It’s better to have no spoon than to have no soup.
More German Proverbs:
I want no drones in my bee-hive.German
They must hunger in frost who spring-time have lost.
German
Nothing bolder than the miller's shirt, that every morning collars a thief.
German
He who envies, suffers.
German
Words are dwarfs, but examples are giants.
German
Self-done, is soon done.
German