Barking Dogs Seldom Bite

The general characteristic of dogs is barking and biting. They guard our homes from intruders. Whenever they see a stranger they bark. There are dogs that bark too much and in a loud tone. But it is a fact that such dogs rarely bite. They only try to frighten people away by their loud bark. On the contrary, there are dogs that do not bark too much. If we take such dogs to be docile, we may be shocked to find that they are not so. Around us we find people who talk too much without meaning anything serious. They utter big threats, but are not capable of putting them into practice. And because of that, such people are not taken seriously. Instead, it is the people who remain quiet who are to be watched. They believe more in practice than in theory. If they mean to do something, they would not waste time on unnecessary threats. They speak after they put into practice whatever they mean. The proverb figuratively means that the people who talk less are doers while those who talk too much are mere bragging types.