repeated effort, unimpressive at any single moment, gets done what force couldn't.

Ga · West Africa

Source and context

From: Ga, West Africa

Source: Ga (Ghana) oral-tradition proverb (Bâlâoo adôdô fee ni ekâye gbee toi), documented in Ga proverb collections on patience

The meaning given here is our own reading. Other interpretations exist.